Positioning Strategies of Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza

The melting cheese on the surface of hot slices of meat with a mix of a little bit spicy sous. Did this resemble your most beloved pizza? You undoubtedly remembered the “Italian Mozzarella Stuffed Crust” Pizza from Pizza Hut Restaurant Chain or “Extravaganzza Feast” from Domino’s Pizza. As you and I, Purchasers devour approximately 3 million pizzas daily from each company around the globe. What factors do you consider crucial enough that promoted the companies’ prominence through the world? The right answer is the adequately executed positioning strategies by Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza. 

Let’s begin with target market of Pizza Hut.

To do so, firstly, I propose to watch the commercial example attached below.

Do you find the commercial funny and exciting at the same time? The video starts with a scene of an executive administration officer of Pizza Hut Restaurant Chain who receives calls from customers. They were about to ask whether the company has a delivery system. As it was a newness, the man exerts his red and swift motorcycle and delivers the ordered boxes of pizzas to the purchasers. They were shocked by the quickness of the Pizza Hut delivery service. 

Then we witnessed a dialog with a judge who says if you delay bringing about the orders, you have to compensate for the customers’ time squandered. Undoubtedly, the company has considered it, so, for increasing workers’ productivity, Pizza Hut Restaurant Chain compensates 10 pennies for the next order.

These features tell us how much the company is concerned about its consumers. They elaborate on the effectiveness of time and finance management of the business and the target segment. Thus, the pizzas’ speed, smile, and deliciousness are guaranteed, which is the focus of customers of Pizza Hut. 

The described facets above resemble the segment of Sharers. Let’s discuss them below to understand why the company opted for this segment as the focused one. 

Values and Beliefs of the segment

Sharers are one of the most curious groups of people. They find themselves in comfortability that is related to their home and job. Enthusiastic and ambitious are the adjectives that describe them well. Sharers like spending time at home dealing with numerous things there, like cooking, arranging, gardening, etc. Home is where they feel comfortable and want to spend time with their family members and close ones there. 

Career progressions are also vital to them. Sharers never give up and keep going in achieving success in whatever sphere they are interested in. Being recognized by co-workers is essential to them. Besides, money is the best measure of success. The target segment is to explore books, magazines, reports, etc. related to their profession and career advancement.

Shopping Preferences

Sharers are brand oriented. Even though sometimes they are not ready to purchase expensive items, they value their premium quality and do that whenever possible. Quality driven target segment refuses cheap and fake products. They are one of the first brand or product adopters. If they like something special to them, they will undoubtedly obtain it. The target segment is spontaneous in going to shopping malls or their favorite stores to know about the latest goods. It is their hobby to spend time with family members there. Special offers or discounts prompt their curiosity towards new products frequently. 

16 Personalities (what is for your business?)

Earning a strong customer base is one thing, knowing your customers, maintaining them and establishing strong customer relationships is another. Pizza Hut succeeded in reaching wide coverage by knowing their customers, as they target the Sharers segment.

Sharers find enjoyment in every moment in life, even in everyday tasks and small events. This also explains their love of shopping and visiting shopping centers with great pleasure. Career growth is equally important to money, but money is the primary measure of being successful. 

Targeting Sharers has helped Pizza Hut accurately design its marketing strategy to fit the preferences of its ideal customer. Buyer personas played a crucial role in providing products with superior value. For getting more on buyer personas and their characteristics, check out our book 16 Personalities, where we included a wide spectrum of customer segments. Your journey to perfect marketing strategy starts today!

Marketing Strategies

One of the functioning strategies of Pizza Hut is its highly varying product portfolio that appeals to potential customers. It is easier for consumers to find their favorite type of pizza or another meal due to this opportunity. In terms of sizes and tastes, the pizza categories approximate 100 varieties.

However, pizza is not the only thing Pizza Hut offers. There are also kinds of pasta, wings, drinks, desserts, souses, etc. The most favorable part of this is their tender approach to the vegan segment. There are also separate categories of meals, especially for them. 

Another marketing strategy is related to distribution and location. Pizza Hut owns a nimble distribution system in terms of deliveries. But this is not unique to them because a lot of companies do have and exert this function.

However, in the case of Pizza Hut, this varies a little bit because they have more than 11,000 restaurant locations that make the system work smoother without obstacles. This is another way the company succeeded in alluring customers because they can search for the nearest Pizza Hut restaurant chain they are located in or simply order and get it in a little time. 

Problem Removal 

Pizza Hut serves mainly four types of Pan Pizza, hand-tossed, stuffed crust, and Thin N Crispy Pizza. The company exerted a strategy that helps the consumers make little changes to Pizzas’ standardized categories. This makes them better off because they have an opportunity to pay for a pizza that completely corresponds to their taste and desire.

For example, one can add extra mushrooms and cheese as a modified topping. They also can remove anything they do not actually like. For example, many people deny having onion on the topping so they can order to simply take it out or put something else instead of onion. 

Social Acceptance

Pizza Hut works on reducing carbon emission that will positively affect the sustainability issue. They also integrate renewable energy that helps make plastics and other materials reusable or compostable. They highly value the importance and vitality of steps against air pollution, nature, and health maintenance.

Message Strategy

“Make sure you have ordered the Hut before you Hut” this is what Pizza Hut Official Account on Instagram says to its score of followers. What does this mean? I suggest having a closer view of this image.

What we see there is deliciously tasting pizza, hot and spicy chicken wings, a mobile phone covering the logos of Pizza Hut and the National Football League, and a rugby ball. This resembles the closeness of the big event that is on its way. The best food choice one can make while watching the game with friends and fans of the sport. 

This is a real way to have fun and enjoy a memorable and playful time with friends. This is more than a great chance to relax and share their emotions with the competing teams. This all guides us to think about the brand archetype that belongs to Jester. The archetype is about to promote living in every moment with humor and fun, hate boredom and loneliness, try new things, and accept challenges joyfully.

Now, it’s time to dive deeper into investigation of popular Domino’s Pizza and it’s target audience.

Let’s commence with watching the commercial example of the company.

The advertisement starts with a scene where the young male wearing a rose color shirt hesitates to eat the bland, untasteful, and demotivating meal. So, he decides to order Domino’s Pizza and enjoy its delicious taste.

He makes an order via a smartphone app with a few easy-to-navigate steps. While the Pizza was on its way, he started to sing and dance joyfully. However, the concert he had made did not last long because the door belled: it was the delivery man who brought the order. 

The way the commercial hero was acting during the waiting time was more energetic and life alerting. He was enjoying every moment of the mix of his dance and music. Besides, the desire to have more positive emotions prompted him to delight in his favorite Pizza’s unique flavor. All these features guide us to make conclusions of the target audience the company has opted for: they are Peacocks. 

Who are Peacocks, and what do we know about them?

Values and Beliefs

One of the core values Peacocks have and always display is a sense of independence and confidence. They are ambitious people and like to be unique and recognized so by the public. Peacocks are educated people with an average university degree. They vitalize jobs and perceive it as a source for being successful. It is important to note that success is measured by money for the target segment. 

As Peacocks are the best extroverts, they like to be surrounded by a lot of people; however, like-minded friends are preferable. Peacocks tend to get acquainted with new people and make friends because it helps them to enjoy a better time at clubs, pubs, cafés, etc. on any occasion. Sunday family lunch vital to them, so they are used to maintain the tradition.

Shopping Preferences

Peacocks are fond of premium brands that deserved social recognition. They like to purchase items from highly expensive and hard attainable brands only for being seen in the role of a purchaser or owner. However, they are not much concerned about the quality of a good but the quantity. Special offers and discounts are one of their favorite times to go to shopping malls. 

Marketing Strategy 

One of the core marketing strategies is the adoption of cultures and traditions. Domino’s Pizza adjusts its pizza flavors according to nations’ preferences and values. For example, in India, cows’ meat is sacred, which means they never eat it.

That’s why the company has adopted a new marketing strategy that offers different flavors of pizzas and meals for everyone, individually. In India’s example, the company introduced new flavors with chicken that could replace the lack of a menu or make equal categories for all countries and societies. 

Problem Removal

The company has designed several tools that attract customers and give them a chance to obtain their products free of charge. For example, Wednesdays are pinpointed days for the company that is dedicated to special offers. The offers can vary from taking a pizza for a discount to taking it for free. There is also an option for mixes related to sizes and flavors of the pizzas. Another tool is the delivery part system. Domino’s Pizza claims it can deliver an order within 30 minutes, and if they break the “promise”, the customer gets it for free. Such events are made to make the products affordable and attainable for a larger group of people. 

Social Acceptance 

Domino’s Pizza is proud to claim its involvement in giving scholarships and grants to students, millions of dollars of donations for hospitals that deal with children’s health recovery, and thousands of units of gifts of pizzas to different organizations. This shows how much the company is concerned about communities and their working system. Other functions that help reduce emission, pollution, and hazardous waste are from their regularly followed points.

Message Strategy

Here we see a video from the Instagram Account of Domino’s Pizza. It represented various scenes where something unnatural happens, and people cannot eat the pizza slice, or they mysteriously obtain a Pizza box. For example, a little girl swimming underwater talks to the phone, and after several seconds the delivery man from Domino’s Pizza brings her order. This is funny and crazy. 

We can assume from the video what brand archetype the company belongs to due to its followers’ message. The described features resemble us about The Magician Brand Archetype. It stands for personal-achievements, transferring impossible into possible, and manipulation. 

So much about positioning strategies of Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza, where we discussed targeting, marketing, and message strategies of the companies. We hope you could find the answers to the questions you were seeking. For more similar posts, check out the main page of our Website.