We all make mistakes. However, mistakes often lead to greatness if you learn from them. Dominos has taken this learning to another level with their socially inspired microsite: http://www.pizzaturnaround.com/.
It's clearly a work in progress (all great things are perpetually in this state) but it's a massive step in the right direction.
What was the reason for the change?
Dominos has been the whipping boy of the social marketing community since this video was posted online by a couple of employees (they were promptly fired).
Their initial corporate response was slow, contradictory and full of missteps. This looks even worse when you juxtapose it with Chicago franchisee owner's Ramon de Leon apology. (Ramon is the shit. I don't say that lightly.)
Everyone offered their help, expertise and two cents on the issue. However, other then the initial video and a promise to do better? It was quiet on the corporate front.
Apparently, they were busy.
The Social Reinvention:
It's important to note that this wasn't just a social makeover for Dominos. It was a product launch as well. Dominos is changing their pizza recipe for their 50th anniversary and launched the site in conjunction with this announcement.
The microsite is a true hub in every sense of the word and hooks directly into all of Dominos' social properties including: Facebook and Twitter. Here's hoping they link to their Youtube channel as well in the very near future.
The most important change?
Someone is driving the car. Listening and engagement are happening on a regular basis now. This is a pretty tremendous shift in brand philosophy.
Why this matters:
A strong community can make or break your brand. Dominos didn't have a large group of evangelists in social, didn't have any open channels with which to manage the crisis and thus was unable to respond effectively.
With the introduction of this microsite hub? Dominos has taken the first step towards gaining credibility in the social space and fostering an online community. They aren't filtering the content either, which I commend them for.
Now the hard work begins. Will this be a sustained effort or a flash in a pan? Time will tell but this is an awesome first step to address both critics and fans alike.
Props.
Disclosure: I got a free pizza for tweeting about how much I enjoyed the reinvention/social experiment that Dominos undertook. BUT, I'm willing to give the code for the pizza to the first commenter 
. So have at it!
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tagged as dominos marketing, dominos microsite, dominos social efforts, dominos social hub, dominos social launch, dominos social marketing, dominos social media, dominos social reinvention
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[...] They even launched a social media site dedicated to the “turnaround” which has been talked about on a number of blogs. The negative feedback clearly prompted action, even for a company that’s “on [...]