The Denham wedding was ruined. The caterer was a no-show and guests were left staring blankly at empty plates and useless silverware. And then, somebody called Domino’s.
Within 30 minutes, 35 large pizzas were delivered, saving the night and the storybook ending.
It’s stories like this that inspired the global brand to break through one of the most traditional big-day molds. Forget housewares and honeymoons. You can now register for pizza before you take the plunge.
“Pizza is the one thing everyone can agree on and get excited about,” says Kate Trumbull, Domino’s director of digital marketing.
On February 8, Domino’s unveiled its very own wedding registry for pizza-crazed couples. The platform was created in response to stories like the Denham’s.
“We kept seeing customers tell us how pizza played a special role in their big day. They post pictures. It was either for that late-night treat at the reception after a night of dancing or for quick and easy meals for the bridal party between pictures and rehearsing,” Trumbull says. “And, of course, at bachelor parties and bachelorette parties. We kept seeing that and we really felt like there was an opportunity here to delight our best customers.”
Domino’s has been plotting this announcement for quite a while. The site is evergreen, and is built to grow and evolve as fans interact with its capabilities. The rollout was playful and user friendly, directed toward mobile consumers and programmed with the kind of ease of use and ordering capabilities Domino’s has always been known for.
A couple creates and customizes the registry, choosing from a variety of gifts that meet a myriad of needs, whether it’s pre-wedding, post-wedding, post-honeymoon, or during the event itself. Once a generous attendee purchases a package, the couple receives an eGift card that can be used right away.
Trumbull says the Domino’s team enjoyed brainstorming the branding and details. You can pledge $60 for a 2 a.m. Bachelor Party Feast. For $25, you can make sure the happy couple doesn’t go hungry when it’s 2 a.m. and they realize they’ve spent more time greeting than eating.
As the site says to describe it’s Dancing with My Slice offer, “When Domino’s shows up at the end of the reception, it’s going to be EPIC.”
Some personal favorites of Trumbull: the $30 Thank You Card-a-thon (hand cramping. Need. More. Pizza) and the Post-Honeymoon Adjustment to Real Life for $25 (BECAUSE WASHING DISHES IS THE WORST).
“It was a cool opportunity to think through what are those moments for engaged couples, before the wedding, the day or the weekend-of, and even life after the wedding. It has been a lot of fun,” she says. “And we tried to come up with a range of packages to serve all wedding guests. … I think everyone knows at Domino’s we’re pretty obsessed about making the ordering experience easy and frictionless for our customers, but we’re also relentless about delighting them and rewarding them with every brand interaction.”
One of the keys to staying competitive in this ultra-tight pizza race, Trumbull says, is simply listening to the customer. She’s even had personal experience where a friend reached out and asked for help to connect with a local Domino’s franchisee before their wedding. It’s after 11 p.m. and they need a dozen pizzas. “The fact that we’re there for them means we’ve made loyal fans for life,” she says.
The anecdotes are driving Domino’s marketing campaign. The company built a Pinterest board to share the pictures and examples flooding their inbox, as well as the many examples to come from future registry users.
Domino’s began by announcing the project on The Knot, a leading wedding website.
“We find that something like this spreads on its own on social media,” she says. “Because everyone knows somebody who is getting married. Everyone is going to a wedding. And I think that’s the important thing, too. We want people to register but we also want people attending weddings to know that if your friend or family member loves pizza, you can go to this site and simply click on give an eGift and if you have their email address you can send them a gift, even if they’re not registered.”
Trumbull says adding wedding-inspired pins to Domino’s Pinterest page was an obvious step. It’s a chance for the hordes of wedding-planning and pizza-loving pinners everywhere to unite.
In the end, the project was built not only to please Domino’s fans, but to last.
“We wanted to make sure that the user experience was really smooth and simple and intuitive. It has been something that has taken some time and some thought to make sure we didn’t just launch a one-and-done project,” Trumbull says. “This is something that will really serve engaged couples and their guests for a long time to come.”
By Danny Klein
