2010: the year of the reset
January 4th, 2010 • posts i've written
In 2009 we saw brands chase each other into social media. We saw success and we saw failure. But ultimately, we may have learned that it’s not so easy to start a conversation and ignore what the other party is saying.
That appears to be the case for Domino’s and their Pizza Turn Around campaign:
In the TV spots, being aired on top-rated entertainment and sports programs, unseen consumers are heard to make a series of highly negative statements about traditional Domino’s pizza (“Domino’s pizza crust, to me, is like cardboard”), while the same statements are summarized in large white type against black backgrounds. Cut to Domino’s President Patrick Doyle, who announces: “There comes a time when you know you’ve got to make a change.”
Social media play a central role in the campaign — no surprise, given that Domino’s says that the pizza/brand reinvention was inspired in large part by monitoring consumer comments about the brand on social media channels.
In a social market, the most endangered species is mediocrity.
Most companies, whether they admit to it or not, got an ear-full in 2009. Some are actually willing to do something about it.
Breaking from a 25 year tradition, Pepsi (a client) is foregoing their typical superbowl spend in order to support their local grants program.
We’re living in an age where brands have to be more responsive to culture than ever before; and the core of that responsiveness is acting on what people are saying about you in networked publics.
Brands are learning that success on the web is less about how well you talk and more how well you listen… and then do something about it.
We’ll see many more brands hit the reset button in 2010. And it’s a good thing. It means they’re listening.
Related posts:
- top web videos of the past year
- 2010: what you missed and how we did
- least interesting trend of 2010
5 Responses (add your comment)
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could you elaborate on what you mean by being responsive?
The way you are framing the point seems to lead towards an equivelant of the old day focusgroup listen and respond style output (and I am quite sure you are not meaning that, but alas I do not read minds), whereby incremental changes are made to appease rather than push forward.
tnx
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Great point. Now if only we could convince more clients to attend a like-minded educational bootcamp.
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As you say, top marks for listening and acting.
But I find it more than a little disturbing that the same management team had allowed things to get so bad that the whole premise of this campaign was possible.
And then allowed themselves to be convinced to actually advertise how off the ball they had been.
Will customer confidence rise as a result of being reassured that things are getting better?
Or will it be further undermined by a look under the bonnet (hood) at just how inept the organisation was (and by implication still is)?
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Domino’s has quickly realized that Social Media is a two way conversation. By embracing both the good and the bad, they are able to react to criticism and adjust accordingly.
You can’t ask for more than from a brand.
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It’s among the most cringe-worthy efforts if we are honest.