Today in unexpected headlines, from Co.Design: Domino’s Instagram Is Gross. That’s By Design
It’s hard to imagine a brand being “gross by design,” especially when you think about the core value proposition of Instagram: filters that can make your already glamorous images even more so. But, for a brand like Domino’s, which not only stays on the cutting edge of social media and technology – think of their innovative “pizza tracker” and their offering that lets you order a pizza with a simple emoji Tweet – you know they’ve put a lot of strategy into whatever goes out on their Instagram channel as well, even if it may look more like they’ve just borrowed someone’s late-night, user-generated content.
Here’s what their chief digital officer had to say:
“In this space, we actually are finding that less than perfect is sometimes actually perfect,” says Dennis Maloney, Domino’s chief digital officer. “A lot of customers are out photographing their food. They know, depending where you take it and the light you’re under, food looks different. It feels much more honest and transparent when the images are imperfect.”
The brand has undertaken a strategy of radical transparency since 2010, with great success. Why has it worked? One reason that cannot be overemphasized is that when your social media voice is honest, it’s easy to deliver on; your customers can relate to it, and it aligns with your products in reality. Surreal or aspirational branding is easy on social media channels, especially the visual ones, but it may not always resonate as well with your customer as a little bit of sincerity.