For the first time ever, the thermal Heat-Wave-Tech delivery bags invented by Domino’s in 1998 were totally re-engineered, to create the hottest British winter apparel.

As the temperatures dropped, so did the Domino’s Heatsuit - the must-have merch to cope with the arctic temperatures and the January blues.

A brand activation with ZERO paid media support, which had genuine impact in all the right places and bags of Domino’s personality.

Most importantly, it proved that earned-first, highly creative initiatives really CAN deliver the goods – an 18% uplift in orders directly attributed to this activation. All for very little dough.

Talking about the weather is a national pastime in the UK.

Big changes in the atmospheric outlook, both the summer highs and the winter lows, are often a lead story in the British media, dominating print, online and broadcast news. It gets huge airtime on social media, too.

And whilst the bongs of Big Ben traditionally ring in the New Year in Britain, they also mark the start of the post-holiday winter blues.

So as a nation that loves to have something to complain about, we can always count on the weather in January to deliver an ice storm or a Baltic blast to both grab national headlines and rain on our parade.

Two things typically drop in January – the temperatures in Britain and the sales of delivery fast food and takeaways.

Skint after the excesses of Christmas, people always spend less, making January the slowest month for most retail sectors, including food home delivery.

The temperature drop also increases the noise around one of the biggest crimes of the category – hot food coming in cold.

Domino’s, the OGs of door-to-door delivery, has invested millions in its Heat-Wave-Tech delivery bags to keep its pizzas piping hot.

Domino’s also gives priority treatment to every single delivery, whereas the likes of Deliveroo and Uber Eats regularly handle multiple orders per journey… meaning they often DON'T drop it when it’s hot.

THE BRIEF:

DELIVER A HEADLINE-GRABBING BRAND ACTIVATION WITH BIG PERSONALITY & CULTURAL RELEVANCY, TO CAPTURE THE NATION’S ATTENTION, INCREASE CONSIDERATION & DELIVER A SPIKE IN SALES, DURING A TYPICALLY QUIET PURCHASING MONTH.

What happens if you deconstruct the Domino’s Heat-Wave-Tech delivery bag and re-engineer it to keep PEOPLE piping hot, not just pizzas?

You get the Domino’s Heatsuit – the first ever head-to-toe apparel that keeps you as oven fresh and toasty warm as a red-hot Pepperoni Passion.

We chose to lean into the British obsession with winter weather.

First we analysed exactly how and when a predicted cold snap would dominate the UK news agenda, so we’d know precisely when to act.

We then figured out the exact weather and temperature combo that would get the nation in a sweat. If you’re wondering… its lows of at least -10 Degrees Celsius and snow blizzard warnings that usually tip us Brits over the edge.

We set out to hijack the January ‘big freeze’ in a way that would appeal to a wide UK audience – from Gen Z right through to pizza loving parents and grandparents.

We chose to highlight the technical superiority and proprietary innovation of the Domino’s Heat-Wave-Tech delivery bag – the brand’s secret sauce. Layered with cutting edge micro thermal insulation technology, it keeps pizzas hot, even on the coldest of nights.

Partnering with the product innovation team at Domino’s, we set out to transfer their technical smarts into the hottest merch drop of the UK 2024 Autumn / Winter season.

Each of our Domino’s Heatsuit prototypes were equipped with a mobile phone holder, a front pouch for stashing Garlic & Herb Dip and knee inserts for napkins. The thickly padded design reflected the iconic delivery bag aesthetic, with a fashionable all-in-one, zip-fronted design.

We used the December holiday period to shoot low budget campaign assets - both video & photography. We also identified the best media to loan the Heatsuit to, and influencers to seed it with.

With handmade Heatsuits from the Domino's special ops team box fresh and ready to go, we then simply waited for the temperatures to dip.

When a predicted artic blast of -15 Degrees Celsius (5 Degrees Fahrenheit) hit the headlines mid-January, we came in hot....

We released the Domino’s Heatsuit to national media and revealed images online… and very quickly, all hail broke loose!

We landed coverage in EVERY target national and regional title across the UK, including The Mail (both print and online) plus The Sun, The Mirror, The Express & The Star. Our launch was also covered by Sky News and ITV news.

As the hype snowballed and online chatter spiked, demand even crossed the Atlantic, with Drew Barrymore putting out a request for a Domino’s Heatsuit to wear on her show.

200+ editorial media hits landed across print, online and broadcast media, reaching over 651 million people.

• 98% of coverage included 3+ key brand messages

• 99% of coverage included branded visual imagery

Most importantly, it demonstrated that PR-led highly creative initiatives really can deliver commercially – AN 18% UPLIFT IN ORDERS IN JANUARY 2024 WAS DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO THIS ACTIVATION.

Total client investment: £35,130

Hard costs: £20,130

Agency fee: £15,000