CASE STUDY ON

DOMINO'S AND
PIZZA HUT

SUBMITTED BY
DISHA PANDEY
08D1561
MARKETING 1

BRAND BUILDING THROUGH ADVERTISING

Domino's and Pizza Hut initially restricted their ad strategy to banners,
hoardings and specific promotions. In August 2000, Domino's launched the
‘Hungry Kya? (Are You Hungry)'sequence of advertisements on television.
A company official said, “We realized that a Pizza couldn't be slotted – it
could be a snack; then again, it could also be a complete meal” The only
definitive common link between Domino's Pizzas and eating was the hunger
platform.

The launch of ‘Hungry Kya?'campaign coincided with Domino's tie-up with

Mahanagar Telephones Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) for the ‘Hunger Helpline'. The
helpline enabled the customers to dial a toll-free number (1600-111-123)
from any place in India. The number automatically hunted out the nearest
Domino's outlet from the place where the call was made and connected the
customer for placing the order. The number also helped Domino's to add the
customer's name, address and phone number to its database.

This was followed by Pizza Hut's first campaign on television in July 2001,
which said, ‘Good times start with great pizzas.'The ad was aired during all
the important programs on Star Plus, Sony, Sony Max, Star Movies, HBO,
AXN, andMTV. Pizza Hut planned to spend between Rs.70-75 million on the
ad campaign in 2001. Said Pankaj Batra, “The first ad campaign on TV
defines Pizza Hut as a brand, and what it offers to its existing and
potential customers. Once the awareness of this message is high, we
will focus on other facets of the brand and its offerings.”

By March 2000, Domino's opened 37 outlets all over India. Between April
2000 and February 2001, Domino's set up 64 more outlets in India. Delhi had
the maximum number of outlets – 17, followed by Mumbai with 13.
Domino's had the largest retail network in the fast food segment in India-
with 101 outlets across 40 cities.

Domino's had a tie-up with a real estate consultant Richard Ellis to help with
locations, conduct feasibility studies, and manage the construction. It was
also looking at non-traditional outlets like large corporate offices, railway
stations, cinema halls and university campuses. In early 2000, Domino's had
opened an outlet at Infosys, Bangalore, which was very successful. It also
had outlets at cinema halls – PVR in Delhi, Rex in Bangalore, and New
Empire in Kolkata.

By January 2001, Pizza Hut had 19 outlets across India. In a move to expand
further, Pizza Hut planned to open an additional five restaurants in Mumbai
and 30 restaurants across major cities in India, by 2001 end. Tricon
announced that the company would invest Rs.30 million on each of the
restaurants. In March 2001, Pizza Hut opened its first three-storeyed 125-
seater dine-in restaurant at Juhu in Mumbai. Said a company official, “We
are expanding the number of restaurants across the major cities to cater to
today's youth which has taken to pizzas as a cuisine.”

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Domino's entered India at a time when Pizza Hut and McDonald's were
already in the market. What was the strategyadopted by Domino's to make a
dent in the Indian market?

2. ‘Database Marketing was an important part of the strategy in the Pizza

Industry.'Comment.

3. Though Pizza Hut entered India before Domino's, it eventually lost its
share to Domino's. How can Pizza Hut counter thecompetition from
Domino's?
SUMMARY-

Dominos and pizza hut restricted their campaigns to just hoardings before dominos started
its 'hungry kya' campaign in august 2000,as for them the most definitive link between food
and dominos was hunger.this was also accompanied with the tie up between dominos and
mtnl and bsnl, which helped dominos build a database of customer name and phone number
and their addresses through the hunger helpline. Pizza hut followed this up with the 'good
times' campaign. It was a cleverly placed campaign as the ads mainly mainly aired during
the popular programs of various chanels.the idea was to first build on the brand and its
recognition and then to concentrate on the offerings.
Dominos quickly build up the largest retail chain in the fast food segment in india, with a
total of 101 outlets in 40 cities, which it achieved with the help of a tie up with a real estate
consultant. They were also looking at non conventional and non traditional outlets. Pizza
hut on the other hand expanded only in 2001, by opening more than 30 chains across india.
Their idea was to open more restaurants across major cities in order to target the youth.
ANSWERS-
1-strategies adopted by dominos are as follows-
the hungry kya campaign was inititated to promote the company as an 'any time,any meal'
eating option.
The hunger helpline helped the company reach a larger market, helped the company gain
further recognition and preference, made the restaurants easily accesible and also helped the
company build a substantial database.
Dominos chose to grow and expand at a fast rate, and also do it in the most efficient
manner, which was helped by the association with the real estate consultant.

2-database marketing was an important component of dominos strategy. The hunger

helpline campaign helped them reach a larger market, allowed them to be more accessible.
The campaign helped them build a huge database of all its customers and their details. This
allowed the customers to palce orders quickly, have a sense of recognition and helped build
brand loyalty. It also helped them in their marketing strategies as it allowed them a direct
access to their customers.

3-pizza hut can counter the competetion from dominos with the following strategies-
customers perceive pizza hut as an expensive option as compared to dominos. Hence the
company must come out with cheaper offerings and market that aspect well.
The company must come out with more innovative products, as dominos did with their
double burst and cheese burst pizzas. The only major innovative offerings made by pizza
hut were the tuscani pizzas, which was actually just a rebranding of the already existing thin
crust pizzas , and the cheesy bites, which were not a major hit.
The company has a 'family restaurant ' image, which has resulted in people prefering pizza
hut only for dine ins and not take outs or home delivery. The company must increase its
target market and thus also target the home delivery market rather than just the dine in
customers.
SWOT ANALYSIS
DOMINOS-
strenghts-
1-cost efficiency- dominos cuts down on costs majorly at their restaurants as they do not
provide plates or forks and knives. Through this strategy, they maintain the fast food feeling
and cut cost
2-dominos has succesfully captured the home delivery market.
3-largest market share
4-largest retail chain
5-innovative ideas

weaknesses-
1-failure to attract high end customers.
2-poor after sales service
3-dine in culture of no plates is not always well recieved

oppurtunities
1-to enter into smaller cities
2- to furthur capitalise on their market share
3-to enter into markets dominated by pizza hut

threats
1-home delivery system can be seriously affected by prevailing conditions
2-possibility of losing out completely on the dine in market due to pizza hut's domination

PIZZA HUT-
strenghts-
1-market perception
2-preffered by 'family' crowd
3-preffered over dominos for dine ins

weaknesses-
1-poor innovation
2-weaker home delivery system
3-failure to match dominos' offers.

Opportunities-
1-to capitalise on their preference in the dine in market
2-to expand their home delivery system in order to increase market share
3-to enter into smaller cities

threats-
1-their poor home delivery system can result in them being completely losing out in that
market
2-threat from dominos improving their dine in facilities and se3rvices