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Domino’s Latest Marketing Ploy Is Filling in Potholes

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Paving For PizzaPotholes are the absolute worst. Formed when water seeps into cracks in the road and freezes, breaking apart asphalt or concrete as it expands, the craters make driving a jolting experience we would all rather live without. Keeping on top of pothole repairs can be difficult for local governments strapped for cash, and some cities are famous for their bumpy roadways. Pizza company Domino’s recently took matters into its own hands and started to repair some of these obstacles themselves in a campaign it calls “Paving for Pizza.”

Before you start patting Domino’s too hard on the back, they were not repairing the roads out of the goodness of their hearts, but to protect the pizza. That’s right, an American company spent thousands of dollars on road repair for the sake of delivery cuisine.

According to Jalopnik, Domino’s recorded a pizza in its box on a recent delivery run. The camera captured the pie’s rattling journey, rated the road condition, and used a graphic to show how the pizza pieces became scattered in the box with each bump. The brand decided that this was both unacceptable for product quality and a new marketing opportunity.

Eric Norenberg, the city manager of Milford, Delaware, reported that word spread this winter that Domino’s was offering to give money to cities and towns to repair potholes. He responded quickly because, like many municipalities, the Milford roads were a bit worse for wear and there was not a lot of money to do the work required. After negotiations ensured that his town was portrayed in a positive light and that this program was not an endorsement of Domino’s over any other type of pizza, the company cut the city a $5,000 check. All Milford had to do was send before and after shots of the repair and spray the Domino’s logo and tagline on the finished product in spray chalk.

In total, Domino’s paid to repair 40 potholes in Milford, Delaware, as well as five holes in Burbank, California, eight holes in Bartonville, Texas, and 150 potholes in Athens, Georgia. While we’re not excited that the state of our nation’s infrastructure budgets has reached the point that we need pizza companies to fix the roads, we’re all for smoother rides as we drive.

News Source: The Washington Post and Jalopnik