Domino’s Revamping Stores, Drops ‘Pizza’ From Logo

In a move that signals changing consumer behavior, Domino’s is revamping its logo and its stores to appeal more to the increasing number of consumers picking up their pizzas.

Russell Weiner, Domino’s chief marketing officer, said that Domino’s pick-up business has been increasing in recent years, now accounting for about 30% or its sales. Just a few years ago, he said, 80% to 90% of the chain’s business was delivery. And since so many more costumers are opting for pick-up, “we want to be a place that people feel comfortable in,” said Mr. Weiner. Domino’s stores “are not the most welcoming.”

He added that the store and logo redesign are the next step in the chain’s ongoing effort to revamp its business. Several years ago, Domino’s said that its pizza was not good, and in late 2009 and early 2010, introduced its revamped pizza along with a marketing campaign to promote it. Mr. Weiner credited the marketing with helping to change the brand. “A lot of what has helped transform this brand is the ad campaigns. We wanted to bring that into our design.” Domino’s agency is MDC Partners’ CP&B.

Domino’s, unlike Pizza Hut, is not known for being a dine-in establishment, and Mr. Weiner said that is not going to change, although some locations may have in-store dining. Depending on the square footage, the new designs may include elements not typically associated with a Domino’s store, such as open kitchens where customers can see the pizzas being made, big-screen TVs, kiosks where customers can place their orders, comfortable seating, a counter for grab-and-go items such as salads, and chalkboards where customers can leave suggestions.

About a dozen of the new concept stores have been built in the U.S., and though there’s no exact timeline yet, the chain hopes to revamp as many existing stores as possible in the coming years. (www.adage.com)

Banks increasingly finding daily deals too big to pass up

One day after Groupon’s disappointing Q2 earnings report, the daily deals row isn’t getting any easier to hoe. For the second consecutive week, a major banking institution has rolled out a deals platform nationwide that’s designed to be easier to use than Groupon. Bank of America today announced BankAmeriDeals, offering discounts from partners Aeropostale, The Body Shop, FedEx Office, AutoZone, Redbox and the Atlanta Braves.

From the consumer’s standpoint, BoA’s offering appears to be simple. BoA account holders can go online and opt into discounts from the retailers. When those users visit the merchant properties and use their debit/credit cards, they’ll automatically receive adiscount—between 5 percent and 15 percent—in the form of cash back on their next monthly statement.

To enable the program, BoA has partnered with technology firm Cardlytics, which also works with banks PNC and Regions to offer similar merchants-based rewards. And other financial institutions, such as Ally Bank and American Express, have been launching programs similar to BoA’s.

Rod Witmond, svp of marketing for Atlanta-based Cardlytics, addressed BoA’s program. “They are able to bring the [deals] program to the consumers for offline and online stores they are already using frequently,” he said. “And they are able to bring it through a card they are already using frequently.”

Indeed, while Groupon and LivingSocial—the No. 2 player in the space—have given consumers paperless options via their mobile apps, buying the deal sellers’ vouchers still requires a step or two more than simply pulling out a card and swiping it. (www.adweek.com)

BBH has everything you need should you happen to win a trip to a Caribbean island

The correct mode of transit to a Caribbean island goes something like this: You are standing, chest forward and chin up, on a speedboat. It is part of a triangular formation of speedboats making a beeline through azure waters toward said island. The speedboat’s captains are distinguished men wearing neat beards, rich ascots and sharp linen suits. These men are singing, in chorus, a song that does not need words, to announce your approach. The speedboats are filled with essentials to ensure a perfectly decadent island vacation. Those essentials include a live band, tuxedo-clad bartenders shaking martinis in rhythm, and masseuses with folding tables and body oil at the ready.

These are some of the supplies in “Supplies,” a nicely epic new ad from BBH London (and director Tim Godsall) for deodorant Axe Anarchy. The particularly fun bit: The brand actually does have an island, and is running a Facebook sweepstakes to send seven British fans—and a guest for each—to a lush holiday in the Caribbean. The concept is strong: The agency smartly focuses on the anticipation of the journey, rather than the blur of the party itself, and the execution is mostly on point, and on brand. The model types in bikinis presumably could represent contest winners themselves, or their plus-ones. Either way, they check off a box on Axe’s list of must-have visuals. And despite the brand’s general shift to a position that includes products and messaging aimed at women, the sexy-pillow-fighting girls tip its hand. It’s still focused mainly on resonating with hormone-addled young men.

Some of the details are a little lackluster on follow-through. Ninjas are a cliché symbol for a type of “awesomeness” that feels too out-of-place—a hamfisted way for Axe to signal that it gets the random humor of kids these days (a little like a distant, middle-aged cousin tossing around lingo to impress a mortified teenage relation). Disco balls: also kind of obvious and not particularly compelling. The pizza-delivery guys, on the other hand, are a clever, counterintuitive tidbit. Pretty much anyone could admit to wanting them on call during a tropical getaway. (www.adweek.com)

Xpressbet Forges Partnership With Breeders’ Cup

Breeders’ Cup and Xpressbet, LLC, one of the industry’s largest and most respected Advance Deposit Wagering (‘ADW’) providers, today announced a multi-year agreement which makes Xpressbet the official Wagering Partner of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and the title sponsor of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

The Breeders’ Cup, Thoroughbred racing’s most prestigious global event, consisting of 15 races and purses and awards totaling more than $25 million, will be held on November 2-3 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. The Breeders’ Cup will be televised live by the NBC Sports Network.

The $1.5 million Xpressbet Breeders’ Cup Sprint annually draws the world’s fastest horses to the World Championships. The Xpressbet Breeders’ Cup Sprint is open to horses 3-years-old and older, and will be contested at a distance of three-quarters of a mile (six furlongs).

“We are very excited to begin a new partnership with Xpressbet as the official wagering provider of the Breeders’ Cup and title sponsor of the Xpressbet Breeders’ Cup Sprint,” said Craig Fravel, Breeders’ Cup President and CEO. “As an industry leader, Xpressbet will play an integral role in providing the excitement of wagering to our customers, and in helping to increase the growth of the Breeders’ Cup in North America and overseas.” (www.sponsorship.com)

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Expands Partnership With Bad Boy Movers

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is expanding its partnership with Bad Boy Mowers to the theme park company’s attractions nationwide. Already the official lawnmower company for SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Bad Boy Mowers will now include SeaWorld San Antonio, Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pa.

Bad Boy Mowers’ user-friendly equipment and accessories will play an integral role in the maintenance of the parks’ combined 1,300 acres of beautiful gardens and lush landscaping, including the wide-open expanse of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Serengeti Plain. At each park the grounds are expertly maintained by their teams of horticulture experts.

The landscaping efforts have been recognized nationally. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been named the “Most Beautiful Park” by the National Amusement Park Historical Association for 22 consecutive years. (www.sponsorship.com)

A Mexican Beer Rides a Social Media Wave

Pacifico, a Pilsner-style Mexican beer popular among California surfers, is running its first major national advertising campaign as it broadens its distribution across the United States.

Imported into this country for over 20 years, the beer is brewed in Mazatlán, Mexico, near the Pacific Coast, and distributed by Crown Imports, a joint venture between Grupo Modelo and Constellation Brands, an alcohol producer, importer and marketer. Crown Imports also distributes Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo and Victoria beers from Mexico, and imports Tsingtao beer from China.

According to Jim Sabia, Crown Imports’ chief marketing officer, 5.5 million cases of Pacifico are sold annually in the United States, over 40 percent of them in California. Crown Imports’ goal, he said, is to increase sales to 10 million cases a year within 10 years. The beer is currently available in bottles in 50 states and on tap in 37.

With demand for craft and imported beers growing, Mr. Sabia said now was the “perfect time” for Pacifico to step up its marketing communications. (www.nytimes.com)

Not Every Bad Day Needs to End With Ice Cream

RAGU pasta sauce is adopting an innovative and funnier marketing approach with a campaign that notes a new direction for its owner, Unilever Foods, to create less utilitarian, and more playful, advertising for its food products.

With a new ad agency and new creative executive, Ragu this month is starting its “Long Day of Childhood” campaign, which highlights embarrassing childhood moments and offers a way to soothe them later — with the ultimate comfort food, a Ragu-covered bowl of pasta.

“We are trying to use humor as a way to create emotional attachment,” said Mike Dwyer, Unilever’s United States foods director, explaining Ragu’s approach. “We want to have more fun with the family dynamic and draw on the trials and tribulations of childhood.”

Those trying moments include a mother using her spit to clean a spot of sauce off her child’s face, and a father assuring his daughter that the perky hamster is, indeed, the same pet that had been ailing. (www.nytimes.com)

Pepsi, NFL, Music Stars Team On ‘Anthems’

Pepsi and the National Football League have launched a national campaign featuring original anthems by Kelly Clarkson, Travie McCoy, Kid Rock and Ice Cube, celebrating their hometown NFL teams.

The program will also offer a remix by Wiz Khalifa of his own “Black and Yellow,” the 2010 hit that celebrated Pittsburgh teams.

The “Anthems” campaign is an extension of Pepsi’s broader “Live for Now” campaign, and ties in with other recently announced PepsiCo/NFL deals: a four-year sponsorship of the Super Bowl’s half-time show and a multi-year official soft drink sponsorship of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pepsi is driving consumers to the Anthems campaign site to download the songs and enter a sweeps offering a grand prize of a trip to next year’s Super Bowl.

Kelly Clarkson’s tribute to the Dallas Cowboys — “Get Up (A Cowboys Anthem)” – is now downloadable free (no registration required) on the campaign’s site. (www.mediapost.com)

NFL Launches Women’s Apparel Campaign

For the past few years, the National Football League has focused more of its licensed-merchandise strategy on its 85 million — or 45% — of fans who are women. Now the league is launching its biggest marketing campaign to date about its team-branded apparel. The message is that NFL apparel for women is fashionable, hip, practical and for every kind of female fan.

The “It’s My Team” effort — via Grey NY, and Grey Group’s activation and PR division “Alliance” — includes print and digital elements, and spotlights real fans and how they demonstrate team pride by donning NFL-inspired style at games, work, home, and about town.

Some of the fans in the ads probably have their own fans (and maybe a few detractors): among the 22 women profiled are former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is now on faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; Serena Williams, who is a Miami Dolphins Limited Partner; and Melania Trump, wife of The Donald. (www.mediapost.com)

Sears Auto Campaign Invokes Big Bad Wolf

A new campaign for Sears Auto Center relies on sketchy mechanics, deserted mom-and-pop auto-repair shops, and a badass junkyard dog to drive home its familiarity, stressing its seven-day-a-week availability and certified technicians.

The TV spots, set to the tune of “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf,” are meant to convey a peace-of-mind promise, the company says. In addition to the 15- and 30-seconds spots, the campaign is also hoping to allay car-repair anxiety in radio, outdoor and digital channels, as well as refreshed in-store signage.

The Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company is also testing digital menu boards in Auto Center waiting rooms, to help associates explain key repair services and why they are needed. The boards also offer movie reviews and celebrity news to keep customers entertained while they wait, in an effort to achieve what it describes as “stress-free car care, while creating a cleaner, more modern and comfortable experience.” Auto Centers operate in some 800 Sears stores.

Ads carry the tagline: “This is the exception to the rule; this is Sears Auto Center.” (www.mediapost.com)