This is about how Domino's manage crisis effectively

1. Mid Term:
Crisis Communication &
Strategies
Domino’s YouTube scandal (2009)

2. Presented To:
Osama Shakir
Presented By:
Rashid Aleem Ahsan
Institute of Business & Management
University of Engineering & Technology Lahore

3. Domino’s Overview
Founded
December 9, 1960; 58 years ago in Michigan,
United States
Founders
•James Monaghan
•Tom Monaghan
Business
•Food Delivery
•Franchising
•Restaurants
Products
•Pizza
•Chicken wings
•Pasta
•Desert
Number of Locations
•13,811 (2017)
•9,000 corporate and franchised store
Revenue •2.47 Billion
Total Assets •716.3 million
Number of Employees •14,100

4.  On Sunday the 12th of April 2009, two Domino’s
employees from a branch in North Carolina
upload a film on YouTube.
 The footage is filmed while they are at work,
showing disturbing images of themselves
violating health codes with unsanitary actions,
whilst repairing food e.g. putting cheese up his
nose before putting it into sandwich etc.
Crisis scenario
 The video becomes a viral sensation with more
than a million hits on YouTube 3 days after it was
Hoax has ripple effect in social media bleeding
into conversations in twitter, other social media
forums and mainstream media.
 65% of respondents who had visited Dominos
Pizza say they would not visit Dominos Pizza after
seeing video.
(source Wall Street Journal, HCD research, 2009)

5. Stakeholders
Firm
Groups who are affected by a firm’s performance and who
have claims on its performance
Product Market
Organizational
Capital Market
Stock market/Investors
Debt suppliers/Banks
Employees
Managers
Non-Managers
The firm must maintain performance at
an adequate level in order to maintain the
participation of key stakeholders
Primary Customers
Franchises
Suppliers

6. Effect of the Crisis
The video becomes a viral sensation with more than a million hits on YouTube 3 days
after it was uploaded (source NYTIMES.COM)
• Hoax has ripple effect in social media bleeding into conversations in twitter, other
social media forums and mainstream media

7. Effect of the Crisis
Effect on stock Price - The 'Domino effect' of this incident was a 10% drop in stock value
within a week of the incident.

8. Crisis Management Strategy
Tell the
truth
Take
Responsi
bility
Make a
public
apology
Use
online
platform
o Incident was a rogue act of two individuals
o Two individuals who thought they were being funny
o They do not represent this brand
o Be honest, open and candid about the situation
o Be truthful and minimize the damage to organization’s reputation
o Collaborate and coordinate with credible sources
(the watch dog organizations and local authorities)
o We did not do this.
o We are sorry
o We want to earn your trust back
o Track the blogs and social media
o Must visible on Social media ( My space, Twitter, YouTube and
Facebook)

9. Crisis
Communication
Plan
Media Release
• When to communicate
• Social Networking
• Clear & Truth based
• Don’t Justify the act
Communication
Impact
• Social Media Relation
• Check Positive/ Negative
sentiments
• Affirming response
Developing key
Messages
• To whom
Communication
• How to React
• Communication medium
Post Crisis Clean-up
• Start campaign
• Media coverage
• Documentaries
• Promotions,
• Advertising
Crisis Communication Plan
Show strong belief and dedication through communication
Be flexible to others opinion
Empathized rather than detached

10. Crisis Communication Plan
Tim McIntyre, Vice President of Communications, was part of the internal team
that delivered the company’s crisis communication plan through Twitter and
YouTube.
 The company president apologized.
 He thanked the online community for bringing the
issue to his attention.
 He separated the company from wrongdoers and
announced their prosecution.
 He outlined steps that Domino’s was taking to deal
with the issue to make sure it never happens again.
Domino’s not only demonstrated concern for its customers, but also an understanding of the
critical importance of reaching out to a target audience on its own terms and in its own
preferred space.
This strategy and decision also suggests that Domino’s has the ability to manage the crisis for
tomorrow.
This crisis happened online. It had to be dealt with online. By learning that lesson under fire
Domino’s broke new ground and opened a new chapter in the ongoing evolution of crisis
communications.

11. Analysis of Crisis Management
Listen Interpret
Prepare &
React
Monitor
• April13, 2009
• Domino’s alerted to
video, (Monday
Morning)
• The vice president,
corporate &
communication team
sooner became aware
of this situation.
• The first reaction was
anger, but they
channeled into action.
• Proceeded to
intercept the store,
the authors of the
video
• Took away the videos,
and the company
pressed charges
against them.
• Introduce the
company to
Facebook, Twitter and
some other social
media.
• The CEO responded
through YouTube.
• Started campaign
“Pizza Turnaround”
with media coverage,
documentaries,
promotions,
advertising, etc.
• Started implementing
the proactive and
strategic phases of
establishing constant
communication with
customers through
social media
channels.
• Pay special attention
to customer feedback.
• Track the blogs and
social media.

12. Time Line of Domino’s Response
.

13. Why Domino’s response was not fast
o The biggest mistake Domino’s made was that they waited to respond.
o There was no crisis plan in place for a situation such as this.
o Food tampering is a common enough occurrence, but it seems that many
companies still have not grasped how much social media can affect a crisis situation.
o There was no social media presence before the crisis.
o Customers had been seen the video much more early, and were following the
response.
o Domino’s didn’t feel need to monitor the Web before crisis, if there was a Google
Alert for their name, they could aware very early.
They made mistakes, that’s for sure. But they also managed to launch a communication strategy
that saved their brand from potential ruins. Considering that, at the time, the results of this crisis
were close to a miracle.
Prove a very good crisis communications firm who knew exactly what they were doing.

14. Do Domino’s Deliver during Crisis?
 Delayed reaction – alert was heard late
 Silent when answers were needed
 Reacted after they were contacted by consumer affairs blog site
 Lack of strategy for digital crisis management
 Fault or lack of online surveillance
 Lack of social media presence
 Lack of employee policy on social media use and communication
 Lack of overview on main online influencers
What was Wrong
What was Right
 Response through traditional media and social media
 CEO video response on YouTube targeted core audience
 Changed discourse to ’how companies should deal with hoax crisis’
in mainstream media
 Created a twitter account to engage in dialogue with consumers
and respond to negative comments
I believe that Dominos did a professional job at handling this incident to the extent that even
after nine years there is much to learn both from their mistakes and successes.

15. Preventive Action
Act fast
o Not enough to proactively use internet as a communication platform
o Need to use your eyes and ears and listen to all the conversations not only the ones
which you are engaged in
A prank is a threat
o A false claim can become a real threat
o Even though the company knew the claim was false, the public perceived it as being
real
o The video was believable
o Imagine your terrifying scenarios
Train the employees
 Identify the crisis team-Top Management
 Imagine your nightmare scenarios
 Track the blogs and social media
 Don’t wait
 Respond at the flashpoint
 Taking commercial breaks sometimes is not required
 Foster a positive culture
 Set clear Guidelines