In a new commercial, Domino’s Pizza (Domino’s), the US-based pizza major, dwells on one of the mainstays of its sales pitch — on-time home delivery. Continuing with the tagline of ‘Khushiyon ki home delivery’, Domino’s traces the pizza’s journey from the store to the consumer’s home. Earlier ads for the company had portrayed the joy of the consumer when receiving a delivery — research had shown that its boxes of pizzas spelled delight to the consumer, they were on time, tasted good and were affordable. The spotlight is now on the 30-minute delivery promise that sets it apart from competition.
The ad projects the passion with which the delivery boy goes about his job, seen through the eyes of a little girl who is waiting for her order to arrive. The child knows that Domino’s will deliver on time; she is just wondering how the brand manages to keep its promise every time. The traffic snarls, the adverse road and weather conditions that send everyone’s schedule for a toss are dodged by the Domino’s delivery boy with consummate ease. Even as the girl wonders if it is dedication or greater forces working in his favour, her pizza arrives on time.
Harneet Singh Rajpal, vice-president, Domino’s, says, “As we are a delivery-focused brand, we wanted to emphasise that in our communication. The idea was to re-establish the leadership of Domino’s in home delivery. For us delivering food is delivering happiness and hence the campaign reiterates ‘Khushiyon ki home delivery’ in 30 minutes.”
Contrary to perception, Domino’s doesn’t penalise the delivery boy if he fails to turn up on time, points out Rajpal. He says, “It has been seven years since we started delivery and it was never a marketing gimmick. It is a scientific process. We estimated the time to jot down an order, prepare it and then mapped our activities accordingly. We found that it takes 15 minutes for the food to leave the store. With a buffer of six to seven minutes, it still leaves us with enough time to deliver within a radius of 8 kms that we cater to through one store.”
In its communication Pizza Hut, the pizza chain from Yum Restaurants International, and the No. 1 rival of Domino’s, offers to deliver a pizza hot or free. On its part, Domino’s emphasises three brand traits — great taste, 30-minute delivery time and value for money. The company claims to own no less than 50 per cent share in the Rs 1,400-1,500 crore organised pizza market (both dine-in and delivery) in India.
“Over time, one of these three aspects has been highlighted in our ads. This TVC is about delivering happiness in 30 minutes — the guarantee creates an emotional connect with the consumer,” says Bhaskar Ghosh, senior vice-president, Contract Advertising, who spearheaded the creative. The new ad, which has been on air for a month-and-a half, has an online leg as well.