Domino's strikes an emotional chord

With Rs 20 crore to spend on advertising and a new tagline after seven years, Domino's decides to bet on the emotional quotient for the very first time

Until now, Domino’s advertising seemed to follow the adage that the way to a person's heart was through his stomach. However, changing times require changing strategies. So, Domino’s new communication seeks to strike an emotional chord with consumers.

Domino's is no longer about simply being hungry. In what comes as a refurbishment after almost seven years, the tagline of the brand, ‘Hungry Kya?’, has made way for ‘Khushiyon ki Home Delivery’.

The new TV commercial for Domino's has been put in place by Contract Advertising, the brand's creative agency. It depicts the bond between an old man and a group of children, who enjoy each other’s company. The old man is confined to his home due to a leg injury, which upsets the children. They pitch in their little belongings and money to order Domino's pizzas. The pizzas are delivered to the old man’s home, where the children have a happy time, savouring the pizzas and enjoying the old man’s company.

A shot from the TVC

Until now, the brand, with the tagline, ‘Hungry Kya?’, was centred on the functional need of appeasing hunger. In June, when the brand was up for pitch and Contract was retained, a close look determined that there was a need to build a stronger emotional connect with consumers.

Dev Amritesh, vice-president, marketing, Domino's India, reveals to afaqs! that the tagline was preserved due to heritage reasons. "It was high time we realised that with changing times, the proposition had lost relevance and so, it needed to be altered," he says.

Highlighting the new proposition, Amritesh says, "Till now, the brand has built upon two important functional planks – convenience and great taste. The new tagline comes in the light of an emotional discriminator. Domino's has the element of a treat, and this new positioning only puts an exclamation mark on the functional benefits."

Dev Amritesh

In 1996, when Domino's first set foot in India with an outlet in the Capital, there wasn't much advertising. From 1996 to 1999, the brand set up 30-40 stores in the North of the country. In 2001, when the brand was launched nationally, the tagline, ‘Hungry Kya?’, was coined. From 2004 onwards (with the same tagline), the focus of the advertising became the 30 minutes quick delivery service and good taste.

Domino's has also launched another first – the low priced pizza, at Rs 35. "Tactical things like the drive value for money will also be looked at. With consumption decreasing and people considering pizzas to be expensive, apart from convenience and great taste, there is a need to add a third layer to the brand – value," Amritesh states.

For the first few years, the brand had Paresh Rawal featuring in some of the ads. Later, Arshad Warsi was signed on as brand ambassador, but his one year contract with the brand has expired. "Currently, there is no pressing need for a celebrity. However, I cannot talk about the future," says Amritesh.

The market size of the pizza industry is expected to touch about Rs 700 crore by 2009. In the last financial year (April 2007-March 2008), the size of the market was Rs 550 crore, and Domino's had a share of about 42 per cent; it aims to garner 45 per cent of the market by the end of this year. In the pizza delivery segment, which is about half of the pizza market, the brand had a market share of about 65 per cent.

Amritesh reveals that Domino's has planned an ad spend of Rs 20 crore for the year. In terms of allotment of media spends, 70 per cent will be taken up by television; the remaining 30 per cent will be divided amongst below-the-line activities and pamphlet advertising.

Domino's plans to increase its national footprint in the pizza market and has set up shop in Tier II cities such as Surat, Panipat, Thiruvananthapuram and Jammu. Currently, it has 207 outlets in 45 cities.

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