Table of contents
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 2
2. Problem statement ....................................................................................................... 3
3. Delimitation .................................................................................................................. 4
4. Methodology ................................................................................................................ 5
4.1 Theory of scientific approach (Pahuus 2004, p.140) ............................................................. 5
4.2 Research methods .............................................................................................................. 5
4.4 Theoretical approach .......................................................................................................... 6
5. Domino´s crisis.............................................................................................................. 7
5.1 Domino´s Pizza´s Special Ingrediants (Good As You 2009) .................................................... 7
5.2 Sneeze Sticks (Good As You 2009) ....................................................................................... 7
5.3 Poopie Dishes (Good As You 2009) ...................................................................................... 8
5.4 Dominos Pizza Buger (Good As You 2009) ............................................................................ 8
5.5 Domino´s Pizza part 1 (Good As You 2009) ........................................................................... 8
6. Theory .......................................................................................................................... 9
6.1 Crisis communication .......................................................................................................... 9
6.2 Theory of Image Repair Discourse (Johansen og Frandsen 2000) ........................................ 10
6.3 Criticism of Benoit ............................................................................................................ 12
6.4 Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) (Coombs, W. Timothy 2007) ..................... 12
6.5 Criticism of Coombs .......................................................................................................... 14
7. Empirical data ............................................................................................................. 15
7.1 YouTube Video ................................................................................................................. 15
7.2 Email Correspondence ...................................................................................................... 16
8. Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 18
8.1 Benoit´s image repair discourse ........................................................................................ 18
8.1.1 E-mail correspondence ........................................................................................................ 18
8.1.2 YouTube Video ..................................................................................................................... 20
8.1.3 Sub conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 23
8.2 Coombs´ SCCT ................................................................................................................... 24
8.2.1 E-mail correspondence ........................................................................................................ 24
8.2.2 YouTube video ..................................................................................................................... 26
8.2.3 Sub conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 28
9. Discussion ................................................................................................................... 30
10. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 33
11. Bibliography.............................................................................................................. 34
Books ..................................................................................................................................... 34
Websites ................................................................................................................................ 34
12. Appendices ............................................................................................................... 36
Appendix 1 ............................................................................................................................. 36
Benoit’s theory of Image Repair Discourse: ................................................................................. 36
Appendix 2 ............................................................................................................................. 37
Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Coombs’ Situational Crisis Communication Theory (Model 1): .................................................... 37
Appendix 3 ............................................................................................................................. 38
Coombs’ Situational Crisis Communication Theory (Model 2): .................................................... 38
Appendix 4 ............................................................................................................................. 39
E-mail correspondence 1: ............................................................................................................. 39
Appendix 5 ............................................................................................................................. 39
E-mail correspondence 2: ............................................................................................................. 39
.............................................................................................................................................. 40
Appendix 6 ............................................................................................................................. 41
Transcript of YouTube video:........................................................................................................ 41
Appendix 7 ............................................................................................................................. 42
Domino´s financial results fourth quarter 2009: .......................................................................... 42
Appendix 8 ............................................................................................................................. 42
Domino´s financial results fourth quarter 2010: .......................................................................... 42
Appendix 9 ............................................................................................................................. 43
Domino’s financial results first quarter 2014: .............................................................................. 43
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
1. Introduction
As demonstrated in the following quotation, the notion crisis is used in many different
contexts: “Product crises, industrial crises organisation- or image-crises, crises concerning
publication of financial results, organisations internal crises, etcetera.” (Johansen og
Frandsen 2000, p. 46). This quotation emphasises the importance of the use of crisis
communication, caused by a risen focus on communication, when an organisation is
threatened by a crisis (Ibid).
With focus on crisis communication, this thesis has been worked out with Domino´s Pizza as
a case. This thesis will examine how Domino´s Pizza managed its image and reputation in a
crisis situation, and how the organisation responded to the criticisms. The problem consists
in a crisis, which occurred in 2009 in Conover, N.C., US. The crisis started at Domino´s Pizza
in Conover, where two employees created videos showing one of them doing unsanitary
acts with the food, while the other one was filming the acts and afterwards uploaded them
on YouTube (PRSA 2009).
Domino´s Pizza is the world leader in pizza delivery. Domino´s Pizza operates in more than
60 countries and has more than 9,000 pizza places (Domino´s 2014).
In 1960 two brothers, Tom and James Monaghan, bought a pizza restaurant named
DomiNick´s in Ypsilanti, Michigan, US. Five years later they renamed the restaurant and
DomiNick´s became Domino´s Pizza, Inc (Ibid). Since the hesitant beginnings in 1960
Domino´s Pizza has improved especially through franchising. As early as in 1967 Domino´s
Pizza had their first franchisee (Ibid). Today Domino´s Pizza has more than 1,700 franchisees
worldwide and more than 150,000 persons are employed in this organisation (Ibid).
The purpose of this thesis is to examine how Domino´s Pizza communicated throughout the
crisis in 2009. In order to answer my problem statement, I will work with tasks, which
involve the relationship between the chosen theory and empirical data. In order to examine
the crisis communication I will be using Benoit´s theory of Image Repair Discourse and
Coombs´ Situational Crisis Communication Theory.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
2. Problem statement
My focus is on a crisis, which occurred in Domino´s Pizza in 2009. The crisis involves two
employees, who damaged the image and reputation of the organisation by filming insanitary
acts with the food and afterwards uploaded videos to YouTube.
I will be examining how the image and reputation have been threatened by this crisis. With
use of the theory by Benoit I will examine which image repair strategies Domino´s Pizza
used. Also, with the use of the theory of Coombs, I will examine how the reputation has
been affected by the crisis. Therefore, I will be focusing on crisis communication.
To understand my problem statement comprehensively I have chosen these objectives:

Could this crisis have been avoided?

Which strategies of the theory of image repair discourse has the organisation used?

Which strategies of the theory of Situational Crisis Communication Theory has the
organisation used?

Has the organisation been able to repair their image and reputation?
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
3. Delimitation
Firstly, in this thesis Domino´s Pizza will be mentioned as Domino´s and the organisation.
Furthermore, Coombs´ Situational Crisis Communication Theory will be mentioned as SCCT.
The purpose of this thesis is to understand how Domino´s was able to repair its image and
reputation during the crisis in 2009, and therefore, I will focus on external communication,
and the verbal response of the crisis. I will delimit from an analysis of Domino´s internal
communication. Though, I think internal and external communication influences each other,
and actually cannot be separated, but I have to make a theoretical delimitation.
Also, I will in this thesis only focus on one type of crisis (Johansen og Frandsen 2000, p. 46),
which is mentioned in the mass media, or has been created by this.
Another interesting perspective and approach to a crisis could be investigating how social
medias affect the crisis situation. Though, the limited size of the study and time range makes
it necessary to make delimitations.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
4. Methodology
The purpose of this part of the thesis is to explain, how the problem statement will be
answered from a methodological point of view. The starting point for this thesis is a
statement of the theory of scientific approach. Furthermore, the methods of the thesis will
be explained in the following.
4.1 Theory of scientific approach (Pahuus 2004, p.140)
The scientific approach is based on the understanding of human actions, which is aligned to
the hermeneutic approach. When using the hermeneutic approach, one moves back and
forward between the subjects with the purpose of reaching an understanding of the entire
meaning. One works and moves in circular direction until, as earlier mentioned, one reaches
an understanding of the entire meaning.
This knowledge and understanding must be modified when working further into the
investigation and when obtaining more knowledge. Therefore, one’s understanding will be
modified several times when adopting new knowledge.
4.2 Research methods
Methodically, this thesis will be based on empirical data, which consists of document records
such as articles, e-mail correspondences, and a video describing Domino’s handling of the
crisis and more important the damage of their image and reputation. Further, this thesis will
consist of Domino´s financial results from fourth quarter 2009, fourth quarter 2010, and first
quarter 2014 (Dominosbiz 2014). The financial results are illustrated in appendices 7, 8 and
9. Therefore, I have chosen a qualitative approach, which allows a deeper understanding of
the handling of a crisis. It is an understanding of, how and why one interacts, which is
characteristic of the humanities (Pahuus 2004, p. 140).
The quantitative method of collecting data was considered in this thesis, as I thought about
presenting a survey, which should support the understandings of Domino´s image and
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
reputation today. However, I did not found it necessary to present a survey, as the
qualitative data gives a comprehensively insight to the investigations and understandings.
4.4 Theoretical approach
In the analysis of the crisis communication used by Domino’s, I will use theories including
image repair strategies and crisis response strategies. I will analyse how the reparation of
the organisation was executed.
Moreover, I will divide up the analysis in two parts and discuss the relationship between the
two parts, and thereby compare the results. In the first analysis I will be using the theory by
Benoit and in the second analysis I will be using the theory of Coombs.
By using the theory of Benoit I will analyse, which repair strategies Domino´s has been using.
The purpose of this theory is to understand how Domino´s communicated throughout the
crisis in 2009. Furthermore, I will evaluate whether it has chosen the right decision referring
to the image repair strategies.
Additionally, I will be using the theory of Coombs to analyse the crisis response of Domino’s.
The purpose of this theory is to understand how Domino´s responded and how it protected
its reputation. Furthermore, I will evaluate how it succeeded protecting its reputation
referring to the response strategies with use of the financial reports (Appendices 7, 8 and 9).
The theories of Benoit and Coombs will be explained more detailed in a following part of this
thesis, which is a review and explanation of the theories.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
5. Domino´s crisis
The purpose of this part is to give an understanding of this specific crisis. As mentioned, two
employees caused this crisis, and the following will be an explanation of five videos which
shows the employees performing actions that have caused this crisis. The videos has been
removed from YouTube, therefore I will refer to:
http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2009/04/video-let-the-dominoes-appall.html, as
the videos are available on this website. On April 13 2009 the blog site www.GoodAsYou.org
contacted Domino´s vice president, Tim McIntyre, by e-mail and alerted him of some
damaging videos uploaded on YouTube (Good As You 2009). This was just the beginning, and
within a few days the videos were viral all over the Internet (New York Times 2009).
The following five points will be short explanations of the videos.
5.1 Domino´s Pizza´s Special Ingrediants (Good As You 2009)
In the beginning of the video, the actor Michael and the director Kristi are joking and having
a conversation about how lazy they are in Domino´s. In this conversation they mention that
Michael is gay and Kristi is lesbian. Afterwards, the actor Michael is sneezing on the
sandwiches he is making, sticking cheese up his nose and putting it on the sandwiches.
Finally, he is passing gas on the salami, while Kristi claiming, it is the way employees at
Domino´s acts.
5.2 Sneeze Sticks (Good As You 2009)
In the beginning the actor Michael is sneezing on cheesy bread, and the director Kristi
comments that the cheesy bread with snot will be delivered to an unlucky customer.
Furthermore, they are fooling around and having a conversion about, that they are working
great together. In the end, they are boxing the cheesy bread with snot, and make it ready for
the customer who ordered it.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
5.3 Poopie Dishes (Good As You 2009)
In this video the actor Michael doing the dishes using a sponge. However, before using the
sponge, Michael wiping his behind and afterwards doing the dishes. Meanwhile, the director
Kristi laughing and encourages Michael to continue the act.
5.4 Dominos Pizza Buger (Good As You 2009)
In this short video the actor Michael has a pepper up his nose while making sandwiches.
However, in this video Michael does not put the pepper into the sandwiches, though it is still
an unsanitary act. Further, Michael does not clean his hands after touching his nose.
5.5 Domino´s Pizza part 1 (Good As You 2009)
This video shows how the actor Michael checks out a customer. He is extremely slowly and
acts very foolish, while he is searching for the keys to the cash box. Finally, after 45 seconds
Michael gives the change and checks out the costumer, though he is very impolite.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
6. Theory
The following part will be an explaining of the previously mentioned theories, Benoit and
Coombs. As the purpose of this thesis is to examine Domino´s crisis communication it is
essential to have basis in Benoit´s verbal image repair strategies, as it defines an
organisation’s possibilities to protect its image throughout a crisis. However, the results of
the applied image repair strategies succeeded cannot be answered only by this theory.
Therefore, this thesis also uses Coombs’ SCCT, as the theory of Coombs involves the
recipient´s expectations and understandings, when the organisation communicates
throughout a crisis. The usage of Benoit and Coombs supports each other’s results and helps
to understand the results of my investigations. The interaction between the theories creates
the best possible solution and understanding of whether Domino´s image and reputation
has been repaired. Further, it creates the most optimum understanding of Domino´s verbal
crisis communication.
6.1 Crisis communication
The notion crisis originally comes from the Greek word krísis (Ordnet 2014). Edgar Morin
once argued following: “Crisis point in the conception of crisis is the beginning of crisis
theory” (Johansen og Frandsen 2000, p. 46).
It can be argued that a crisis is a turning point, which is crucial to the future. For example, in
relation to illness, the turning point of the crisis is crucial to whether one is given a clean bill
of health. In relation to an organisation facing a crisis, the situation can be corrected by
making the right decisions and thereby also acting correctly.
Furthermore, it can be argued that crisis communication is the communication, with which a
sender attempts to defend one’s image (Johansen og Frandsen 2000, p. 45).
A crisis can damage the image and reputation of organisations, and therefore it can be
crucial. Therefore, it is very important for an organisation to use effective crisis
communication to protect the image and reputation, and thereby reduce the consequences
of a crisis. It is important to reduce the consequences to maintain the competitive
advantages on the market. If an organisation does not focuses on using the right image
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
repair strategies, a crisis can result in costumers and investors loosing their confidence in the
organisation, which can affect the economy of an organisation.
6.2 Theory of Image Repair Discourse (Johansen og Frandsen 2000)
In this part I will be explaining the theory of Image Repair Discourse by William L. Benoit. The
theory of Benoit is grounded in two fundamental assumptions:

Communication as goal directed activity

A good image is an important object when communicating
Furthermore, according to Benoit (Ibid) a crisis contains three phases, which are before,
during and after the crisis. Benoit argues that the image of an organisation is threatened
when an undesirable event happens, the organisation is held responsible for the action and
the act is considered as offensive. As a consequence, the image of an organisation will
therefore be considered as threatened. The first part of the process of repairing the image
contains a verbal response.
The three phases cover five different verbal image repair strategies, which will be explained
in depth in the following. Furthermore, these strategies are illustrated in table 1 (Appendix
1).
Denial (Ibid): This strategy contains simple denial, which is when the organisation denies
that the action took place, and denies that organisation is responsible for the action. Also
this strategy consists of shifting the blame, which is to shift the responsibility and thereby
avoiding one’s own participation.
Evading of responsibility (Ibid): This strategy contains four different types of strategies,
which are: Provocation, Defeasibility, Accident and Good Intentions. Provocation is used
when the organisation claims that they have been provoked to perform the action.
Defeasibility is used when the organisation claims that they were not well-informed, or the
organisation does not have the ability to adapt information. Therefore, it can be argued that
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
when using these strategies, the organisation does not bear the full responsibility for the
crisis. The next strategy is Accident, which is used when the organisation claims that the
crisis is an accident and therefore, they are not guilty. The last strategy is Good Intentions,
which is used when the organisation claims that the act was meant well.
Reducing offensiveness of event (Ibid): This strategy contains six different types of
strategies, which are: Bolster, Minimize, Differentiate, Transcend, Attack Accuser and
Compensate. These strategies are used, when the organisation tries to reduce the negative
consequences of the act. Bolster is used when the organisation brings out positive aspects of
it and thereby moves the focus to the positive sides of the organisation. Next, Minimizing is
used when the organisation defends itself by claiming that the act was not that bad.
Differentiate is used when the organisation claims that the act is not as bad as equivalent
actions. Transcend is used when the organisation tries to move the act to another context.
Attack Accuser is used when the organisation reduces the credibility of the attacker and
thereby goes to counter-attack. The strategy to compensate is used when the organisation
tries to minimize the attack by offering compensation. For example, an organisation can
offer any kind of compensation to persons, which have been influenced by the act and
thereby improve the image of the organisation.
Corrective Action (Ibid): This strategy has the purpose to handle the attack and correct the
problem, which caused the crisis condition. Benoit argues that the organisation can use this
strategy by doing an adjustment. Also, he argues that the organisation can adjust without
taking the responsibility for the act.
Mortification (Ibid): This is the last strategy of Benoit, which is used when the organisation
apologies for the act. Benoit argues, that this strategy is often used in connection with the
above-mentioned strategy Corrective Action. Though, this strategy differentiates from
Corrective Action, as the organisation using this strategy acknowledges its responsibility.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
If the organisation has used one or several of the above-mentioned strategies, then Benoit
argues that people do not believe that the organisation is responsible for act or further,
believe that the organisation has justified its part in the crisis/act. Lastly, Benoit argues that
the image of the organisation will be repaired.
6.3 Criticism of Benoit
In relation to the theory of Benoit´s, silence is not involved caused by the argument of
viewing silence as a non-verbal strategy, and Benoit only focuses on verbal strategies to
repair the image. However, this could also be seen as a possible strategy used by
organisations facing an attack or damage. Therefore, I believe that the approach of Benoit is
not complete when mentioning image repair strategies
Today many organisations chose to be silence when a crisis arises, which in some cases can
result in ending the crisis and therefore minimizing potential consequences. Furthermore,
the argument for implementing silence as a strategy is based on situation in which the
evidence has not been demonstrated, which Domino´s did in the crisis in 2009, they awaited
the situation and stayed silence in 48-hours.
6.4 Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) (Coombs, W. Timothy 2007)
In this part I will be explaining The Situational Crisis Communication Theory of W. Timothy
Coombs.
SCCT gives an evidence-based framework of understanding how to optimize and maximize
the protection of reputation. SCCT identifies key aspects and how it influences stakeholders
and publicity, and how it is responding to the crisis situation.
SCCT begins with dealing with the reputational threat of a crisis, and continues to explication
of SCCT and its application to protection of the reputation during a crisis. When evaluating
the reputational threat of a crisis Coombs works with a two-step process.
The first step is to decide a specific crisis type, which will give an understanding of how
stakeholders define the crisis.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
SCCT works with three crisis types: Victim cluster, accidental cluster and preventable cluster.
These are illustrated in table 1 (Appendix 2).
Victim cluster (Ibid): This is a mild reputational threat with weak attributions of crisis
responsibility. Victim cluster includes four crisis types: Natural disaster, Rumour, Workplace
violence and Product tampering/Malevolence.
Accidental cluster (Ibid): This is a moderate reputational threat with minimal attributions of
crisis responsibility. Accidental cluster includes three crisis types: Challenges, Technical-error
accidents and Technical-error product harm.
Preventable cluster (Ibid): This is a severe reputational threat with strong attributions of
crisis responsibility. Preventable cluster includes five crisis types: Human-error accidents,
Human-error product harm, Organizational misdeed with no injuries, Organizational misdeed
management misconduct and Organizational misdeed with injuries.
The second step in SCCT is evaluating the protection of reputation during a crisis by using
crisis response strategies. SCCT consist of two types of crisis response strategies: Primary
and secondary. These crisis response strategies are used to protect against negative
attitudes among the stakeholders and repairing the reputation.
The primary crisis response strategies consist of three groups: Denial, diminish and rebuild.
Denial includes three strategies: Attack the accuser, Denial and Scapegoat. Diminish includes
two strategies: Excuse and Justification. Finally, Rebuild includes two strategies:
Compensation and Apology. The secondary crisis response strategies only consist of one
single group: Bolstering. Bolstering includes three strategies: Reminder, Ingratiation and
Victimage. These strategies are illustrated in table 2 (Appendix 3).
The crisis response strategies have three objectives in relation to the main goal of reputation
protection: “Shape attributions of the crisis, change perceptions of the organisation in crisis
and reduce the negative affect generated by the crisis.” (Coombs, W. Timothy 2007, p. 171)
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
6.5 Criticism of Coombs
Coombs works with pre-crisis and he gives an explanation of this notion. Though, I believe
that in general practice pre-crisis can be difficult to deal with. The society and global world
moves faster than ever, therefore I take a critical view of the possibility of about the notion
pre-crisis. For example, the crisis in Domino´s in 2009 was unforeseen, and the pre-crisis
stage did not exist. Therefore, my criticism of Coombs is based on the fact that I do not
believe that the notion pre-crisis will exist in every crisis.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
7. Empirical data
This part will explain the empirical data, which will be used in the analysis. As this thesis uses
the approach of humanities, qualitative approach has been chosen, and the primary
empirical data consists of a YouTube press release by the president of Domino´s, Patrick
Doyle and an e-mail correspondence between vice president of Domino´s, Tim McIntyre and
the blog site Good As You. The YouTube is a press release that is illustrated in the
transcription in appendix 6. Further, the e-mail correspondence is illustrated in appendix 4
and appendix 5.
7.1 YouTube Video
The YouTube video has been chosen, because it was the first public communication given by
Domino’s after the origin of the crisis. Also, when an organisation has been damaged and
thereby experiences a condition of crisis, the first public communication is the most
important of all communication during a crisis. Moreover, this communication is decisive for
the future of Domino’s.
The YouTube video gives an understanding of how Domino´s handled the crisis, and how it
protected its image and reputation. In the YouTube video, Patrick Doyle, president of
Domino´s Pizza, apologies for the acts of the two employees, who did insanitary acts with
the food at Domino´s in Conover, and uploaded videos to YouTube filming the acts.
Patrick Doyle, describes the initiatives Domino´s has done to disentangle the situation, and
he stresses that it was an isolated situation: “Although, the individuals in question claim it is
a hoax, we are taking this incredibly seriously. This was an isolated incident in Conover North
Carolina. The two team-members has been dismissed and they are felony warrants out for
their arrest. The store has been shout down and sanitized from top to bottom.” (0:22 – 0:45
appendix 6) Furthermore, Patrick Doyle stresses that customer´s trust is the most important
factors to Domino´s.
Finally, Patrick Doyle mentions the situation has caused huge damage to the brand and all
employees will be influenced by the situation: “… it is not a surprise that this has caused a lot
of damage to our brand. It sickens me that the actions of two individuals could impact our
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
great system. We are 125,000 men and women; work for local business owners around the
US and more than 60 countries around the world.” (1:19 – 1:40 appendix 6)
7.2 Email Correspondence
As earlier mentioned, the e-mail correspondence is between vice president of Domino´s, Tim
McIntyre and the blog site Good As You. This has been chosen, caused by it gives an
understanding of how Domino´s reacted and how they managed the crisis.
The blog site, Good As You, represents gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, straights and
fight for common rights and elimination of discrimination. Their declarations are illustrated
in the following quotation: “We will not sit back and be led to a society that favors
discrimination over diversity.” (Good As You 2014).
The explanation of why Good As You published the YouTube videos on their blog site, is
caused by the fact that the director of the videos, Kristi, informs that she is lesbian.
Furthermore, the actor Michael also brings out that he is gay. Therefore, the videos were in
the interest of Good As You. However, Good As You make clear that they do not support gay
and lesbian, who do such unsanitary and damaging acts: “We of course never want to see
anyone fired because they are gay. We do, however, fully support gays being fired if/when
they do this:” (Good As You 2009). The following after: “… if/when they do this:” (Good As
You 2009) the five YouTube videos of Kristi and Michael are shown.
The e-mail correspondence between Tim McIntyre and Good As You is divided into two emails, which are illustrated in appendix 4 and appendix 5. I consider this data as crucial in
relation to the analysis of crisis communication, because it represents the first
communication after the crisis. Also, the public website, Good As You, was the one who
informed the organisation about the videos of the two employees, who threatened the
organisation by acting injudicious (Good As You 2009).
Further, it can be argued that Tim McIntyre has an indirect point when responding to Good
As You: “You are welcome to use anything I´ve sent to you in the past 24 hours. I do want to
thank you for bringing this to our attention.” (Appendix 5). Tim McIntyre indirect knows that
Good As You will use his comments in the e-mail correspondence and publish the
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
correspondence soon or later. Therefore, he tries to clarify that everything he claims in the
correspondence will be done. Somehow Tim McIntyre knows that this e-mail
correspondence could be a part of Domino´s crisis communication strategy. For that reason,
every choice of words is carefully chosen.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
8. Analysis
The following analysis will be divided into two parts. Firstly, I will make an analysis on basis
of Benoit´s image repair strategies, and thereby classify Domino´s usage of the strategies.
Afterwards, Coombs´ SSCT will work out an analysis, which will classify Domino´s usage of
response strategies.
As mentioned, the e-mail correspondence between the vice president of Domino´s, Tim
McIntyre, and Good As You was the first communication after this crisis. Therefore, I will
structure the analysis chronologically beginning with the e-mail correspondence and
subsequently I will move on with the YouTube video. The structure is important when
illustrating Domino´s communication progress.
8.1 Benoit´s image repair discourse
Patrick Doyle, president of Domino’s, states that the image of Domino’s has been affected by
the crisis in 2009, which is supported in the following quotation: “… it is not a surprise that
this has caused a lot of damage to our brand.” (1:19 – 1:40 appendix 6) Therefore, based on
the above framework, this part will make up an analysis of which image repair strategies
Domino’s has applied throughout the crisis with the purpose of restoring the image of the
organisation.
The following will be an analysis of the e-mail correspondence between Tim McIntyre, the
vice president of Domino´s, and Good As you. This will be succeeded by an analysis of the
press release, which was uploaded on YouTube.
8.1.1 E-mail correspondence
This part will look into Domino’s crisis communication in the e-mail correspondence, which
is considered as the first communication after the crisis. As earlier mentioned, this empirical
data is an e-mail correspondence between Tim McIntyre, Vice President in the organisation,
and the public website Good As You. Moreover, this data is considered as crucial in relation
to the crisis communication, because it further reveal how the organisation took stand on
this damage.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Domino’s applies the image repair strategy reducing offensiveness of event to its
communication efforts, which is used through bolstering. This is emphasised in the
following: “…these two individuals do not represent that 125,000 people in 60 countries who
work hard every day to make good food and provide great customer service.” (Appendix 4)
Domino’s deflects the crisis and thereby it moves the focus to positive aspects of the
organisation. In this case it calls attention to the 125,000 employees, who work hard every
day and the great customer service they are providing every day.
Also, Domino´s applies the strategy evading responsibility through shifting blame: “I’ve
turned this over to our security department.” (Ibid) In this quotation Tim McIntyre
emphasises another department in the organisation, and it can therefore be argued that he
is shifting the blame and does not take the full responsibility.
The organisation uses the strategy corrective action: “We will find them.” (Ibid) This
describes how it will correct this crisis by finding the employees who threatened Domino’s,
and thereby it tries to solve the problem. By using this strategy Domino’s signals that it will
not tolerate the action of these employees and similar future actions will be punished, which
shows that the organisation takes responsibility.
In the second e-mail Domino’s also applies the strategy corrective action: “He has told us
that he will be terminating their employment effective immediately.” (Appendix 5) This
quotation describes which corrective action it used. The organisation has chosen to dismiss
the two employees, who caused this crisis and thereby it signals that the action was
unforgivable. Also, it can be argued that by using this strategy the organisation takes
responsibility for the crisis.
Further, the following quotation is an example of the strategy reducing offensiveness of
event, below here attack accuser: “We suggested that he call them and get a written
statement from them, asking them to “explain” (to the extent anyone can, really) their
actions.” (Ibid) By using this strategy the organisation tries to reduce the credibility of the
two employees, who are the attackers in this case, and thereby it diverts the attention from
itself.
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Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
The last quotation is also an example of the strategy corrective action: “We are also seeking
legal counsel to see what kind of action we can take against them for damage to the brand.”
(Ibid) However, to this it can be argued that even though it corrects the mistake, Domino’s
does not take responsibility for the action. The corrective action consists in punishing the
two employees and not how the organisation can improve itself with the purpose of
preventing similar crisis.
8.1.2 YouTube Video
This part will look into Domino’s crisis communication in the YouTube video. The following
quotation states that Domino´s is taking action, as the two members have been dismissed
and a judicial proceeding will come up: “Although, the individuals in question claim it is a
hoax, we are taking this incredibly seriously. This was an isolated incident in Conover North
Carolina. The two team-members have been dismissed and there are felony warrants out for
their arrest. The store has been shout down and sanitized from top to bottom.” (0:22-0:45
Appendix 6)
The decision of correcting the action emphasises that similar incidents are not tolerated in
this organisation, and the employees, who causes a crisis, will be punished now and in the
future. To this it can be argued, that the organisation applies the strategy corrective action,
because it aims to correct the problem. When using this strategy, the organisation takes
crisis responsibility, though two employees did the action.
Furthermore, it can be argued that the above quotation consists of evading responsibility
with use of the strategy accident. This is emphasised by Domino’s claiming that the act was
“This was an isolated incident in Conover, North Carolina” (0:29 – 0:34 Ibid), which indicates
that the organisation does not take the responsibility for the action. Further, Domino’s, with
this sentence, emphasises that the action was unique and it will not happen again. Also, it
can be argued that the organisation implicit uses the strategy bolster. The argument for this
is based on the fact that the organisation focuses on the importance of this action being only
was an isolated incident, and thereby it is comparing the crisis to the fact that they have not
experienced similar before.
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Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
The organisation uses two different strategies in this quotation, and further in this quotation
appears an inequality, which is seen by the organisation both takes the responsibility for the
action and also, the organisation blames the two employees. This inequality reflects a
reliability of the organisation and it can therefore affect the customer’s attitudes negatively
towards this crisis.
Another strategy is used in the following quotation: “We are re-examining all of our hiring
practices to make sure that people like this do not make it into our stores.” (0:51 – 0:59 Ibid)
The organisation applies the strategy corrective action, as it makes clear that it will prevent
the crisis to emerge again in the future. Furthermore, Domino´s acknowledge that its hiring
practices must be re-examined. By this Domino´s takes crisis responsibility, and it makes
clear that it aims to avoid similar crises in the future. Therefore, Domino´s must take
responsibility for its hiring of the two employees. However, the incident was unpredictable
and caused by two employees, therefore it can be argued that the organisation cannot take
full responsibility for the crisis.
In the following quotation Domino’s uses the strategy reducing offensiveness of event with
the use of bolstering, as it points out positive aspects of the organisation.
“We have auditors across the country in our stores everyday of the week making sure that
our stores are as clean as they can possibly be and that we are delivering high quality food to
our customers day in and day out.” (0:59 – 1:13 Ibid) It deflects the crisis when it points out
the use of auditors across the country to make sure, that stores are clean and stores are
delivering high quality food to the customers.
Also, it brings attention to some fundamental aspects of Domino´s, such as: “delivering high
quality food to our customers day in and day out” (1:09 – 1:13 Ibid) which is high on the list
of priorities in this organisation (Dominos 2014). Furthermore, it can be argued that
Domino´s uses the strategy corrective action in this quotation, because Patrick Doyle points
out that auditors will make sure that stores across the country match the expectations
Domino´s represent. Patrick Doyle emphasises that Domino´s takes actions to prevent the
crisis to emerge again, and thereby Domino´s corrects the mistake to match expectations.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
The following quotation is an example of the use of mortification, as Domino’s apologizes for
the incident: “Recently we discovered a video of two Domino´s team members who thought
that their acts would be a funny YouTube hoax. We sincerely apologies for this incident. We
thank members of the online community, who quickly alerted us and allowed us to take
immediate action.” (0:05 – 0:22 Ibid)
It stresses its gratitude to the online community, which alerted Domino´s about the videos.
The usage of mortification indicates that Domino´s does not take the full responsibility, as it
was intangible and unexpected circumstances that caused this crisis. However, the crisis is
caused by two employees of Domino´s, therefore Domino´s must take part in the
responsibility. Mortification gives an acknowledgement of the crisis, and it makes the
organisation appear as reliable and as a responsible organisation.
Furthermore, to this quotation, it can be argued that the organisation uses reducing
offensiveness of event with the usage of the strategy bolster: “We thank members of the
online community, who quickly alerted us and allowed us to take immediate action.” (0:16 –
0:22 appendix 6) Patrick Doyle indicates that the organisation quickly took action concerning
the crisis. Also, he emphasises Domino´s positive respond to the crisis. The usage of
laudatory terms about Domino´s emphasises a usage of bolster.
“It sickens me that the actions of two individuals could impact our great system. We are
125,000 men and women; work for local business owners around the US and more than 60
countries around the world.” (1:23 – 1:40 Ibid) This quotation consists of the two image
repair strategies evading of responsibility using the strategy defeasibility, and reducing
offensiveness of event with the use of the strategy bolster.
The strategy defeasibility remains often to external incidents, which organisations cannot
avoid. The crisis could not be avoided, caused by it is a result of unforeseen actions, and
Domino´s must take crisis responsibility, even though it was two employees who were
responsible for the action.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
As mentioned, the quotation furthermore involves the strategy bolstering, which is seen in
the following examples: “our great system” (1:27 – 1:30 Ibid) and “We are 125,000 men and
women; work for local business owners around the US and more than 60 countries around
the world.” (1:30 – 1:40 Ibid) Domino’s uses positive terms about itself, which affects the
attitudes of the costumers towards this crisis. The description of Domino´s great
organisation and system deflects Domino´s responsibility in this crisis. Therefore, it
emphasises the size of the organisation, as it brings attention to the positive acts Domino´s
conducts.
8.1.3 Sub conclusion
The following models show the results of the analyses of the email-correspondence and the
YouTube video respectively.
Bolster
Bolster
Shifting
Blame
Accident
Corrective
Action
Mortificatio
n
Attack
Accuser
Defeasibility
E-mail correspondence
YouTube video
The analyses above show that the organisation mainly applies the strategy corrective action
when communicating about this crisis. This includes that Domino’s take crisis responsibility
and therefore signals that it does not tolerates when the employees do not act up to the
ethics of the organisation. Also, it indicates that Domino’s acknowledges the crisis and it
aims to solve the problem.
It is evident throughout both analyses that the organisation mainly is concerned about
correcting the mistake and also informing about this, instead of denying crisis responsibility.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Moreover, in the video, the organisation applies the strategy accident, which indicates that it
does not take any responsibility. This is contrary to the above-mentioned strategy, and it can
therefore be concluded, that there is an imbalance between the choices of strategies.
It can be concluded that the organisation in general applies the strategy bolstering in both
analyses. Also, this shows that Domino’s takes minimal responsibility for this crisis. In
general it can be concluded that the organisation takes crisis responsibility for the action.
However, it, in almost en every argument, includes the two employees, which emphasises
that Domino’s justifies its part in the crisis.
8.2 Coombs´ SCCT
This part will make up an analysis of which crisis response strategies Domino’s Pizza applied
in the crisis in 2009 with the purpose of restoring the reputation of the organisation. As
mentioned in the above framework, SCCT works with a two-step process. The first step is to
decide the specific crisis type, and the second step is evaluating the protection of reputation
during a crisis by using crisis response strategies.
The following will be an analysis of the e-mail correspondence between Tim McIntyre, the
vice president of Domino´s, and Good As you. This will be succeeded by an analysis of the
press release, which was uploaded on YouTube.
8.2.1 E-mail correspondence
As mentioned earlier, the two-step process begins with determining types of crisis clusters.
Starting with the first e-mail, vice president Tim McIntyre does not concretes the crisis
cluster, but implicit the correspondence refers to the false and damaging information about
Domino´s, which has been executed by the two employees in Conover. Therefore, the
organisation is a victim in this crisis, caused by the false and damaging rumours, which are
the foundation of this crisis.
The second step is determining the primary and secondary crisis response strategies.
Domino´s applies the primary strategy diminish, which is used through excuses. It is
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Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
illustrated in the following quotation: “…these two individuals do not represent that 125,000
people in 60 countries who work hard every day to make good food and provide great
customer service.” (Appendix 4) This quotation emphasises that the organisation is claiming
inability to control the incident that caused the crisis. The description of Domino´s great
organisation diminishes the crisis, as Tim McIntyre points out how hard employees work at
Domino´s to provide great customer service.
Furthermore, it can be argued that the organisation applies the secondary strategy
reminder, as Tim McIntyre emphasises what Domino´s stand for: “…who work hard every
day to make good food and provide great customer service.” (Ibid) He expresses the good
work it has done and still does. This bolstering crisis response strategy emphasises, that
Domino´s does not take the full responsibility for the incident, as Tim McIntyre points out:
“…these two individuals do not represent that 125,000 people in 60 countries…” (Ibid) which
underlines that he does not compare the two individuals with the remaining employees in
the organisation, and therefore Domino´s denies full crisis responsibility.
In the second e-mail Tim McIntyre states following: “We are also seeking legal counsel to see
what kind of action we can take against them for damage to the brand.” (Appendix 5) This
quotation supports the statement about victim clustering, as Tim McIntyre states that the
incident caused damage to the brand. Further it can be argued that Domino´s takes actions
to correct the situation, while Tim McIntyre states that Domino´s will seek legal counsel to
find out how the two individuals can be punished. He underlines the fact that Domino´s does
not take the full responsibility of the crisis.
Moreover, it can be argued, that the organisation applies the secondary crisis response
strategy victimage in the quotation, as Tim McIntyre underlines that the crisis caused
damage to the brand. Hereby he claims that the organisation is also a victim of the crisis.
In contrast to the first e-mail, Domino´s also applies denial crisis response in the second email. Tim McIntyre emphasises in the following quotation that Domino´s confronts the two
individuals and ask for an explanation for their actions: “We suggested that he call them and
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
get a written statement from them, asking them to “explain” (to the extent anyone can,
really) their actions.” (Ibid)
Tim McIntyre applies the strategy attack the accuser, as he ask for an explanation for their
actions and aim to confronts the persons who caused the crisis. Again, the organisation
applies corrective actions, which indicates that Domino´s will take actions and respond to
the incident. However, it also indicates that the organisation does not take the full
responsibility of the crisis.
8.2.2 YouTube video
As earlier mentioned, Domino´s waited 48-hours before it published the press release, which
was an online press release uploaded on YouTube.
Once again the analysis of the YouTube video begins with determining the types of crisis
clusters. The following quotation illustrates the victim cluster through the crisis type rumour:
“It sickens me that the actions of two individuals could impact our great system. We are
125,000 men and women; work for local business owners around the US and more than 60
countries around the world.” (1:23 – 1:40 appendix 6) In this quotation Patrick Doyle states
that the false and damaging information about it affects the entire organisation. Therefore,
the organisation is also a victim in this crisis, as false and damaging rumours are the
foundation of this crisis.
Furthermore, it can be argued that Patrick Doyle applies two of the secondary crisis
response strategies. The following quotation emphasises the use of the strategy victimage:
“It sickens me that the actions of two individuals could impact our great system.” (1:23 –
1:30 Ibid) Patrick Doyle states that the organisation is also a victim of the crisis, as he points
out that the crisis could impact Domino´s great system. The usage of the strategy reminder is
illustrated in the following quotation: “…our great system. We are 125,000 men and women;
work for local business owners around the US and more than 60 countries around the world.”
(1:27 – 1:40 Ibid) Patrick Doyle points out the great work the organisation has done until this
crisis appeared. The expression: “our great system” (1:27 – 1:30 Ibid) stresses that Patrick
Doyle brings attention to what Domino´s has managed to build throughout its history.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Further, he mentions the size of the organisation, as he once again reminds about the good
work of the organisation.
In the following quotation the organisation applies the primary crisis response strategy
rebuilding through apology: “Recently we discovered a video of two Domino´s team
members who thought that their acts would be a funny YouTube hoax. We sincerely
apologies for this incident.” (0:05 – 0:16 Ibid) In this quotation Patrick Doyle states, that the
organisation apologises for the incident in Conover. He therefore informs that Domino´s
takes responsibility for the incident, as employees in Domino´s caused it. However, this
apology and quotation does not reflects the entire organisation, as the organisation
indicates, that the two individuals caused the crisis. Therefore, Domino´s could not avoid the
crisis. This is illustrated in the following statement: “It sickens me that the actions of two
individuals could impact our great system.” (1:23 – 1:30 Ibid)
In the following quotation the organisation applies diminish through the strategy excuse:
“This was an isolated incident in Conover North Carolina. The two team-members have been
dismissed and they are felony warrants out for their arrest. The store has been shout down
and sanitized from top to bottom.” (0:29 – 0:45 Ibid) In this quotation Patrick Doyle
underlines that it was an isolated incident. In this statement he emphasises, that the
organisation could not avoid the crisis, as unforeseen circumstances caused this crisis. He
claims, that the inability to control the situation excuses the incident.
Furthermore, it can be argued that the organisation applies secondary crisis response
strategies through victimage, as Patrick Doyle points out the initiatives the organisation
must take to disentangle the situation at Domino´s in Conover. The initiatives indicate that
the organisation is a victim of the crisis too, as Patrick Doyle describes the consequences of
the incident, illustrated in this statement: “The store has been shout down and sanitized
from top to bottom.” (0:40 – 0:45 Ibid)
Several times in the YouTube video the organisation applies secondary crisis response
strategies. This is illustrated in the following quotation: “We are 125,000 men and women;
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
work for local business owners around the US and more than 60 countries around the world.”
(1:30 – 1:40 Ibid) In this quotation the organisation applies the strategy reminder, as Patrick
Doyle stresses the past good work Domino´s has build up. He mentions the greatness of the
organisation when describing the size of Domino´s, which gives a reminder of Domino´s
success until the appearance of the crisis.
The use of secondary crisis response strategies is further be illustrated in the following
quotation: “We have auditors across the country in our stores everyday of the week making
sure that our stores are as clean as they can possibly be and that we are delivering high
quality food to our customers day in and day out.” (0:59 – 1:13 Ibid) Once again, it applies
the strategy reminder. Patrick Doyle points out the good work and service Domino´s delivers
to customers every day, and he underlines that auditors controls the stores making sure that
everything is in order. The following statement emphasises that the organisation gives a
reminder of Domino´s great work so far: “…and that we are delivering high quality food to
our customers day in and day out.” (1:08 – 1:13 Ibid) Finally, delivering high quality food
every day is a part of Domino´s values, which is important for Domino´s mentioning in a
crisis situation.
8.2.3 Sub conclusion
The following models show the results of the analyses of the email-correspondence and the
YouTube video respectively.
Execuses
Execuses
Vicitmage
Reminder
Apology
Reminder
Victimage
Attack the
Accuser
E-mail correspondence
YouTube video
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
In relation to the theory of Coombs, it can be concluded that this crisis is of the type victim
cluster, which is emphasised by the fact, that the organisation is a victim of this crisis.
Furthermore, the analyses above show that the organisation mainly applies the secondary
strategies reminder and victimage when responding about this crisis. This also underlines
that it is a victim of the crisis, and the organisation reminds stakeholders about the past
good work. Further, it indicates that Domino´s is afraid of loosing customers, and that the
brand will be damage. Therefore, the organisation seeks empathy trough the usage of
victimage.
Moreover, the organisation applies the primary crisis response strategy diminish through
excuse in the e-mails and video, which indicates that Domino´s minimizes its crisis
responsibility. It also applies the strategy denial through attack the accuser in the e-mails,
which indicates that organisation confronts the persons, who are responsible.
Also, it applies the strategy rebuild through apology in the video, which indicates that the
organisation takes full responsibility for the crisis. Therefore, the usage of the strategies is
contrary to each other.
Finally, it can be concluded that, also in relation to the theory of Coombs, there is an
imbalance between the choices of strategies, which can affect the success of the applied
response strategies.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
9. Discussion
With a basis in Benoit´s theory of image repair discourse and Coombs´ SCCT, the following
will be a discussion of the results. Furthermore, this part will discuss whether Domino´s crisis
communication succeeded.
First, the use of Benoit´s theory of image repair discourse showed that the organisation
applies several different image repair strategies. However, the organisation mainly applies
the strategy corrective action when communicating about this crisis. The usage of corrective
actions is shown in both the e-mail correspondence and the YouTube video. Furthermore,
the strategy bolstering is used in both the e-mail correspondence and the YouTube video.
In relation to the usage of the image repair strategies, similarities of the e-mail
correspondence and the YouTube video shows that Domino´s from the beginning of the
crisis has been aware of, that the organisation must correct internal procedures, which for
instance is the hiring practices to avoid similar crises in the future.
To the choices of strategies, it can be argued that Domino´s takes some responsibility, as a
corrective action is also an acknowledgement of that the organisation can be improved.
Furthermore, corrective actions show the customers that the organisation is willing to do
what ever it takes to optimize, and as a result it appears reliable and responsible.
The usage of bolstering, in both the e-mail correspondence and the YouTube video, shows
that the organisation attempts to underline the positive reputation and image of Domino´s.
The action was an isolated incident and therefore, Domino´s does well when mentioning and
describing positive aspects of the organisation, caused by it underlines the fact that
Domino´s always has delivered high quality food and service to the customers. The intention
of this strategy is to avoid that customers stay away from Domino´s and to avoid that the
economy of the organisation will be affected by the crisis. To this it can be concluded, that
this crisis has not affected the organisation’s economy, which is seen by a consistent
increase in the net income. (Appendices 7, 8 and 9)
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Besides the similarities in the usage of image repair strategies, in the e-mail correspondence
and the YouTube video, there are also differences. In the e-mail correspondence the
organisation applies the strategies shifting blame and attack accuser, which is in contrast to
the YouTube video, as it applies the strategies accident, mortification and defeasibility.
The usage of shifting blame and attack accuser in the e-mail correspondence shows that the
organisation somehow is shocked at the incident. Also, the use of these two strategies
shows that the organisation was not prepared for this crisis, as these two strategies differs
substantially from the other image repair strategies used in the YouTube video. In contrast
to the strategies shifting blame and attack accuser the usage of the strategies accident,
mortification and defeasibility shows that the organisation changed its communication
strategy. The changes in the strategies shows that Domino´s considered the communication
more in the YouTube video, and the organisation is more aware of taking crisis responsibility
of what can be corrected to avoid similar crisis in the future.
Although, Domino´s maintains the use of the strategies corrective action and bolstering
throughout the crisis, conflicting statements appears and will be pointed out. The following
quotation shows that the organisation applies two different strategies, as it both takes
responsibility for the action and further blames the two employees, who created the videos:
“Although, the individuals in question claim it is a hoax, are taking this incredibly seriously.
This was an isolated incident in Conover North Carolina. The two team-members have been
dismissed and they are felony warrants out for their arrest. The store has been shout down
and sanitized from top to bottom.” (0:22-0:45 Appendix 6) To this it can be discussed
whether the organisation appears reliable, caused by the imbalance between the willingness
to take crisis responsibility. Moreover, this has not affected the economy of the organisation
(Appendices 7, 8 and 9), which can be considered as the most important element to
measure the consequences of crisis.
Further, the analyses with use of Coombs´ SCCT showed that the organisation applies several
different crisis response strategies. However, the analyses show that the organisation mainly
applies the strategies reminder and victimage. The use of these strategies, in both the e-mail
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
correspondence and the YouTube video, shows that the organisation considers it as a victim
of the crisis, and it attempts to remind stakeholders about the past good works of Domino´s.
This indicates that the organisation does not take the full responsibility of the crisis.
Furthermore, the organisation applies the strategy excuses, which indicates that the
organisation from the beginning took part in the responsibility, however Domino´s also
claiming that inability to control the incident caused the crisis.
Besides the similarities, in the usage of the response strategies in the e-mail correspondence
and the YouTube video, there are also differences. In the e-mail correspondence the
organisation also applies the strategy attack the accuser, and in the YouTube video the
organisation further applies the strategy apology. These conflicting strategies showed that
the organisation changed the crisis communication through out the crisis.
I have discovered that if Domino´s should have optimized its strategy of crisis
communication, the organisation should only have applied strategies, which supports each
other and not contradict each other. As the organisation varies between the use of different
strategies, it creates an imbalance and makes it difficult for the recipient to understand
Domino´s direct attitude toward the crisis. However, it is important to mention that
Domino´s economy was not negatively influenced by the crisis (Appendices 7, 8 and 9).
Therefore, it can be argued that Domino´s crisis communication succeeded. However, in the
future Domino´s must be aware of that confusion concerning its attitude toward a crisis, and
crisis communication strategies can create uncertainty about the reliability of the
organisation.
A comparison of both analyses emphasises a misbalance between the willingness to take the
responsibility of the crisis. However, this misbalance has not influenced Domino´s economy
negatively, as the net income has been growing every year since the crisis in 2009
(Appendices 7, 8 and 9). Therefore, it can be emphasised that the usage of the crisis
communication strategies succeeded, as the image and reputation of Domino´s has been
rebuild (Appendices 7, 8 and 9). However, Domino´s must be aware of that misbalance
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
between the willingness to take responsibility of the crisis in the future, might cause
uncertainty about the reliability of the organisation and cause damage of Domino´s image
and reputation.
I will in the following be concluding on my findings in the analysis.
10. Conclusion
It can be concluded that when an organisation is facing a crisis, it is crucial to handle the
crisis with a focus on crisis communication. Further, in relation to the theory of Benoit it can
be concluded, that Domino´s mainly applies the strategies corrective action and bolstering
throughout its crisis communication. Therefore, it can be argued that the organisation takes
some crisis responsibility, as it aims to correct similar crises in the future.
In relation to the theory of Coombs it can be concluded, that the organisation mainly applies
the strategies reminder and victimage throughout its crisis communication. This indicates
that the organisation points out, that it is a victim of the crisis, as the acts of two individual
employees could not have been avoided.
The usage of bolstering and reminder stresses that the organisation was aware of the
importance of emphasising the positive history of Domino´s, and the positive aspects that
the organisation is known for. Therefore it can be concluded, that the organisation has
managed to repair its reputation by informing about positive aspects of the organisation,
when it communicated after the crisis. The success of the reparation of the image and
reputation is emphasised in the years after the crisis, where Domino´s succeeded to increase
its financial results every year (Appendices 7, 8 and 9).
In general it can be concluded that Domino’s does not take crisis responsibility, because of a
general focus on the two employees, when the organisation explained itself. Also, an
argument to this is based on a misbalance between the used image repair strategies. If the
organisation wanted to appear reliable, it should have been consistent in the use of repair
strategies and moreover, has chosen to take crisis responsibility or not.
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Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
11. Bibliography
Books

Coombs, W. Timothy. 2007. “Protecting Organization Reputations During a Crisis: The
Development and Application of Situational Crisis Communication Theory.”
Corporate Reputation Review: pp. 163-176.

Johansen, Winni and Frandsen Finn. 2000. “Retorik og krisekommunikation.”
Rhetorica Scandinavica: pp. 45-62.

Pahuus, M. 2004. Videnskabelig metode, problemorientering og typer af videnskab.
Vidensgrundlag for handlen, red. J. Christensen. Aalborg Universitetsforlag.
Websites

Den store danske. 2014. “Kommunikation.” Last accessed May 27 2014.
http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Krop,_psyke_og_sundhed/Psykologi/Psykologiske_t
ermer/kommunikation.

Dominos. 2014. “About Pizza.” Last accessed May 27 2014.
http://www.dominos.com/about-pizza/.

Dominos. 2014. “Start din egen Domino´s.” Last accessed May 27 2014.
http://www.dominos.dk/franchising.

Dominos. 2014. “Vores historie.” Last accessed May 27 2014.
http://www.dominos.dk/franchising/hvordan-dominicks-blev-til-dominos.
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Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Dominosbiz. 2014. “Quarterly Earnings.” Last accessed May 27 2014.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=135383&p=quarterlyearnings

Good As You. 2009. “Video: Let the Domino´s appall as they may.” Last accessed May
27 2014. http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2009/04/video-let-thedominoes-appall.html.

Good As You. 2014. “What´s this.” Last accessed May 27 2014.
http://www.goodasyou.org/whats_this/.

Ordnet. 2014. “Krise.” Last accessed May 27 2014.
http://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?query=krise.

Oxford Dictionaries. 2014. “Communication.” Last accessed May 27 2014.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/communication.

PRSA. 2009. “Domino’s delivers during crisis: The company’s step-by-step response
after a vulgar video goes viral.” Last accessed May 27 2014.
https://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/TheStrategist/Articles/view/8226/102/Domino_s
_delivers_during_crisis_The_company_s_step#.U39oc9w0p9y

The New York Times. 2009. “Video Prank At Domino´s Taints Brand.” Last accessed
May 27 2014.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/business/media/16dominos.html?_r=3&adxn
nl=1&adxnnlx=1400860980-2d/TefF1ej9xosXLepOjiw.

YouTube. 2009. “Domino´s President Responds To Prank Video.” Last accessed May
23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dem6eA7-A2I.
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Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
12. Appendices
Appendix 1
Benoit’s theory of Image Repair Discourse:
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Appendix 2
Coombs’ Situational Crisis Communication Theory (Model 1):
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Appendix 3
Coombs’ Situational Crisis Communication Theory (Model 2):
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Appendix 4
E-mail correspondence 1:
Thank you for bringing these to our attention. I don’t have the words to say how
repulsed I am by this – other than to say that these two individuals do not
represent that 125,000 people in 60 countries who work hard every day to
make good food and provide great customer service. I’ve turned this over to our
security department. We will find them. There are far too many clues that will
allow us to determine their location quite easily.
Regards,
Tim McIntyre
Vice President, Communications
Domino's Pizza, LLC
Appendix 5
E-mail correspondence 2:
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Hi, Jeremy.
We just got off the phone with the franchise owner, who was absolutely
dumbfounded by this. He has told us that he will be terminating their
employment effective immediately. We suggested that he call them and get a
written statement from them, asking them to “explain” (to the extent anyone
can, really) their actions. We are also seeking legal counsel to see what kind of
action we can take against them for damage to the brand.
You are welcome to use anything I’ve sent to you in the past 24 hours. I do want
to thank you for bringing this to our attention…I just wish it hadn’t been posted
so prominently on your web site…while it was certainly fair game, it does hurt
the company and the thousands of people we employ in this country whether
it’s intended or not.
Regards,
Tim
Tim McIntyre
Vice President, Communications
Domino's Pizza, LLC
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Appendix 6
Transcript of YouTube video:
0:00 – 0:01 Hello,
0:01 – 0:04 I am Patrick Doyle, president of Domino´s USA.
0:05 – 0:12 Recently we discovered a video of two Domino´s team members who thought
that their acts would be a funny YouTube hoax.
0:12 – 0:16 We sincerely apologies for this incident.
0:16 – 0:22 We thank members of the online community, who quickly alerted us and
allowed us to take immediate action.
0:22 – 0:29 Although, the individuals in question claim it is a hoax, we are taking this
incredibly seriously.
0:29 – 0:34 This was an isolated incident in Conover North Carolina.
0:34 – 0:40 The two team-members have been dismissed and they are felony warrants out
for their arrest.
0:40 – 0:45 The store has been shout down and sanitized from top to bottom.
0:45 – 0:51 There is nothing more important or sacred to us than over customer´s trust.
0:51 – 0:59 We are re-examining all of our hiring practices to make sure that people like this
do not make it into our stores.
0:59 – 1:13 We have auditors across the country in our stores everyday of the week making
sure that our stores are as clean as they can possibly be, and that we delivering high quality
food to our customers day in and day out.
1:13 – 1:23 The independent honor of that store is reeling from the damage this has caused,
and it is not a surprise that this has caused a lot of damage to our brand.
1:23 – 1:30 It sickens me that the actions of two individuals could impact our great system.
1:30 – 1:40 We are 125,000 men and women; work for local business owners around the US
and more than 60 countries around the world.
1:40 – 1:47 We take tremendous pride in crafting delicious food that they deliver to you
everyday.
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
1:47 – 1:57 There are so many people who have come forward with messages of support for
us, and we want to thank you for hanging in their with us, as we work to regain your trust.
1:57 – 2:00 Thank you.
Appendix 7
Domino´s financial results fourth quarter 2009:
Appendix 8
Domino´s financial results fourth quarter 2010:
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Jakob Lind
Bachelor Thesis
Aalborg University
Summer 2014
Appendix 9
Domino’s financial results first quarter 2014:
43