Domino’s India bakes a new look for Gen Zs

Twenty years ago in India, pizza was considered a special indulgence. Today, people have the freedom to enjoy it whenever they please. Now, Domino’s is taking India’s love for Pizza a step further, aiming for it to become the go-to snack for all occasions.

With It Happens Only With Pizza, a 360-degree campaign, the Jubilant FoodWorks-owned QSR giant wants to not only accomplish this goal but find itself on top of the minds of Gen Zs in particular.

“You focus on Gen Zs because they are entering the funnel of eating out, and this is the age when their disposable income and discretionary spending increase,” says Sandeep Anand, chief marketing officer, Domino’s India.

The campaign, created by McCann Worldgroup – its Delhi office won the pizza brand’s creative account in 2023 – includes a new anthem and a 3D billboard placed at the Select CityWalk shopping mall in Delhi. 

Domino’s has a 28-year-old history in India, and as per its parent company's Q2FY24 report, operates a total of 1,888 stores across 397 cities. It is safe to say the brand is no stranger to most of India.

And yet its new campaign is the start of a rebranding effort that includes revamped restaurants, redesigned delivery boxes as well as the delivery personnel’s iconic blue t-shirts and storage boxes.

Anand states that Domino’s has always considered the youth as their target group (TG) and that once you enter a category and stay for long, “The endeavour has to sink in with their ambitions and their needs.”

The 60-second-long anthem shows many occasions – ideating at a start-up, first date, binge-watching, family celebrations, kids spending time with parents – the brand believes the Gen Z cohort can relate to on an everyday basis. Not just the Gen Zs, the CMO says even the millennials can relate to it as well.

When asked if this rebranding exercise was to keep the Gen Zs from rival Pizza Hut, which has entered the value offering space, and from others in the QSR category like McDonald’s or Burger King, Anand was clear: “Honestly, it is about creating the relevance of pizza in those occasions.”

For many, the ad starring actor Paresh Rawal announcing the brand’s 30-minute-or-free offer kickstarted the image of Domino’s as a delivery-first brand, and the delivery folks zipping around cities strengthens this image.

Jubilant FoodWorks’ Q2FY24 report reveals the brand’s delivery channel revenue was up by 7.9% y-o-y, and the brand’s channel mix showed a 65.5% skew towards delivery over the dine-in’s 34.5%.

And yet, Domino’s is sprucing up its restaurants under ACE 2.0 (name of its new store format) and the It Happens Only With Pizza offering.

Consumers, after the Coronavirus pandemic, explains the CMO, look to dining out as “an occasion where they like to spend time, bond together, and enjoy themselves. Therefore, store ambience becomes a factor in determining where people want to eat.”

New spruced-up Domino’s restaurants will feature eye-catching artwork and messaging on the walls, new physical menus and digital menu boards, and furniture that is more inviting than functional.

“We are rolling out a 10-minute service guarantee,” reveals Anand for dine-in consumers. Domino’s offers a 30-minute delivery guarantee, and in some places, 20 minutes.  

The first glimpse of this transformation was not the campaign or any glimpses of the revamped stores. It was the pizza brand’s delivery boxes that displayed the occasions people should now associate with Pizza.

Elephant Design is behind the new boxes. “We worked with the agency for four months before this one came to life. There were extensive rounds of changes and testing with consumers,” reveals the CMO.

The It Happens Only With Pizza campaign will run through a heavy dose of digital media, and television. Influencers will play a pivotal role because of their widespread acceptance among Gen Zs.

Then there are the brand’s impact properties like the 3-D billboard. “Our pizza boxes or garlic bread or Choco lava boxes, we do upwards of 10 million orders a month. They are a good impression or media touchpoint. Also, the 40,000 bikes on the road are moving billboards by themselves,” says Anand before signing off.