Social Media Turnaround

In 2009 Dominos pizza was in trouble. Big trouble. A YouTube video was uploaded that displayed two Dominos' employees mishandling their ingredients and food products. Ever so fast, they became a victim of social media with hundreds of people viewing this video.

Now Dominos has made its effort to turn its image around and completely revamp themselves and their image in multiple ways. First they decided to deliver a social media campaign. Then Dominos decided to change their recipe that they have been using for the past 50 years and use this as the core of their new social media campaign.

The new campaign plan was needed. A change was needed. With 50 years of the same recipe, it is no surprise that in a survey of national restaurant chains that it finished dead last in consumers' taste preference. Then, according to USA Today, in 2009 pizza deliveries were down 6% compared to the previous year.

The new campaign plan, the Pizza Turnaround Campaign, was an excellent tool for Dominos. It allowed instant customer feedback and allowed Dominos to read, review and react right away to the feedback the customers were giving. Online, Dominos was able to launch their new recipe and show a change to its crust, cheeses and sauce. It created a new website, www.pizzaturnaround.com and launched a video documentary on YouTube.

Through social media Dominos encourages its customers to try its new pizza then offer feedback through social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and reaching out to "food" bloggers. Dominos has taken advantages of using social media sites to reach their audiences. They are also really listening to what their customers have to say about their experience with the new pizza. They want feedback, regardless if its positive or negative.

--Rachel Kuhl

Have you been counted?

In a time when so many things can be done electronically and/or online, I found myself wondering how close we were to being able to do the census online. Better yet, would it be possible to count people based on their social media accounts? The answer—not yet. Although everyone is still going to receive a tangible copy of the census in the mail, many of the campaigns being used to bring exposure to the 2010 Census are through the numerous social media outlets. Los Angeles County stands to lose $11,000 for everyone person that is unaccounted for in the census, so community leaders and celebrities have embarked on a new campaign to really grab the attention of young Latinos. Why do people believe their campaign will be more successful than in previous decades? Because their campaign is through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets. The whole idea behind using social media to obtain interest in filling out the census is not just in troubled areas like L.A. County, but the campaign for the country also includes all the critical social media outlets. That’s right… the 2010 Census has a Twitter account, a Facebook account, YouTube videos, and an online news room. Social media is everywhere and obtaining information about the 2010 Census is too, so if you’re reading this and you haven’t been “accounted for” yet… go do so. For more information-click here.


--Meghan Smith