- Domino’s Pizza has prolonged its partnership with independent agency WorkInProgress (WIP), which is able to now serve because the chain’s social media agency of record (AOR) along with leading strategic and artistic duties, per a press release.
- The brand first enlisted WIP as its lead creative shop in 2021 because it navigated a post-pandemic environment marked by rapid change. The agency has developed a number of noteworthy campaigns for Domino’s, including an Emergency Pizza promotion that became one of Domino’s most successful ever.
- WIP’s recent contract runs through 2027, with the expanded remit talking to an even bigger deal with social-first marketing. True AOR appointments have turn out to be rarer but Domino’s is betting that WIP might help it weather one other period of global uncertainty.
Domino’s is deepening its relationship with WIP following a four-year partnership that has seen the Boulder, Colorado-based indie deliver work that consistently generated consumer buzz and drove loyalty. The scope of the brand new contract notably gives WIP social AOR duties, a sign that Domino’s is vying to ramp up its work within the creator space and on apps resembling TikTok. Another brand which have recently named a social AOR is JCPenney, which last month hired VaynerMedia to support its turnaround plan.
The crown jewel of WIP’s output for Domino’s is Emergency Pizza, a promotion that offers customers a free medium, two-topping pizza to order when in a pinch. The concept has been iterated on several times since its debut in 2023, with recent versions including a tie-in with Netflix’s “Squid Game” and Twitch’s sponsored The Glitch space in the web video game Fortnite.
The first Emergency Pizza campaign generated 5 billion earned media impressions, probably the most in Domino’s history, and have become a “powerhouse” in standing up what was on the time a recently revamped loyalty program. Other campaigns led by WIP include a “Mind Ordering” effort for hit streaming series “Stranger Things” and a number of other promotions addressing tip fatigue and inflation.
Domino’s doubling down on WIP follows changes in its marketing leadership. The company in October promoted longtime exec Kate Trumbull from chief brand officer to CMO, a move that seeks to bring greater cohesion to global marketing. WIP has played a crucial role in supporting a Hungry for MORE strategy that Domino’ is trying to implement in additional international markets.
The commitment to WIP can be notable at a time when AOR relationships are generally perceived as on the decline with marketers hiring more agencies on a project-based basis. Independent creatives have picked up some additional notice as large holding corporations put a priority on media and data capabilities amid a period of intense consolidation. Domino’s creative was handled by the agency then-known as Crispin Porter + Bogusky before the switch to WIP.
“We have one of the rarest agency partnerships within the history of our industry,” said Trumbull in a press release across the WIP news. “WorkInProgress’ team, many of whom have worked on the brand for greater than 10 years, brings each institutional knowledge and a relentless work-in-progress passion to maintain taking daring motion and making breakthrough promoting that never stops.”
Domino’s has kept busy constructing out its loyalty initiatives, broadening its third-party delivery network and developing a brand new e-commerce platform that may roll out throughout 2025. Same-store sales, a crucial measure of restaurant health, were up just 0.4% in Q4, a sluggishness that executives attributed to the next amount of carryout purchases versus delivery transactions. Domino’s will likely proceed to contend with price-concious consumers as the worldwide economy enters a slump.
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