While many multi-location businesses have struggled through the pandemic, others prove that locally-aimed campaigns and an innovative mindset are the answer to thriving within the modern marketing landscape. With more than 800 locations in the United States and 100s more globally, Domino’s has localized marketing figured out. Within this blog, we’ll hear from Domino’s CMO and Executive Vice President who will speak on how Domino’s has leveraged localized marketing amid the pandemic, what struggles they’ve faced, and how other multi-location marketers can implement the same tactics into their marketing efforts. 

Introducing Domino’s and Localized Marketing 

Art D’Elia is the Executive Vice President and CMO of Domino’s. D’Elia has worked at Domino’s since January of 2018 and was recently promoted to his current title. Throughout his time at Domino’s, D’Elia has focused on both the importance of franchisee relations and marketing to consumers. When D’Elia joined Domino’s in 2018, they were already finding great success, so a big part of his job was maintaining that success Domino’s had through innovation. D’Elia strives to innovate through localized marketing efforts that will make the pizza experience more “magical” or better in some way. One of the best way’s Domino’s has been able to do this is through local campaigns. 

Combining Localized Marketing Efforts With Technology 

Two of Domino’s most successful localized marketing campaigns were its filling in the pothole campaign and the hot spots campaign. The pothole campaign allowed consumers to nominate areas with potholes near them that they would like Domino’s to fill. The whole purpose of this campaign was to help improve the local communities Domino’s serves, while also eliminating the chance that a delivery driver would hit a pothole with a consumer’s pizza in their car. 

Similarly, Domino’s called on fans for recommendations to “hotspot delivery locations,” which are areas without traditional addresses where pizza would not typically be delivered. Consumers could place an order for pizza to a hotspot location through Domino’s website or app and could track their pizza delivery from preparation to delivery. 

Over the years, Domino’s has tried to take the friction out of the delivery process, which often utilizes the latest technology. By leveraging technology, Domino’s has created a much better ordering experience for consumers over the last decade. Is your multi-location business doing everything it can to utilize your industry’s latest technology to help execute effective localized marketing strategies? Learn from this brand’s innovation and get started.

The Importance Of Maintaining Strong Franchisee Relationships

While a focus on local campaigns has tremendously helped Domino’s maintain success over the years, its focus on maintaining strong franchisee relationships can’t be overlooked. The Domino’s system prides itself on having a solid working relationship with franchisees. Domino’s has created an advisory board, which they appoint and ask for those on the advisory board to serve as the franchisees’ voice. The advisory board helps the corporate team create their National Marketing Calendar and provides feedback on various local initiatives. 

As multi-location marketers, we all know the importance of a healthy relationship between corporate and franchisees in order to maximize the effectiveness of localized marketing campaigns. Domino’s is an excellent example of a massive company successfully maintaining this relationship. Are there areas where your multi-location business could work to improve its corporate to local business relationships? If so, Domino’s model is one example of what can work.  

How Domino’s Pivoted During the Pandemic to Increase Success

By maintaining an open line of communication between franchisees and corporate, Domino’s quickly adjusted and made changes to its localized marketing efforts as the pandemic hit. While pizza delivery continued throughout local lockdowns, Domino’s had to make changes that would keep their employees safe and healthy during this difficult time. 

At the same time, Domino’s wanted to make sure they were reassuring their customers that they were doing everything possible to keep them and their food safe. Contactless delivery and contactless pickup were two initiatives that Domino’s quickly put into place to adjust to the changes COVID-19 brought worldwide. Domino’s also reassessed all of their marketing materials and changed the messaging on social media, ads, tv, and more to communicate the safety measures and precautions they were taking to keep consumers and team members healthy. 

As a result of the brand’s swift actions to mimic its business practices with consumer behavior during this unprecedented time, Domino’s saw a 16.1 percent increase in sales in Q2 of 2020 – during the height of the pandemic. You can learn from the way Domino’s handled the changes brought on by COVID-19, and it can be translated into other aspects of your localized marketing efforts. The main takeaways from this story are to be ready to innovate and communicate changes with consumers in real-time to give them a sense of security and avoid confusion. 

Looking Into The Future of Localized Marketing

As you can see, Domino’s has it figured out when it comes to localized marketing. While they are finding great success right now, this doesn’t keep them from innovating and looking towards the future. After things began to settle after the initial shock of COVID-19, Domino’s made a pivot to user-generated campaigns (UCG). Many brands are making this shift since UGC is perceived by consumers as more authentic and trustworthy. If you look at Domino’s advertising reel, there are many real customers and franchisees in their ads. The inclusion of local franchisees and local customers resonates with Domino’s target audience and has helped them maintain success. 

While these marketing tactics aren’t new, they align with what consumers are looking for during this strange time. If your multi-location business hasn’t adjusted its localized marketing strategy amid the pandemic, it’s time to reconsider. Domino’s was able to keep great success by maintaining a strong franchisee relationship and always keeping the lines of communication open. For more information and the full interview with Art D’Elia, CMO and Executive Vice President for Domino’s, check out the latest Clicks 2 Bricks podcast episode. It’s a must-listen for multi-location marketers. 

Domino’s story should be an inspiration for your localized marketing efforts. If you need help improving your current localized marketing strategy, SOCi is here to help! SOCi is the central command for multi-location marketers and the all-in-one platform for your multi-location marketing needs. SOCi’s automated smart rules, notifications, and approval workflows make it easy for corporate and local teams to collaborate on every aspect of their localized marketing efforts. For more information on how SOCi can help improve your localized marketing strategy, request a demo today!