Domino's Pizza 2009 Social Media Crisis and Response
This paper examines how Domino's Pizza responded to a major brand crisis in April 2009, when two employees posted a viral video showing unsanitary food handling at a North Carolina store. The paper outlines three core strategies the company employed: rapidly launching social media accounts to distribute accurate information, leveraging loyal customers to spread positive publicity, and having U.S. President Patrick Doyle personally deliver a video apology on YouTube. Together, these actions are presented as an effective model of crisis communication that not only contained reputational damage but ultimately strengthened customer loyalty.
- Introduction: The 2009 Domino's Brand Crisis: Background on the viral employee video and its impact
- Launching Social Media Accounts to Counter Negative Publicity: How Twitter was used to distribute accurate information
- Leveraging Loyal Customers to Spread Positive Publicity: Customer advocacy used to counter reputational damage
- President Doyle's Video Apology and Brand Recovery: Executive video apology restores trust and brand image
- Conclusion: Lessons from Domino's Crisis Response: Synthesis of strategies and long-term recovery outcome
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What makes this paper effective
- Focuses tightly on a single, well-documented case study, allowing each strategy to be analyzed with concrete detail rather than abstract generalization.
- Traces a clear causal chain: the crisis event, each response tactic, and the measurable outcome in terms of customer confidence and brand recovery.
- Cites primary sources including the original YouTube videos and industry commentary, grounding claims in verifiable evidence.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied case study analysis in crisis communication. Rather than describing events chronologically, it organizes the discussion around discrete strategic responses — social media activation, peer-to-peer advocacy, and executive accountability — and evaluates the effectiveness of each. This structure is characteristic of business communication case analyses at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with background on the crisis event and a preview of Domino's three main responses. Each subsequent section develops one response in detail, explaining both the tactic and why it worked. The conclusion synthesizes the three strategies and points to longer-term outcomes, citing evidence from nearly three years after the incident to confirm the recovery's durability.
Introduction: The 2009 Domino's Brand Crisis
With the growth of social media, many organizations have found themselves on the receiving end of attacks from careless users — and even accurate documentation of internal faults has found its way into the public sphere. Domino's Pizza became a victim of brand attack in April 2009 when two employees at one of their North Carolina stores filmed themselves performing despicable and unhygienic acts with food intended for delivery to customers. The video went viral on the internet and criticism began flooding in rapidly (Householdhacker, 2009).
Domino's management had to act decisively in order to retain their market share and recapture customer confidence by demonstrating that this was an isolated incident. The company effectively brought the crisis under control through three key strategies: quickly launching social media accounts to counter the fast-spreading negative publicity; leveraging loyal customers to help spread positive messaging; and having U.S. President Patrick Doyle personally deliver a corrective statement via a video posted on YouTube — the same platform used to spread the original damaging footage (Gregory S., 2009).
References
Frampton, F. (2015). A timeless social media crisis plan — Domino's Pizza. Retrieved March 10, 2016, from http://sos.marketing/a-timeless-social-media-crisis-plan-dominos-pizza/
Rogers, W. (2014). Sales mastery: 10 keys to building trust and credibility with your customers. Retrieved March 10, 2016, from
McBain. (2014). Leverage customers to increase marketing for your business. Retrieved March 10, 2016, from https://paysimple.com/blog/leverage-customers-increase-marketing/
Householdhacker. (2009). How to get fired from Domino's Pizza. Retrieved March 10, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D9PikBzNNo
Swifttallon's channel. (2009). Domino's president responds to prank video. Retrieved March 10, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dem6eA7-A2I
Simon Dortmans. (2011). Domino's Pizza: A social media success story. Retrieved March 10, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP8AHDcQUlk
Young, C. L., & Flowers, A. (2012). Fight viral with viral: A case study of Domino's Pizza's crisis communication strategies. Retrieved March 10, 2016, from http://cssc.uscannenberg.org/cases/v1/v1art6/
Gregory, S. (2009). Domino's YouTube crisis: 5 ways to fight back. Retrieved March 10, 2016, from http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1892389,00.html
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