CASE FACTS:

-Corporate Communications Team:

Internal team handles all of companys PR
partners w/ 2 agencies for advertising and new media strategy network
Social Media Team new team formed a month prior to the outbreak of the viral videos
had been planning to launch the companys online presence through several
social media

1. What appears to be the business problem facing Dominos in this case?
-various acts of food contamination in a viral video uploaded in YouTube by 2 staffs in uniforms
during normal working hours, and imply that some unfortunate customer will get the
contaminated food

-growth of social media made it worse by compounding the impact of video uploaded since it
can be copied and shared easily to the GLOBAL AUDIENCE; plus social networking sites do not go
through a formal review or approval process by the website ;
-might ruin the reputation and break the trust(most valuable asset of Dominos according to Tim
McIntyre) of customers to Dominos .In Quick Service Restaurant (QSR), if customers perceive a
problem in product quality, price, service or convenience, the implications to future business
success could be serious
-reflects how management is lax (reflects the low quality control of the franchises since these
acts were made while the unaware manager is reading newspaper- no cameras? no quality
control?)

2. Who are the key stakeholders?
-Internal stakeholders: managers, employees, franchisees
-External stakeholders: suppliers, customers, creditors, shareholders

3. What should Tim McIntyre and the communications team do first?
-internal team should produce positive PR to emphasize positive stories (ex. Improved practices
and community involvement to overshadow negative PR)
-speak with employees and advise a spiel on how to handle questions about the crisis for them
to not make things worse by propagating rumors . Tell them not to speak to the press and refer
all questions to the management
-choose a spokesperson (Putting a consistent face behind your crisis response will make
consumers more receptive of your message.)



4. What should Dominos do about the employees who made the video?
-sue them for damages because of breach of contract (there must be a stipulation in employee
contract to avoid acts that could taint the image of company)

5. What should Dominos do about the store where the video was made?
-install cameras
-close down for checking

6. What steps should Dominos take to resolve this crisis?
-respond right away
-take active steps to improve quality control and publicize them (so that the public would know)

7. How did Dominos respond at the local, national, and/or global level?
-Dominos responded too late, about 48 hours after the video post, and it took time to get the
video down from YouTube. The lag in response time left the online conversation to grow
-Dominos did not issue a formal press release but did finally open a Twitter account to answer
questions, later posting a YouTube apology to try to diffuse the public relations fiasco

8. Which media should Dominos use to communicate its message?
-youtube (since its where the videos are uploaded
-formal press release (to counter the informal video uploaded)

9. How can Dominos ensure a similar crisis does not occur in the future?
-There is a good chance that the PR crisis resulted from a flaw in the way you run your business. In
addition to merely fixing the problem, good restaurants learn from their mistakes. Be ready to change
any major aspect of your business that makes you vulnerable to the crisis
-come up with contingency plans for these kinds of events (before, there was no plans/protocols that
could help remedy the situation
-three areas for improvement: the importance of a media crisis team, the ability to follow real-time
developments and the need to respond quickly.

10. How should Dominos work with franchises?
-to maintain quality control, Dominos should deploy : audits, mystery shoppers, and mandatory
purchase of inputs and products. On the other hand, polls are used to monitor perceived quality by customers.