The Domino's 'Plowing For Pizza' Campaign Is a Case Study in Big Ideas and Patience

In 2018, Domino's was paving over potholes to make sure pizzas got to customers safely.

Now five years later, after a pandemic made us all even more likely to order something delivered to our door, Domino's is making sure a little weather doesn't stop—or even slow down—the delivery speed by rolling out its "Plowing for Pizza" campaign.

The program includes $500,000 in grants for snow plowing in cities that are especially prone to winter weather, like Erie, PA; Marquette, MI; and Manhattan, MO. Domino's customers can submit their zip code to apply for a grant, and 20 cities will receive $25,000 for snow plowing.

In addition to the money, those cities that win will also receive branded Domino's gear especially created for the winter, like hats, scarves, and more, as well as $200 gift cards for pizza.

"I think about 'Paving for Pizza,' so this is kind of a second act," Kate Trumbull, chief brand officer for Domino's, told Marketing Dive in an interview. "With both of those, we’re always looking to prove our obsession with ensuring nothing gets in the way of our customers and hot delicious pizza, and that no one goes as far as Domino’s in the name of hot pizza. I think actions like this really mean something more to consumers — you don’t see it coming, it’s really unexpected."

Aside from the creativity that goes into thinking of this promotion, as well as incorporating large and small branded products, it shows how some campaigns can take a lot of time to come to fruition and reach their full potential. Distributors shouldn't rush decisions just to get them out the door faster.

"Creatively, we’re always looking at both the short-term wins and then long-term planning," Matt Talbot, co-founder and chief creative officer for WorkInProgress, told Marketing Dive. "We’re not afraid of ideas that take a year or years to do, whether it’s building a car or building a piece of technology or finding roads. I think that is unique and has allowed us to do more meaningful and groundbreaking things because we can invest in the long term. This idea is not as extreme, but it still takes a lot of work to communicate with these cities. You have to build in that time, otherwise you just can’t execute things like this."

"Sometimes you have to and want to do the short-term things to be relevant with what’s happening in culture in the moment," Trumbull added in the interview. "But I think when you’re trying to do things that are meaningful actions and not easy gimmicks — everyone can do easy gimmicks — that is not short-term. There’s no way around it. You want to be looking at trends and culture in the moment and not be afraid to move quickly. But at the same time, there are things like Pinpoint Delivery; that kind of technology doesn’t happen overnight, either."

A promotional campaign can have a narrative. Think about how even car insurance commercials have their own cinematic universes, with characters that continue from commercial to commercial over the years. This campaign is a continuation of something Dominos already started. Promotional campaigns that aren't even as large or wide-ranging as "Plowing for Pizza" can incorporate the brand's story and create a narrative of its own, continuing on work done in the past and keeping consistency over time.

Part of that might also require patience to really make the most of what the promotion is capable of doing.