Marketing with Video and Rich Media Blog

Video is a powerful media. A couple of idiots employed by Domino’s Pizza will probably cost the fast food company millions in lost revenue as a result of the ‘prank’ video they placed on YouTube showing themselves performing a number of disgusting acts to the food they were preparing prior to it being send out. It is unclear whether the food they were defiling actually made it out the door – they claim it did not. (They have since been fired and a federal warrant has been issued for their arrest.)

Unfortunately the damage is done and Domino’s now has to deal with a public relations nightmare. Domino’s has fired back with a YouTube video of their own with a very tired looking President (Patrick Doyle) outlining the steps the fast food chain will take to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.

Responding with a video on YouTube makes sense and I assume they will employ other media as well in an effort to restore public confidence. The video is measured and in two minutes Patrick Doyle covers most of what needed to be said. The video looks like it was put together quickly which, under the circumstances is understandable. Doyle doesn’t make eye contact with the camera – which is unfortunate as he seems to be reading cue cards up and to the left of the camera. Renting a teleprompter, or better yet, delivering an unscripted speech to the camera would have served the company better.

This is a teribble thing for a company to go through and an example of why firms hire PR agencies to help them with disaster planning. Unfortunately the ubiquity of video devices and ease of transmission will guarantee that this could happen again - to any company. Video will play an important role in responding to these crises.