← Ad Age Marketer's Brief
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- [00:00]
A
This episode is sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery Advertising. You've probably seen the headlines and yeah, there's a lot happening at WBD right now. But here's the thing. Change is happening everywhere. Media planning has never been this complicated. More platforms, more data, more pressure to drive results. And that's what WBD delivers. Iconic stories and the audiences who love them. So your brand shows up in the right place at the right time with real impact. Visit adsales.wbd.com to learn more.
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The value wars in pizza have been building for a while and now they're intensifying. Domino's Pizza said this week that same store sales missed expectations as consumer sentiment worsened and competitors rolled out similar deals. That challenge making an offer that doesn't look like everyone else's is what we'll be discussing this week with Domino's CMO Kate Trumbull on the Marketer's Brief, our weekly discussion of marketing news and trends that have the industry buzzing. Trumbull says that consistent deals, greater menu choice and storytelling have been key to Domino's efforts to stand out in a crowded value landscape. With promotions like emergency pizza and you tip, we tip, generating not just sales, but also talk value. We'll also discuss other marketing challenges, including a high stakes rebrand. I'm John Springer, senior reporter at Ad Age. Before I get into my discussion with Kate, I want to call your attention to a new awards program. Ad Age Mid sized brand leaders honor senior in house marketing leaders making a difference at mid market brands, typically companies with 50 million to 1 billion in annual revenue. Does this sound like you or anyone you know? Find out more including how to enter@adage.com midsizeleaders. Kate Trumbull, welcome to the Marketer's Brief podcast.
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C
Hi John, it's great to be here. Thanks for having me.
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B
Well, thanks for joining. Is it right to characterize the pizza business as any value war going on right now?
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C
Yeah, I would tell you that pizza business, the QSR business, we're seeing so much value out in the marketplace. I think we know, you know, consumer sentiment is challenged and you know, at a low point and brands are really trying to meet consumers where they are. But then again, what really is value? I think it's really only value if consumers say it is. I think a lot of brands try to chase it, try to have limited time offers or offer deals on things that maybe people don't want. You know, our approach has really been around, you know, not only giving the best price value for our consumers, but giving them exactly what they want and the ability to have the most delicious products on our menu for the best deal. And you've seen our best deal ever work, which does just that, right? Doesn't matter if you love stuffed crust or you love New York style. If you want three toppings, five toppings, we're giving people really that chance to customize and get to the most delicious product that they want. And I think that's the kind of, it's not just a price point. It's sort of the abundance and ability of getting exactly what you want that we've been trying to focus on.
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B
So that's what distinguishes Domino's from the others. Is there a reason that you're able to do that and others might not?
- [03:25]
C
Well, you have to be incredibly close to what your consumers want. I think we have the benefit of having always represented value over the years. We've had our mix and match deal for over a decade and so that deal is just incredible value and it allows you to have variety in our menu. We've been doing things for many years, things like emergency pizza that I think give us credibility where consumers count on us for value. I think you start to see when times are tougher for consumers, some of the higher end QSR brands drop value. And it feels so out of the blue and really off brand for them, you know, and then it also starts to become a sea of sameness when everyone in the category is, is running towards deals. And that's why I think we've created a platform where we're trying to do value that is talk value, right? So we're trying to do things that not only give you value, but they give you a why and they give you a story and it gets people talking and really noticing. And going back to our paving and plowing for pizza are examples. Our carryout tips. You know, not too long ago when tip culture was pretty overwhelming, we did u tip, we tip. We've come with emergency pizza and student loans. And so in addition to our everyday value with things like our mix and match deal and our week long carryout deal, we've tried to come at value in a way that is unexpected and, you know, shows that we're there for consumers, but always trying to be grounded in real life tensions or insights about the consumer. So I'd say that's what stands out. And it's not easy to do that. It takes a lot of creativity and, and planning and tech work. Whereas I think some, some folks in QSR maybe are desperate for traffic and they're just Throwing out a price point that they can pull off really quickly.
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A
Yeah.
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B
What kind of research do you need to do in order to tell what it is the consumer wants?
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C
We do qual, we do quant, we really try to understand what is working about the deals that we offer today. And then also just understanding what's happening in the environment, in the macro and the pressures consumers are feeling that can really lead to pretty insightful briefs that our incredible agency work in progress is able to really ideate around and come with these ideas like emergency pizza, carry out tips and you tip. We tip.
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B
Yeah. So in addition to the pizzas at sharp price points, you're also leaning into some premium cues like the black and gold packaging and collaborations like Shinola. How do these things coexist?
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C
Yeah, that one's a really fun one because like we're both sort of Detroit area brands, Michigan brands. But you know, I think I mentioned it a bit. The 999 is certainly an affordability play. Anywhere you can get a large pizza under 10 bucks with any toppings is a pretty big affordability play. But again, it's about giving people what they crave and having that abundance. So if we're going to say you can get any pizza you want with up to seven toppings, it really especially an environment where little things feel like a luxury to people when they can't afford a vacation if they can get. It's the lipstick phenomenon. Right. People don't give up their makeup or their coffee in tough times. So it's a sight idea of an affordable luxury that meets a customer's need. And if they're able to order our most premium pizzas, they also get access to our most premium gold and black box. And it just makes our brand, I think accessible and you know, we're trying to over deliver on that value for them in unexpected ways. So the black and gold is just an example of that. Our slice sauce where you can get that for free. Our most delicious sauce we just launched that's designed for, for pizza. I think we're trying to create these, these moments of escape, but a premium experience, getting the best thing you can for, for a fair price.
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B
Let's talk about sauce for a minute because I think we're hearing that everywhere throughout fast food. Right. Sauce is a thing. What, what's going on with the consumer that has made them so responsive to these little bits of kind of sides that are, that a restaurant can offer them?
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C
Yeah, I think consumers just, they really want to be able to customize and have options and bring some adventure to what they're experiencing. And you see it in the chicken players. We've seen it in some of our international markets. And in the UK they launched a sub brand called Chicken Dips with a number of different sauces, like from ghost pepper to more traditional sauces. And we just got really inspired. You know, we are on our mission to, to be known and seen as the most delicious pizza brand. And it just made sense to us, like how do we not have a signature sauce, right? So many brands that people love and crave have a signature sauce. And so we had to come through with something that, that made so much sense with our pizza that the fun thing is we're hearing from consumers. They, they love it on our pizza, but they love it on our bread products, our stuffed cheesy bread and our chicken. So I do think when you think about when I was a kid, the options you had for food, and now I have three kids, the taste profile of having Mexican, having sushi, they are so much more exposed to variety and their palates are more sophisticated. I think you see that with Gen Alpha and Gen Z2. It just creates endless options for customization. And the easiest way for restaurants to customize is really in sauces.
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B
That's fascinating. So a quick return to value here for a second. I think you talked a little bit about this already, but how do you build perceived value without training customers to wait for deals?
- [09:35]
C
Yeah, it's a great question. I mentioned it, but I really, I believe one of our strengths as a brand over the last decade plus has been this consistent value people could count on. And the mix and match deal just is that not only was it consistent value for consumers, you know, at a really, really great price point, it kind of set a platform for innovation. So if we were going to innovate a new side, we're going to bring salads in and we're coming with a new dessert, this offer, because we know how important it is and the frequency it drives when people experience it. So it's sort of a consistent brand halo for us. But we continue to identify what consumers find valuable and then meet them where they're at. You know, always staying kind of focused on this really interesting balance with the in our hungry for more strategy of the most delicious food and then renowned value. And so again, it's not just focusing on the price, it's making sure we're bringing product innovations that are so delicious that they're worth paying what you pay for them and just anchoring to that consistent value and we're the number one brand in pizza. So we had Mix and Match but we have week long carryout like 799 large won toppy pizzas for a different occasion and a different consumer. And we've been bringing best deal ever back at different moments and we are seeing that that sometimes is just a couple, whereas Mix and Match is really more group occasions. And so they all play a role and they can be very incremental. But again, we're not coming out with a different price point every week or doing flash deals constantly which can be pretty confusing to consumers. Or you only do this one deal on Friday so people hold out till Friday. I think this idea of we give you the value that you need depending on where you are in the occasion spectrum and you know it's there and you can always come back for it.
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B
Are you making progress with the perception of value?
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C
We are. I mean we have a strength in that. We've had an equity strength in that for quite some time. I think when you talk about the value wars though, I will say that can be a race to the bottom with no emotional layer to it. So I think you have to look outside your four walls and my four walls here in my office in Ann Arbor. And in these tough economic times, we know people, they have less dollars in their pocket and it's hard earned money. And so we know the stakes are really high for us to get it right and offer the food that they want at the price that appeals to them while giving them the best service. So we, we really obsess with our technology and our training and our approach on quality and, and affordability. And we obsess so much on every single pizza, every single order. And so I think again, as everyone's going out there talking value, you want to make sure you also have messages of quality. And I think, you know, we're on that right now a little bit with our premium series because again, value is more than a price point. It's what you get for what you pay for.
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B
Great. We're going to take a quick break, but don't go anywhere. We're going to come back and discuss the rebrand at Domino's.
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This episode is sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery Advertising. You know those moments in entertainment when you're not just watching, you're feeling it. That's what Warner Bros. Discovery delivers to audiences every day. From the roar of live sports arenas to the clash of dragon ruled kingdoms. From the front lines of breaking news to the heartbeat of busy kitchens, WBD Advertising combines this incredible IP with modern ad tech and a partner first mindset to turn this cultural attention into real connection and measurable conversion. Visit adsales.wbd.com to learn more.
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We're with Kate Trumbull, CMO of Domino's Pizza. Kate, very few brands get away with updating their design anymore without encountering a lot of criticism. Some brands have decided it's just not worth it. So how did you pull it off at Domino's?
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C
Yeah, it's been an exciting process, I will tell you. 22 months in the making. And so I think you, you kind of mentioned in your question. I think there's always some element of risk in making a change to your brand and certainly a brand with 65 years of, of equity and, you know, people who come in and loved the brand in different ways at different times. But again, we put the time and the research and the listening in to listen not only to our customers but our franchisees, who, many of them, this has been their life since they were 18. You know, they, they've been around through many decades of the brand and so important that they were bought in as well. So we did those listening sessions, we did consumer research. We really were aiming to understand what makes Domino's so as special as it is. And you know, we went after maximizing the aspects of our identity that people already love while incorporating additions that bake craveability directly into the brand itself. And so I'm super proud of what the team was able to do in terms of building out our first sonic branding element. We all know the power of mnemonics, jingles, whatever you want to call them, and, you know, we came with this crave mark. I think the big aha was wow. Actually, you know, is already baked into our name. Right? Domino's has always been in our DNA and delicious, quality, innovative food has always been there. So we really wanted to honor our 65 year old heritage in enhancing what already makes us great and really wanted to avoid some sort of arbitrary change. So I think at the end of the day, pizza is incredibly fun. We know we have delicious pizza and we wanted to make sure through the mnemonic and the new colors and the new fonts that craveability really, really comes through and that our brand feels as energetic and fun as it is, and it has been for the last 65 years.
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B
How did you know it was the right time to do it?
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C
There are really a few reasons why we decided that now was the time to go. A couple years ago, we conducted some consumer research and and it helped us really figure out our new consumer target and our hungry for more strategy. And what we unveiled in that is that we have such an opportunity to continue to make our brand more craveable and delicious in every interaction. And so there's so many ways you can do that. You can do that in how you shoot your food, it's how it looks. And then there's also how the brand sounds, right? Not only in the sonic branding we just discussed, but in the voiceover talent that we use and even the tone of that talent. And we had been sort of an announcer cop person and that didn't feel as relatable in this era of creators and influencers. We wanted to have more of a friendly, relatable influencer that you really listen to and you value what they think be our voiceover. And so we tested our way into the perfect voiceover. And then even in the music we were calling it M strmentals because it leans into the mm. So it's all these different pieces in addition to really ramping our product innovation that all sort of laddered into the new strategy for the brand. So, you know, I think you take into account too, the brand hadn't done a brand refresh in 13 years and things have become a little bit of a mix or a hodgepodge over time. What our website looked like versus what our stores look like and uniforms look like. And so it was a really cool moment to step back and create more powerful, consistent elements across the work. And the other thing I'm super proud of is we're a global brand. We're in over 90 countries. And so this is the first time we did a global brand launch. And that's just been so well received by many markets who've already adopted it. Others are coming. I'm going to our rally in Vegas in two weeks and really excited to share all the examples. But I think brands probably every 10 to 15 years you have to step back and go, wow, 13 plus years ago we were in a print driven world and now we're in a social media digital first world. And our old look is not serving the new strategy. So it was time for a new corporate identity. And I think it was a really interesting process to bring everyone in the company along for that journey so they understood the why. Because, you know, again with a, with a brand, with our heritage, so many people care so much and you want them to understand the why and that it's, it's tested and it's really loved by consumers and taking consumers through those focus groups, and we had our mood boards of where we had been and where we're going was one of the most fun parts of the project because people really, they were pumped. They were excited. Light users, heavy users. It's another important thing. You. You need to talk to both. You don't want to alienate your most loyal consumers. And one of the fun things was the insight from our premium series campaign. We're on now is actually from those focus groups where people saw the black and gold box and they were like, oh, my gosh, what is this? Like, do you only get this if you're a VIP in the loyalty program? Like, what's in there? And there was such intrigue and interest in this premium box that wasn't our normal colors that we got really excited about. How do we bring that to life? How do we bring this new, delicious sauce to life with it and have the packaging all lean into this black and gold? Elevated experience.
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B
Yeah, it's fun. You know, I mean, we saw over the last year that consumers online love to hate new designs. And as you noted, domino's went over quite well.
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C
Yeah, we feel really lucky that it did. And I think we did our due diligence. But that's the fun now. Now seeing on social media and hearing my friends send me videos of their kids going dominoes, you know, snap. Snap is such a cool thing to see it out in the world and. And being embraced.
- [20:16]
B
Okay, so you've done a couple of interesting initiatives recently, including one related to a delivery driver in Idaho. What can you tell me about that story?
- [20:25]
C
Yeah, it's so inspiring. So a delivery driver, you know, he went above and beyond. There was a viral video that got recorded, you know, on the Nest cam, the cam as he delivering the food. And the thing was, they had ordered a 2 liter of diet Coke and the store didn't have it. So he went out of his way to go to another store and get the Diet Coke. And it just warmed the hearts of the people that he delivered it to. And he shared that he was retiring, and they started to go fund me page, and it went crazy. And he got so much media attention. Just, I think, I think really in this. This economy and with so much uncertainty in the world, I think to have a person be so thoughtful and generous and go the extra mile just really broke through to people. And so we're so proud of Dan. We got inspired and so partnering with Coke to do this sort of example of his goodwill and pay it forward. So from April 30, to May 3, Domino's stores across the country are going to honor and celebrate Dan by giving customers a free 20 ounce Coca Cola. Whether it's Coca Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, when they order online and use the code Dan the Man. So again, it's like, it's like those small moments that can have the biggest impact. And this is just one way of continuing the spirit of generosity that was inspired by Dan. And we're going to celebrate his, his incredible action at our, like I said, at our rally in two weeks. So just so proud of him and inspired. And that's the level of over delivering that we strive to give to every customer in every order.
- [22:05]
B
Yeah. How did that look from, from your seat? In other words, how did it play out with the marketing department at Domino's as it unfolded?
- [22:13]
C
Yeah, I mean, I, I think we all saw it and then we just saw it keep going viral. And we reached out to Dan and I think Dan was, you know, he was overwhelmed. Cause there Good Morning America was reaching out, he was getting all this press and he's such a humble person. And so, you know, Jenny and Danny and our PR team were just really supportive of him. And you know, I think we just. You don't plan these things. Sometimes the most organic things in the world are the most exciting. And, and then you just think to yourself, is there any way we can shine a light on how great he is and how well he represents the brand?
- [22:52]
B
Right. Great. Kate, we're. Unfortunately, we're running out of time here, but before we go, I ask you to name me a CMO out that you could learn from. And what would be your question for them?
- [23:02]
C
I love that question, by the way. I've not heard that question. So I, I would say, you know, Corey, the CMO of E L F Beauty, I just think she's done incredible things when you think about, you know, she was sort of the architect of cultural relevance at. @elf and really turned it into the number one favorite beauty brand for Gen Z. I'd ask her, Corey, you've built a Gen Z marketing machine that most legacy brands are like, still trying to reverse engineer, honestly. But then again, Gen Z is somehow already aging into millennials, and we all know Gen Alpha's next. So how do you stay the favorite when the generation that chose you starts to grow up?
- [23:44]
B
Yeah, that's a great question. I'd like to know myself. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. Hope to have you back again soon.
- [23:52]
C
All right, well, thanks for having me, John. Appreciate it.
- [24:01]
B
That was Kate Trumbull, chief marketing officer at Domino's Pizza. And I'm John Springer, senior reporter at Ad Age. I'd like to thank our producer, Lauren Ciardio, and remind you that you can subscribe to the Marketer's Brief wherever you get your podcasts. That's all we have for this week. We'll see you next time.
- [24:16]
A
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