After a gross-out video depicting Domino’s kitchen workers went viral on YouTube and within the online community last week, the pizza company was in danger of having serious and lasting harm done to its brand.
Domino’s representatives, speaking at Ragan Communications’ social media boot camp on Tuesday, said the company’s overall crisis plan, despite a slow initial response, successfully negated the adverse publicity.
“But we’ll need to make adjustments for it, regarding social media space and the social media world,” says Phil Lozen, Domino’s Web design specialist. Part of the problem was that Domino’s underestimated the flash-fire aspect of Twitter, Facebook, and the like.
Social media expert Shel Holtz agrees: “The principles of crisis communication have always been the same,” Holtz says. “But now, everything has changed—especially when it comes to dealing with how quickly a crisis can unfold.”
Holtz says Domino’s didn’t think the YouTube clip, depicting two staffers doing vile things with ingredients, would be of interest to the mainstream media. It was wrong. Very wrong.
“They thought it was going to be contained to Twitter and the blogosphere,” Holtz says.
So, how did Domino’s respond, and what would (and will) it do differently should lightning strike twice? The reps, Lozen and Joanne Owings, head of precision marketing, outlined four key lessons they — and others — can take from the ordeal.
Establish a Twitter account — before a crisis hits
“Not having a corporate place for people to come talk to us — that hurt us,” Lozen says. “Some of the messages could’ve gotten out there a little quicker and sooner.”
Lozen says they were on the verge of establishing a Twitter account before the crisis hit, but they were just a bit too late.
The team wanted something that included “Domino’s” and “pizza” in the handle, but found those were already taken. They settled with http://twitter.com/dpzinfo and, as of this writing, have nearly 1,400 followers.
The issue of having a personal voice versus conveying a corporate tone is multifaceted.
Lozen is responsible for posting tweets, but the page doesn’t list his name. This no-name Twitter strategy is similar to Twitter feeds from Whole Foods and Dunkin’ Donuts.
“We wanted to make sure it was directly from Domino’s,” Lozen says. “We didn’t think doing it on a personal level was quite cutting it.”
Lozen says he’s not hiding his identity, but believes it’s more important that it looks like the “company is talking to people.”
Holtz says this strategy needs to change. It should be clear that the tweets, many personal in nature, are coming directly from Lozen. In Holtz’s recent FIR podcast, he said, “Clearly, an individual is writing it, because they’ll say, ‘time for bed,’ or ‘visiting family,’ but the problem is: You don’t know who this person is.”
Lozen acknowledges this no-name strategy might change as its social media strategy evolves.
Holtz lauded Domino’s for using the more personal Twitter feed, as the company needed a “human voice” when the public was looking “for an emotional response.” However, he also commented that much of the Twitter feed has been filled with retweets (tweets forwarding those from others).
Lozen says not many tweeters were asking questions about Domino’s or the distasteful video. More often, they were voicing support, so it made sense to spread the word.
“A lot of people would say, ‘Hey, we’re sorry it happened, but we’re ordering Domino’s tonight,’ ” Lozen says. “When you see other people ordering pizza, you know it’s OK for you to do that, too. As a company, if we said, ‘It’s OK for you to order,’ it wouldn’t hold as much weight.”
Owings says they will continue to engage fans through Twitter. For example, they are using the Twitter account to introduce new product food lines. They’ll also encourage local franchises to set up their own Twitter accounts and connect at a community level.
“We’re maintaining the conversation and listening to what people want to talk about,” Owings says.
Be transparent
“Brands that are open and transparent win in the end,” Lozen says.
In response to the employee video on YouTube, the Domino’s team filmed a video of Patrick Doyle, company president, talking about the situation.
Holtz criticized the video, saying it seemed as though Doyle was reading a script and not looking directly into the camera. Lozen says Doyle was not reading a script and that a poor camera angle skewed the president’s presentation visually.
Even so, it has worked. The YouTube response video has been the most effective tool to get the company’s message across, Lozen says. More than 600,000 people have viewed Domino’s response on YouTube alone. The clip is also posted on its Facebook page.
What about the original YouTube video that started the whole mess? Don’t look for it on YouTube. Through an online partnership, Domino’s legal department and communications team were able to get the video removed from the site.
Respond — now!
“No matter how fast you think you act, you could always be faster,” Lozen says. “A week later, we think we did everything we should’ve done, but we also realize that we could’ve done it faster.”
Holtz affirms that the company lagged in its response, a potentially devastating miscalculation.
“Domino’s lack of engagement in social media led to the problem,” Holtz says. “It was a lack of understanding of the speed of which misinformation is able to spread. A crisis can break in the social media space, but it can be resolved there.”
Appreciate your customers
Lozen says he’s been impressed by the support that Domino’s has received from fans. Its Facebook page and Twitter feeds are full of positive comments about the brand.
Will that translate to more earnings? That’s hard to gauge.
Because of restrictions by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company is not allowed to discuss its earnings. But Owings said the company is comfortable where it stands now, and neither she nor Lozen expects the brand to suffer in the long term.
“Will we bounce back?” Lozen says. “Absolutely. Will we benefit? It’s premature to say yes or no, but we’re a 49-year-old company, and we’re not going anywhere.”
It’s also unlikely that the two kitchen workers, who dubbed the initial video a prank — or anyone else, for that matter — will try another stunt like that. The two have not only been fired, but criminal charges have been filed against them. Not worth their 15 minutes of dubious fame.
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