In a previous article I wrote about finding alternatives to Amazon. As a result of reading it one of my LinkedIn connections DID buy something she’d usually order from Amazon elsewhere.
Does this make me an influencer, or an activist? I’m going to see if I can get lightning to strike twice and influence you all to want pizza for dinner. Let me know if it works.
Dominos have made the news this month with their decision to pull out of Italy, the home of pizza. It’s the opposite of New York, New York (the other home of Pizza), Dominos have managed to make it anywhere, but they can’t make it there.
This is hardly surprising. As an Italian, do you go for your national dish, recipes perfected as they’re handed down by generation to generation, or do you go for this UX/UI interface nightmare, the takeaway pizza menu promo grid of mayhem!
How many other buying scenarios do you find yourself in where you have to complete a puzzle with a Soduku level of complexity before you’re fully confident that you are getting the best possible deal available to you?
There’s been many an occasion where I’ve placed an order, only to have the penny drop once the pizza is already in the oven that a much better offer was staring me in the face the whole time. Maybe I’m alone this, but that resentment will still be with me as I’m finishing slice 11 or 12 of my XXL.
It’s not even about the few quid I could have saved, the extra toppings or the bonus side. It’s the feeling that I’ve been defeated by the game. Not a visual masterpiece developed by the video games industry, something concocted in a boardroom somewhere with a consultant in Behavioural Economics pitching that the way to drive sales is to blind people with choice at every step of the process.
The name of the game
Dominos is fairing better in Little Britain, where a golden opportunity presented itself with the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 win (how is it that such a historic moment already feels like old news?).
Like every other brand worth it’s salt, Dominos was keen to score with the communications failsafe of our times, responsive marketing. To be fair to them, theirs was pretty good.
The company changed the name of their Headingley branch to ‘Lucy’s’ in honour of England player Lucy Bronze who had worked at the store as a pizza chef while at university in Leeds back in the early 2010’s. In addition to this, their local delivery drivers were also given bronze coloured helmets.
I’d love to know how this came together. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that somewhere at HQ is a document listing every remotely successful Dominos alumni to allow for a quick implementation such as this. They probably even keep the letters in stock.
“Hold on a second lads, whilst the signage is down, can I make a pitch to you?..”
Swap your toppings
A few years ago it dawned on me how odd it is that Pizza Express has a name that sounds like a fast food outlet, despite leaning more towards a dine-in restaurant proposition. Their name would actually be more appropriate for Domino’s offering.
I decided to mock up how it might look if they were to trade names, while retaining their current visual identities. What do you think?
So, you wanna pizza?
Have I succeeded in influencing your dinner plans? Thought so.
I guess the next question you’ll have for me is where you should order from? My LinkedIn connections have got you covered. Here’s the results of a poll I ran.
Want something more authentic? If you live the Poole and Bournemouth area, here’s a great recommendation from a Bournemouth Echo reader:
When I told the lady who used to run Da Mario that they’d made the Top 5 of the Bournemouth Echo’s 5 of the best pizza places in Dorset and the New Forest (as chosen by Echo readers) list, she gave me a hug! I mean, what I was really hoping for was to win their PR account in return for securing them that coverage, or at the very least a free pizza. The hug was nice though.
Liam Toms 