Domino's Pizza pokes fun at Neelofa, scores with netizens

Domino's Pizza Malaysia has caused chatter among netizens by parodying Malaysian social media influencer Neelofa (pictured left) to promote its extra large pizza. The actress had posted a picture of her wearing a wide brimmed hat with a drink in her hand and the sun setting in the background.Inspired by Neelofa, Domino's and its digital agency 16Two published a picture of a lady with a pizza on her head and a bottle of Pepsi in her hand, along with the sunset in the background. Above the female was the sentence "Bila tak nak kongsi piza dengan orang lain" (When you don't want to share your pizza with others).In the captions, Domino's joked that there is no need to turn a pizza into a hat and took the opportunity to push its 1 for 1 extra large pizza promo, along with a bottle of Pepsi Black.In a statement to A+M, senior vice president, marketing, Linda Hassan, said it is "pleasantly surprised" by the positive response garnered by the post. Speed is of the essence for Domino's when it develops its social media postings, given the dynamic trends and viral topics online, she said."When a window of opportunity that comes along, we need to determine if we want to ride the wave or sit it out. In our case, we choose to be an active player in engaging with our customers and being among the first to be part of a trending topic of conversation," Linda said. She added:Trend spotting is an ongoing effort and it takes a dedicated team to identify and respond creatively for us to be part of the engagement with the audience.At the end of the day, it goes back to Domino's brand promise of "It's All About You". The company always puts consumers at the forefront of its thought process as it values their views, feedback and support. Creating real-time postings and being responsive to trends and conversations helps Domino's deliver a memorable experience and value to consumers, Linda said.Nonetheless, she said that there is a potential for such posts to be a hit or miss. As such, a "fine balance" is needed to develop entertaining and tongue in cheek content, while being mindful of consumers' expectations in order to hit the right spot."This can only be done successfully with a strong collaboration between Domino's and our agency partner. Backed by a team of dedicated and creative individuals who live and breathe customer experience and engagement, brand love is a unified vision that all of us share. It drives us to create relevant, current and impactful content," she said. Linda added:As social media continues to evolve, it is no longer limited to what brands want customers to learn about their products and services but about what customers what to know more of.The Facebook post garnered 8.7k reactions, 728 comments and 1,952 shares on Facebook at the time of writing. Netizens' reactions were mainly positive, with most being tickled by the post and complimenting the marketing team. This also led to some netizens photoshopping other food items such as keropok as an alternative to Neelofa's wide brimmed hat. Meanwhile, some disapproved of the post and told Domino's not to poke fun of others.(Photo courtesy: Neelofa's and Domino's Facebook)