Case Analysis - Domino's Pizza
Communication Case Analysis
1|Page
Domino’s Pizza Social Media Crisis Situation Communication Case Analysis The Problem The facts that are connected to the problem find their routes in managing
2|Page
communication crisis situations based on the social media. Due to an unpleasant incident in one of Domino’s branches, the managers were cough by surprise and found themselves unable to cope with it instantly and effectively. On Monday, April 13, 2009 two Domino’s Pizza employees posted a video on YouTube showing one of them committing health department violations, like sticking cheese in his nose, spiting in the pizza and other disgusting actions on products that were to be delivered to a customer. By the end of the day, the video was viewed nearly one million times on YouTube, on various blogs (The Consumerist) and on Twitter, sending the famous pizza chain into a social media crisis. The video was not instantly removed because Domino’s found out about its existence 24 hours later and YouTube needed a signed statement from one of the employees. Of course, the two employees were dismissed and sent to court for their actions, claiming it was just a prank. Two days later, Domino’s brought in local health department to the store in order to have everything inspected and all open containers discarded. Finally, in the evening of April 15, the HQ decided to response via a video posted on YouTube of Patrick Doyle, President of Domino’s Pizza USA, reassuring customers that it was a unique incident. They also created a Twitter account and encouraged its employees to twitter and regain its reputation, but the damage was already done. There are dozens of alternatives that Domino’s should have consider about, before and after the incident, so as to prevent, or eventually, manage with the communication crisis: Monitor social networks and blogs Social Networking mediums like Twitter, Facebook and the blogosphere could easily contribute to the success or to the failure of the
1|Page
Domino’s Pizza Social Media Crisis Situation Communication Case Analysis The Problem The facts that are connected to the problem find their routes in managing
2|Page
communication crisis situations based on the social media. Due to an unpleasant incident in one of Domino’s branches, the managers were cough by surprise and found themselves unable to cope with it instantly and effectively. On Monday, April 13, 2009 two Domino’s Pizza employees posted a video on YouTube showing one of them committing health department violations, like sticking cheese in his nose, spiting in the pizza and other disgusting actions on products that were to be delivered to a customer. By the end of the day, the video was viewed nearly one million times on YouTube, on various blogs (The Consumerist) and on Twitter, sending the famous pizza chain into a social media crisis. The video was not instantly removed because Domino’s found out about its existence 24 hours later and YouTube needed a signed statement from one of the employees. Of course, the two employees were dismissed and sent to court for their actions, claiming it was just a prank. Two days later, Domino’s brought in local health department to the store in order to have everything inspected and all open containers discarded. Finally, in the evening of April 15, the HQ decided to response via a video posted on YouTube of Patrick Doyle, President of Domino’s Pizza USA, reassuring customers that it was a unique incident. They also created a Twitter account and encouraged its employees to twitter and regain its reputation, but the damage was already done. There are dozens of alternatives that Domino’s should have consider about, before and after the incident, so as to prevent, or eventually, manage with the communication crisis: Monitor social networks and blogs Social Networking mediums like Twitter, Facebook and the blogosphere could easily contribute to the success or to the failure of the