I recently had the opportunity to travel to the Domino’s Pizza headquarters in Ann Arbor Michigan to learn about one of the most recognizable pizza brands out. Domino’s Pizza was first introduced to the world back in 1960 under the name, “DomiNick’s Pizza” by the Monaghan brothers. The pizzeria quickly expended, and in 1965 transitioned to the now popular moniker. I learned so much during my trip, and was pleasantly surprised at how open the leadership team was to coming out and meeting with me. Part of my role during these types of press tours is to experience our favorite businesses first hand and share what I learned. Let me be the first to admit that I like to drill brands with questions that range from difficult to trivial. Not only do I like to watch people burn on the hot seat, I ask the same questions to different people in order to check for consistency.
Prior to me going into the Domino’s Pizza Headquarters, super blogger Michelle Kay and myself made a pit stop in Detroit. Now with Domino’s Pizza being the largest brand in the state of Michigan, my focus quickly shifted to the neighboring communities and the role the brand plays. To make a good pizza is one thing, but I wanted to know in what ways does the Domino’s give back… specifically in Detroit, a city that is trying to rebuild from a state of despair.
As I stated above, I did have the chance to sit down with some of the heads which included CEO, Patrick Doyle. Not bothered by my series of questions, he very directly outlined all the various community initiatives that Domino’s had in place. Let me stress that I was very keen on finding out how the pizza giants was helping out in Detroit! I was not all bright eyed and bushytailed easily detracted by the free pizza and punch. My mission was to get answers; and here is what I got..
1. Belle Isle Cleanup – Domino’s Pizza participated in the 2014 Belle Isle cleanup project with Michigan Cares for Tourism, by donating and serving lunch to hundreds of volunteers.
2. Annual Fire Safety Event – To reinforce the importance of home fire safety, Detroit fire officials, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Domino’s kick off Fire Prevention Week by delivering pizza and fire safety messages to Detroit homes, following an event for elementary students. The event in Detroit kicks off a weeklong national campaign during which, stores across the country partner with their local fire departments to promote fire safety.
3. Girls on the Run of Greater Detroit – Domino’s Pizza made a donation to Girls on the Run of Greater Detroit and talked with them about healthy lifestyles.
4. Domino’s Interns did an event with Earthwork Urban Farm in Detroit which is part of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen property (grow food that they use at the soup kitchen). Helped with outdoor activities including things like harvesting and processing produce, wedding beds, planting seedlings, flipping compost, etc.
5. Detroit Labs – Domino’s Pizza worked with the Detroit based IT company on two big projects: 1. the launch of their iPad App and 2. Voice Ordering (available on our iPhone and Android apps).
In conclusion, I walked away from this meeting feeling satisfied with the information I received regarding their community initiatives and charitable endeavors. They are indeed doing a lot for the community while flying under the radar doing so. Domino’s Pizza is not only donating time and resources but also actively recruiting in the Detroit market as much as possible. I, for one, want to support brands that supports it customers. This is the only way a community can survive and be instrumental in helping a local economy grow.
In my next post, I will talk about my pizza making experience.
