I want you to imagine a scene with me for a moment. Imagine frazzled parents at the end of a long work week who’ve ordered a pizza for their hungry kids. The parents are trying to spend a couple of quick minutes together, catching up on their days, while setting the table. But, the kids keep interrupting with “when will the pizza get here?”and “I’m hunnnnnggggrrrrryyyy.”
Well, Domino’s Pizza has a very clever solution. They’ve launched a new mobile and online app called Pizza Tracker, which lets you track your pizza from the prep and bake, to the super smartly named “quality check” all the way to your door.
I’m sure there are many reasons for tracking your pizza, but the second I heard about this, I thought of my little nieces and nephews excitedly watching the Santa Tracker from NORAD every Christmas. So, I can absolutely see those frazzled parents enjoying a few seconds alone while the kids track their dinner. And, for that reason alone, I say it’s just brilliant.
But, of course, Domino’s has another reason for attention this week because they’ve begun running an electronic ticker in Times Square displaying in real-time what consumers really think of the brand.
The comments, which are filtered for bad language and appropriateness, but not for sentiment, are culled from the Tracker. Customers whose comments are chosen are sent a link to a video clip of their comment as it ran on the billboard. Pure awesomeness. You know every single person who gets that video is going to immediately post it to their Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and G+, spreading the pizza love.
It’s also a very brave move and I absolutely have to applaud Domino’s for taking that leap.
But, wait, there’s more. The beautifully integrated online/offline campaign wraps with a TV ad featuring New York store managers Jess Hreniuk and Jose Castillo reacting to the comments – good and bad – as they flash on the screen for the world to see in Times Square, wrapping the whole campaign in a beautiful bow and making it all just a big bag of brilliant.