Today’s post comes from Bridgz’s junior copywriter Nick Nelson.
Last week, the New York Times sent out an email to about 8.6 million people urging them to reconsider their decision to cancel home delivery and offering a discounted renewal rate.
The problem: most of these folks had never received home delivery from the Times, or hadn’t canceled. Confused, receivers of the email went about contacting the newspaper for an explanation. They received one – too hastily – as the company quickly tweeted the following: “If you received an e-mail today about canceling your New York Times subscription, ignore it. It’s not from us.”
Today’s post comes from Bridgz associate copywriter Nick Nelson.
With profits sinking and a brand on the brink of irrelevance, Domino’s Pizza took a bold and unprecedented gamble. They admitted that their product was
crummy.
Through a robust ad campaign and a full-on social media blitz, the pizza chain took accountability and leveled with customers. In nationally televised commercials, they showed real photos of mashed up, unappetizing deliveries. They shared reviews from disgruntled consumers declaring that the pizza tasted like cardboard. CEO Patrick Doyle admitted very publicly that the time had come for his company to ditch its old recipe and start from scratch, with new ingredients and a new approach.
At one point in time, this might have looked like brand suicide. But in today’s customer-controlled marketplace, where trust is an increasingly important factor, folks have responded well to the candid campaign. Indeed, a recent report from Bloomberg BusinessWeek indicates that Domino’s has enjoyed strong sales since launching the corporate overhaul in 2008 despite the economic downturn.
Some will say that the food offerings from Domino’s are still lackluster. Others will say that their success has more to do with pricing (they’ve offered some killer bargains as part of the campaign). Regardless, you have to respect this courageous and forthright gambit, and the results suggest that the chain’s refreshing honesty may be resonating with customers.
Note: Today’s entry is a guest post from Kim Perila, Director of Strategy at Bridgz Marketing Group.
I recently viewed a webinar featuring Stephen M.R. Covey, author of The Speed of Trust. In his presentation, Mr. Covey highlighted trust as a critical competency for leadership within organizations. He went on to explain how trust extends beyond the walls of an organization and translates into economic results by speeding up engagements and therefore lowering the costs involved.
So how effective (and profitable) can marketing efforts be without trust from customers and prospective customers? Aside from its impact on organizational leaders, trust is also a critical factor in engaging with consumers and creating brand leaders, especially as control of those brands has shifted from companies to customers.
“Is the fish fresh today?” I asked the guy behind the meat counter at an upscale grocery store here in Minneapolis.
“Fresh this morning,” he answered cheerfully.
So I bought a pound and headed home to throw it on the grill. As soon as I opened the package, the smell about took my head off. It was so strong and foul that I threw it out immediately and opened all the windows — the place still smelled like rotten fish the next day. Obviously it was not fresh.
