Pizza and gaming have come together again, albeit in a tie-up between Zapak.com and Dominos to introduce the Zapizza gaming combo. On ordering any one of the two combos in the offer, the customer will receive a free gaming CD worth Rs. 450, which will include one cricket game and three other games. A scheme for scratch cards is also on, for which one has to register with the Zapak.com website.

Considering that both the companies are targeting the youth, the marriage seems ideal. According to Arun Mehra, chief marketing officer, Zapak Digital Entertainment, “Our objective for launching ZaPizza Combo Meal is that gamers on our website will come across this campaign on the site and get tempted to try out the ZaPizza combo in a lure to get the gaming CD.”

But isn’t the company promoting a sedentary lifestyle among the youth? “Excess of anything is bad, and one should know where to draw the line. Pizzas are a delicacy among the youth and they love having it with their friends and family. Games tease one’s intellect and sharpen skills, Hence, this offer, in no way, promotes junk food eating or a sedentary lifestyle,” he defends.

Both Zapak and Domino’s are upbeat about the response they have received so far. Zapak hopes to get more registrations, from the present seven lakh, with this marketing effort. This may be an alternative way of luring youngsters in to the gaming scenario, which in India, is small compared to other Asian countries.

Dominos has also unveiled another outlet in Spencer Plaza area, Chennai. With each new outlet, Dominos is coming closer to the Indian Pizza lovers. Dominos has already established a leadership position in the fast food delivery segment in India and intends to maintain it with a consistent quality, new product offers and growing network of outlets.

Game on with Zapizza and do visit the new outlets, if you happen to live in Chennai

Till now, Paresh Rawal, the actor, was featuring in Domino’s ads. “But he was not the brand ambassador.” Clarities Dev Amritesh, Chief of Marketing, domino’s Pizza. He adds, “we used Paresh Rawal from time to time as he was able to deliver the two essential strategy that our product aims at : reaching the target audience and that too by using humour. It was a brand agreement that concluded in July 2006, Currently, our target group is the young urban married family, so we needed an ambassador who could signify the dad-next-door image. Arshad Warsi fits the bill perfectly.”

The contact agreement with the actor is for a year. Domino’s is carrying on with Contract as its ad agency. Gajraj Rao of Code Red Films has directed the ad film. The commercial made 3 debut on November 23 on air. Domino’s will be promoting the product through below-the-line activities, which includes local store marketing, banners and fliers. About 60 lakh fliers will be rolled out in the period of December 2006 – January 2007. The company has earmarked 70 percent of the budget towards above the line activities while the rest will go to below the line acts. While this year the budget on total spend of marketing and communication activities is Rs. 20 crore. Amritesh is sure of earmarking Rs. 30crore for next financial year.

Amritesh explains the rationale behind skewing his ad spends more on TV. “TV is the most important medium for us. Right now, the market is in an evolving stage. Earlier and even now, people go out to eat but many couples who are married and have kids, would want to get their food delivered. That is the time to target them through TVC’s. As is apparent, pizza as a food category depends more on the impulse behaviour. That is why we air our products close to the time of consumption.”

The pizza maker is also redefining its position as a delivery based organisation. According to Amritesh, the strategy of the company is to keep up to the delivery promise of thirty minutes. And how is the company planning to keep the promise? Amritesh says. “We map our delivery areas. Our One store caters to the radius of three kms. Currently, we are planning to increase our store presence, with 125 stores until now to reach 140 by the financial year-end. We are also shifting our central kitchen from Okhla to Noida.”

The company will be spending close to Rs. 50 crore next year for the purpose, by spending 70 percent in the market where it is already present and 30 percent in entering new towns. Domino’s, according to Amritesh, is currently the leader in the pizza delivery market of India with a share of 35 percent out of the 60 percent size of this market. The pizza delivery market for Domino’s is growing at 50 percent when the market is growing at 50 percent when the market is growing at 35 percent, claims Amritesh. The pizza delivery chain is expecting to grow at the rate of 45 percent by the end of next financial year.

Ask Amritesh about the close competitor, and he quips, “We are not competing with any pizza chain here. Out closest competitor is any local shop who delivers food. Currently, there is hardly any organised pizza delivery presence in the country.” Amritesh reasons his statement by adding that the company has been witnessing about 30 percent CAGR over last three years.

While the 30 minutes, nahin toh free mantra” has worked for the brand so far, it remains to be seen what value does the brand ambassador adds to the brand.

For More Information See This Page  on Dominos india Website : http://www.dominos.co.in/mediacenter.jsp

Dominos India has recently expanded its network with two new outlets in India. The new outlets are located at Infosys in Hyderabad and Lajpat Nagar Part 2 in New Delhi.

With each new outlet, Dominos is coming closer to the Indian Pizza lovers. Dominos has already established a leadership position in the fast food delivery segment in India and intends to maintain it with a consistent quality, new product offers and growing network of outlets.

Did you know?

C      The first Domino’s Pizza store in India opened in January 1996, at New Delhi
C       Domino’s Pizza India today has a countrywide network of over 125 outlets in 30 cities
C      Domino’s opened its 7,000^th store worldwide on April 10, 2001 in Brooklyn, New York
C      What the three dots in the Domino’s Pizza logo stand for? They represent the first three Domino’s Pizza stores. The plan was to add a dot for every new store. However, with Domino’s current store count over 7,000 that would have been quite impossible to continue. 

Enough gyan for the day. Keep enjoying your Dominos pizza and do visit the new outlets, if you happen to live in Hyderabad or New Delhi.

Bye for now
www.dominos.co.in

Check out the new flavour explosion from Dominos India- Cheese Burst Pizza.
The liquid creamy cheese filled in every bite of this pizza is sure to tantalize your taste buds. It is a rich pizza with – Creamy cheddar cheese on a classic hand tossed base, tortilla layer with tomato sauce on top and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese combined with your favourite topping. Toppings recommended by Dominos India for this pizza are Mexican green wave, Peppy paneer, Spicy chicken and Chicken Mexican red wave.

Dominos is also running a promotional offer wherein anyone who buys a cheese burst pizza, gets a 50% off on the second pizza of same or lower value. What more can you ask for?

So indulge your taste buds ……. dig your teeth into the creamy cheese burst pizza.
Do check out more details on www.dominos.co.in

Bye