For the first time in over a decade, Domino’s Pizza is revamping its brand.
As part of the chain’s “hungry for more” strategy, it will modernize its color scheme, implement a bolder typeface and graphics and debut new music as well as brighter packaging and a new name-bending jingle.
Over the coming months, changes will roll out across the U.S. and several international markets, affecting Domino’s ordering app, packaging, print materials, in-store graphics, team member uniforms and website, the company announced on Wednesday.
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Domino’s Global Chief Marketing Officer Kate Trumbull said while companies typically rebrand themselves when they are struggling, Domino’s is doing so after “years of category-defying growth.”
“This refresh is about continuing to push to be the best version of ourselves,” Trumbull said.
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However, the company’s plans to modernize the 64-year-old brand come as Cracker Barrel faces lingering fallout from its ill-fated effort to refresh its logo and restaurant interiors for a more modern look. The move triggered intense backlash, a steep drop in stock value and an eventual reversal.
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Jordan Lee, a brand strategist and media relations specialist at The PR Group, told FOX Business that Cracker Barrel’s downfall occurred because it disconnected from its roots and customers in their push to modernize.
Conversely, Domino’s, while also seeking to modernize its brand, “figured out how to refresh without alienating,” according to Lee.
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“Domino’s is avoiding that trap by protecting the signifiers customers trust – the logo, the name and the pizza-first focus – while turning up energy in places that matter – that new jingle is going to grow on people,” Lee said.
Lee acknowledged that any time an iconic brand refreshes, there is risk. For one, if there is too much change, the company can confuse your most loyal customers, according to Lee. On top of this, “miss the tone, and you feel like you are chasing trends instead of setting them,” he added.
Lee said Domino’s is sidestepping both of those things by keeping its core identity. For instance, the logo is still recognizable and its pizza remains front and center.
By updating in ways that strengthen brand recognition instead of breaking it, Domino’s keeps its edge while protecting the equity it has built over decades,” he added.
Robbie Vorhaus, a crisis and brand communications strategist, told FOX Business that the rebrand “reflects Domino’s intuitive understanding that the next wave of consumers – Gen Z and Gen Alpha – want brands that feel both timeless and current.”
Domino’s has also become a dominant player in the sector with its revenue and market cap at least 10 times that of Cracker Barrel, according to Vorhaus.
The pizza chain’s market capitalization tops $14 billion, compared with about $932 million for Cracker Barrel as of Wednesday afternoon.
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