Domino’s: Emergency pizza
We’ve all had that moment; you’re working late, or arrive home to an empty fridge and need a quick meal. It could be beans on toast, or pasta with pesto. Or, it could be a warm pizza delivered in minutes to your door by Domino’s. Which would you choose?
I’m pretty sure (as is Domino’s) that a freshy-made pizza would be many consumers’ choice. Especially if it’s free.
Now, Domino’s could have encouraged you to choose it’s brands over another rival (whisper it – Papa John’s) by giving you a money-off voucher. Perhaps even to the value of £10, around the price of a pizza. On a typical family order that could make a real difference. But it didn’t. Instead it offered the same value as an incentive, but called this a ‘free’ emergency pizza.
Whether the marketing chiefs at Domino’s realised it or not, free carries a special meaning in a consumer’s mind. There are previous studies for example that reducing the price of an item makes more of a difference when the same reduction leads to the price being zero. For example, a £5 reduction on a £10 product gives the consumer a saving of £5. A £5 reduction on a £5 product also gives the consumer a £5 saving, but the difference is now that the consumer pays nothing at all. Psychologically that saving feels greater.
So, if you’re considering a money-off voucher, maybe considering reframing your offer as a ‘free’ gift instead. Buy-one-get-one-free (BOGOF) deals for example are really just 50% off, with a little reframing. We’ll save further discussion of framing for another day though.
Photo by Ivan Torres on Unsplash
