A few days ago Domino's ran an ad on Fox's American Idol, claiming that consumers preferred Domino’s new oven baked sandwiches over Subway's by a margin of two-to-one. The results were part of an independent taste test conducted on Domino's behalf.(click here for Brandweek article on the issue).
Subway's CEO, Jeff Moody, has complained (click here) to the National Advertising Division (NAD, an industry self-policing organization) that:
1. "They did the comparison against three sandwiches and have written the ads to suggest that the results are relevant across the whole product line."
2. "They did not compare the Domino's Philly Cheese Steak sandwich to Subway's Philly Cheese Steak (which we have as a national product) but rather to our Steak and Cheese. Philly Cheesesteak uses a shaved beef product which is completely different than our Steak and Cheese product so their comparison is invalid."
3. "Subway's whole positioning is that we make customized sandwiches, right before your eyes, with your choice of bread, meats, cheeses, vegetables and sauces. We believe that they made every Subway sandwich the same and based the build on our pictures which include all the veggies. The majority of consumers don't add all the veggies."
4. "The production and consumption conditions weren't reflective of the real world and were biased against Subway. Our subs are cooked one at a time and consumers usually eat them right away in the restaurant, or take them across the street to their office." If the subs were served cold they obviously weren’t as good.
A similar battle is being fought between Campbell's Prego and Heinz's Classico pasta sauce (read here).
I stopped to think: How effective is comparison marketing? Will it work in the Domino's case?
My 2 cents on this issue is that:
Domino's will definitely generate trial for its sandwiches, which would help it gain share in this new category. However long-term share will be driven by how much customers agree with the 'blind taste test' after they actually taste a Domino's sub.
If like-for-like Domino's and Subway subs don't have a significant difference, Domino's may actually lose credibility with its customers.
Let me know what you think...
1 comment:
Well, I always thought Domino's pizza was so-so; no great shakes. I have heard a few folks say their sandwiches might have a taste edge over Subway. Not to say that Subway sandwiches taste bad;they taste okay. But taste itself isn't the only thing Subway is focused on. They consider, among other things, taste, price, and nutrition. If you see the breakdown provided by the "Subway, Please Sponsor Me" foundation, you'll notice that Subway sandwiches almost always have lesser calories, lesser sodium, lesser fat, and lesser cholesterol per serving when compared to the Domino's one.
So I really don't see where Domino's sees an advantage...
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