This is the first time the brand will be using the electronic media and radio to push its products. ``For any brand to expand its reach in the marketplace, electronic advertising is inevitable. With Domino's extending beyond the metros to 16 cities now, the time is ripe to tap other media,'' explains Gautam Advani, chief of marketing, Domino's.

The campaign is a purely positioning exercise and more specific advertising touching on product variants, will follow at a later stage.

Domino's advertising so far had been limited to dailies and pamphlets. The print campaign is also being extended to include magazines and is currently being given finishing touches.

Says Ashutosh Khanna, vice-president, Trikaya Grey, the agency handling the account:``Our biggest competition is hunger. We will drive hunger to different levels.'' The ads, brief and to the point, centre around different situations, handled in a comic fashion, where hunger is assuaged by Domino's pizzas. All the situations do not refer to physical hunger. ``In fact, this is a platform that has the huge potential of being extended to unimaginable lengths,'' says Khanna. A fact that will be exploited over the next few months as the campaign unfolds, with newer situations added. The first round has a set of 10 spots.

The radio spots are of 30 and 40 second duration. Based on popular Hindi film songs, the spots add a western touch to Indian favourites. ``We continue to be an aspirational product and retain the American mystique, unlike McDonald's which is positioning itself as an Indian family restaurant.''

The baseline of the campaign is to create as many occasions as possible to go in for Domino's pizzas and link the situations to hunger. The company's brief was: to increase the number of pies per store and the frequency of visits. Domino's is currently selling 15,000 pies a day and is targeting 25,000 by the year-end. The Rs 120-crore pizza market is growing at a rate of 60 per cent annually and Domino's claims a market share of51 per cent.

The Rs 9-crore Domino's account, which was with Enterprise Nexus, has recently been acquired by Trikaya Grey, Delhi. Interestingly, Trikaya has been appointed marketing consultants and not merely its advertising agency. As such Trikaya Grey is co-authoring Dominos' marketing strategy.

...To tap corporate lunch market
Domino's is exploring the corporate lunch market to increase its sales. Says Prathap P Suthan, associate vice-president, Trikaya Grey, ``The corporate market is a huge, untapped market with great potential, since big pizzas are more profitable.''

In fact, Domino's has a separate sales team to tap this segment. Moves will include small gifts like chocolates.

The basis of Trikaya Grey's marketing strategy for Domino's has been to demystify pizzas for the Indian customer and simply try to own the hunger platform. With its advertising looking after the latter, it set about demystifying the humble pizza by allowing and encouraging the customer to customise his pizza according to taste.

When the agency took over the account, it found that Domino's leaflets had 30-40 options listed, which left customers confused. Thus, the pizzas now come at three price points with the choice of one, two and three toppings and three crust variants-thin crust, deep dish and hand tossed. Beyond three, the toppings (there are 15 in all) cost the same, a move intended to encourage mix 'n match experimenting. It also has a variety of Indianised toppings. Store managers are encouraged to understand customised tastes and give a personal touch while attending calls.

``In the delivery business, our biggest competition is the fridge/gas that provides eating options. If you can crack that, you're home,'' says Suthan.TV is seen as the biggest ally of fast food chains and specially delivery-based business as it encourages ready-to-eat foods delivered at the doorstep, helping families avoid the hassle of travelling.

Other plans? To introduce `sweet nothings' that would make it possible to deliver a complete meal. These will be added to the Domino's menu next week, with four offerings: Yummy Brownies, Nutty Cashew, Crispy Chocolate and Exquisite Oatmeal. The pricing is being worked out.