If you have been living under a rock these past few weeks you might have missed some interesting news in the world of Pizza. Since February 2nd, just in time for Super Bowl Sunday, Domino’s launched their new loyalty program promotion, Points for Pies.

See the ad here: https://youtu.be/R-gFdAa_Oi0

The new Points for Pies promo gives customers the chance to earn points for every pizza they eat between February and April 28, 2019. While that sounds quite ordinary in the world of loyalty programs, the difference here with this promotion is that they are rewarding customers’ points for all pizza’s, regardless of where it comes from. And when we say all pizzas, we mean all pizzas.

Order pizza from Domino’s – You can get Domino’s points.

Order pizza from Papa John’s – You can get Domino’s points.

Order pizza from Pizza Hut, who are the official pizza sponsor of the NFL – You can get Domino’s points.

Order pizza from your local pizzeria – You can get Domino’s points.

Spend a romantic date night at home in the kitchen making a homemade pizza with your better half – You can get Domino’s points.

You get the idea. Domino’s wants you to eat more pizza. And it doesn’t even care if you eat Domino’s pizza – or maybe it does – we’ll get to that later.

How It Works: If you aren’t a member already, you simply download Domino’s latest app, sign up for the Piece of the Pie Rewards loyalty program, and then access the new pizza identification feature that’s capable of scanning pizza. You earn 10 points for each pizza pic you upload. Hit 60 points, and you get a free, single medium two-topping Domino’s pizza. Domino’s said it is committed to giving away at least 100 million points toward free pies during the program’s 12-week duration and traditional rewards points, earning through pizza purchases at Domino’s, can be combined with Points for Pie credits to earn a free Domino’s pizza.

The app itself uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify pizzas or even a slice, meaning it can recognize Domino’s peers as well as its own, types of crusts and toppings and even identify if it’s a fake! “This is the first time Domino’s is using AI technology like this… [the app] is smart enough to identify all pizza, even if it is a homemade English muffin pizza, a pizza with a hotdog stuffed crust, or a high-end artisan pizza. It can even identify if it’s a dog’s squeaky pizza toy.” Dennis Maloney, Domino’s chief digital officer.

Which all seems like a lot of effort and a significant, smart, use of technology for just a simple download and enrollment exercise?

So why the points for pies promotion? So, yes, the promotion is a way for Domino’s to create news and excitement around their brand. It can accelerate the adoption of their loyalty program, and appeal to new customers.

However, some are theorizing that perhaps the promotion is a clever data grab, using consumers to perform in-the-field market research – and to be fair, it doesn’t sound too far-fetched. Over the last decade, the company has masterfully used data collected from online orders and the various iterations of its app, as well as third party sources, to map out local demographics and single out the pizza competition.

With this latest promo, Domino’s will cull masses of photos and other metadata and will have a new cache of information about how often its users buy, make, and eat pizza, as well as literal snapshots of the competition. “…It is building [a database] via crowd-sourced images of its competitors’ products. That data is so important, so vital and valuable and of immense potential from a marketing standpoint, that the company is willing to give away some of its product for free” Matthew Grassi at PrecisionAG. This information could influence not only how the chain executes delivery, staffing, and the expansion of its stores, but also how it makes its pizzas.

 

Whether Domino’s is using your pizza pictures for some alternative motive, or not using your pizza pictures for anything at all, one thing is for sure as Popular Mechanics notes, by offering a real-world incentive to play the game (free food), Points for Pies will keep customers thinking about pizza, but not just any pizza, Domino’s pizza, and all the damn time.