Tech in check: Domino's Pizza's head of marketing Linda Hassan

Linda Hassan (pictured), Domino's Pizza's head of marketing, has been with the brand since 2010, having started as a senior marketing manager. She quickly rose the ranks to become deputy general manager before rising to handle the Singapore market as well on top of her Malaysia remit.Currently, she carries the marketing leadership role for Domino’s Pizza in Malaysia and Singapore, having created and led teams of seven key sections. This includes creative and design, brand and communications, public relations and event, analytics, digital, sales new product development, to name a few.According to her LinkedIn, Linda is a firm believer in inculcating and instilling analytical thinking in marketing, having always placed emphasis on data driven decision-making to strategise the business. In both markets, she has helped propagate new media initiatives such as digital and social for business growth and has since led multiple digital initiatives through multiple digital enhancement programs that drive traffic, conversions and retention.We take time to speak with Linda on her marketing journey so far and how digital and technology has evolved the fast food space.(Check out the previous editions of Tech in check here:Tech in check: Fave’s co-founder Yeoh Chen ChowDigi’s chief digital officer Praveen RajanMcDonald’s Malaysia digital director Muhamad Zaid Hasman)A+M: What was your first digital role like?Linda: Leading a digital role for me started about nine years ago when I joined Domino’s. My first ever digital campaign was related to the World Cup 2010, when we worked on a microsite for the region. The interactive microsite featured avatars, live scores and games. What was challenging about that was the time-difference across the regions and the various language differences.We launched it in the end and it was a huge milestone for the brand. We then realised the huge potential when web traffic showed an outstanding upsurge. From then on, we never stopped running on digital.At Domino’s Pizza, digital is a key component in all that we do. This is in in line with our worldwide approach as a digital-first company. In relation to marketing specifically, digital is looked at on many levels. Firstly, we are rich in data and the digital information that we obtain from our customer data base plays an important role as we strategise and shape business decisions. Digital data is also analysed to support our operations and communication efforts with our customers. As such, all of us at Domino’s Pizza have been exposed to a digital role to a certain extent.As for me, my digital role entails leading a digital team that looks into customer analytics and customer behavior, and by leveraging on our data to effectively reach out to our customers.A+M: What was your biggest tech blunder?Linda: It was probably the first time when we wanted to introduce social media to the business. It was the early days of social media and it was quite intimidating not because we didn't know how to do it. But rather, we were anxious about handling customer complaints via social and the implications of it.A+M: How did you overcome it and what did you learn from it?Linda: It was not difficult to overcome. Venturing into social media as a business is like any other strategic implementations - have a proper strategy, build the right team, educate the stake-holders, continuously improve and keep abreast of any new technology. It has been an interesting and rewarding journey since then and I am loving every step of the way.A+M: What are some of the common challenges you face with digital today?Linda: The digital platform is continuously evolving. Among the list of challenges include being ahead of the curve to keep our edge ahead of our competitors, as well as sourcing and hiring the right talent to fit our company's culture.A+M: Are there any digital trends which excite you or that you are wary of? If yes – why does it excite you/give concerns if any?Linda: Personalisation and new retail. Marketers also need to take note that all channels matter, it is no longer just either multi-channel or omni-channel.A+M: Any top tips for marketers and brands embracing digital?Linda: In today’s day and age and at the current marketing and communications landscape, marketers and brands must embrace digital. In doing so, it would be beneficial for them to understand the trends, cause and effect as well as an understanding of the reasons behind the trends.This would help them in shaping their campaigns based on learnings and analysis of results generated through the digital platform. I would also urge marketers and brands to step out of their comfort zone and dare to execute creative and out of the box initiatives as the potential and possibilities is limitless.As a marketer, never forget about building brand love. Digital is just another medium to build love and loyalty to any brand.Read also:Tech in check: Nuffnang Malaysia’s country manager Kausern HieuTech in check: QSR Brands’ chief information officer Chong Chin KanTech in check: Hong Leong Bank’s chief digital and innovation officer Shailesh Grover