Dominos: Great Marketing Strategy

It's not that often that a commercial actually grabs my attention. Don't get me wrong, I still watch commercials. Some are hilarious, others are moving, but in the end, those commercials don't bring me closer to using the product or service.

Last night, the hubby and I were half watching TV as we were working on other stuff. Both of us were stopped in our tracks with Domino's Pizza new commercial. They basically come right out to say that our pizza sucks -- quite the bold and interesting move. So instead of hiding behind inferior product or trying some marketing ploy to distract from it, they actually took their product back to the drawing board and re-invented a new pizza. Wow. They shared harsh focus group feedback in this commercial (ie. your crust is void of flavor and your sauce tastes like ketchup - ouch!).

I thought the commercial was very effective because we now want to try this new pizza. This is huge for me and my husband. We hate Domino's Pizza and since we are lucky enough to live in New Jersey where pizza is divine, we never buy it. This commercial has peaked my interest though. As a marketing professional, I was curious to see what else Domino's is doing. They have a whole website dedicated to this new campaign -- www.pizzaturnaround.com -- and I think it's well-done. They have social media integrated into it, and here I am blogging about it.

Kudos to Domino's. You've produced a smart marketing strategy that has intrigued this non-customer. However, a successful marketing campaign should always be backed by good product, especially when you have a strong social media component. So, ultimately, the proof will be in the sauce...cheese...and of course, crust.

An Official Apology To All Moms

Once upon a time, I was a childless woman who sat in judgment of "those moms" who could not keep their children in line, who raised their voice to them, or worse. Well, I now have to apologize to those mothers (and fathers), because I am now one of you.

Today, in a mommy and me class, My Little Man (MLM) was not happy with using the hoola hoop we picked out for him to use. So, he took it upon himself to take the teacher's hoop while she was showing all of the other children how to use it. Wow. I tried to reason with him (a waste of my breath), I tried to "sternly" tell him NO (a waste of my energy) and I tried to threaten him (he called my bluff).

I felt so useless. I picked him up and he did the old "limp body trick" -- an effective and utterly annoying toddler defense that surely drives any parent mad. He thought he owned every hoola hoop in the room. Rationally, I know this behavior is completely normal. The whole "me/mine" phase is part of being a toddler. But when you're living this delightful experience as the parent, you just feel like all eyes are on you. You can smell the "judgment" in the room. Of course, I know I'm in a class full of parents of toddlers who go through this daily just like me. But there has to be a few who feel that MLM is being a complete brat (besides me of course).

I think to myself, I was that person once. Passing judgment on people I had no right to judge. But not anymore. I'm a changed woman. When I see another child melting down I just look at that parent with a heart full of empathy. I try to communicate to them through my eyes that I competely understand how you feel right now and you're doing a great job. Then, I think to myself "Thank The Lord That Is Not My Child Right Now!"