Case Study on Communication

When two Dominos Pizza employees filmed a gross prank in the kitchen of the
restaurant in Conover, North Carolina, the company suddenly had a major public
relations crisis on its hands.66 The video ended up posted on YouTube and other sites and
showed a Dominos employee preparing sandwiches for delivery while putting cheese
up his nose, nasal mucus on the sandwiches, and violating other health-code standards,
with another employee providing narration. By the next day, over a million disgusted
people had viewed the video and discussion about Dominos had spread throughout
Twitter and Google.
As Dominos quickly realized, social media has the power to take tiny incidents and turn
them into marketing crises. A company spokesperson said, We got blindsided by two
idiots with a video camera and an awful idea. When the company first learned about the
video, executives decided not to respond aggressively, hoping the controversy would
quiet down. What they missed, though, was the perpetual mushroom effect of viral
sensations. The chief marketing officer of a social media marketing firm said, If you
think its not going to spread, thats when it gets bigger. And as Dominos discovered, it
did. In just a matter of days, Dominos reputation was damaged. Customers perception of
its quality went from positive to negative. One brand expert said, Its graphic enough in
the video, and its created enough of a stir, that it gives people a little pause.
So what happened to the two employees? Although they told Dominos executives they
never actually delivered the tainted food, they were fired and charged with a felony. And
Dominos posted its own video featuring its top manager addressing the incident on
YouTube not long after it occurred.
Answer the following Discussion Questions:
1. Beyond its being vulgar and disgusting, what do you think of this situation from the
perspective of managing communications?
Failure of the
2. Why do you think Dominos executives took a wait-and-see attitude? Why was this
response a problem?
The executives thought the video will not go viral.
Waiting for a feedback from the customers/general public
3. How could this type of communication problem be prevented at other Dominos Pizza
restaurants?

4. Do incidents like this one and the possibility of them happening anywhere, anytime,
mean that all forms of social media should be banned from workplaces? What are the
implications for policies regarding communication technology? Discuss.
Social media helps in marketing
Seminar about responsible use of social media
Set boundaries

Communicate with staff

Seminar about image/brand protection

Image before and after incident

Effect on customers
Suggestions for rebuilding image