Domino’s SVP Kate Trumbull on Serving Up the Unexpected

Over the past decade, Kate Trumbull has risen up the ranks of one of the world’s preeminent food brands, Domino’s. In her current role as SVP of Brand and Product Innovation, it’s literally her job to think outside of the (pizza) box. Trumbull’s teams do not ascribe their success to some playbook; rather, they focus on surprising and delighting customers in neighborhoods around the world and proving out Domino’s value at every turn to stay ahead in the food delivery wars. What’s something new and innovative you’ve worked on recently? A campaign we call “Carryout Tips.” The hook: we’re going to tip you for being your own delivery driver. Tipping your pizza delivery driver is a practice as old as pizza delivery itself. But when faced with a desire to grow our carry out business, as well as a nationwide labor shortage, we flipped the script by tipping our own customers $3 for delivering their pizza to themselves. The campaign has been covered by everyone from GMA to The Wall Street Journal to the tune of more than 2 billion earned media impressions. What emerging innovation are you most excited about and how do you think it will change the future of marketing? We are on the tipping point of being a 100% voice-led, hands-free world. From audio technology controlling tasks at home (voice controlling remotes, temperature, lights, music, cameras on kids, etc.) to wallet-free transactions in grocery, convenience, gas, and QSR. Smart brands are obsessing over empowering easy (aka convenience) and it will pay off. Technology and convenience will become table stakes, leaving brand image as the major lever to drive consumer preference—which is a beautiful space for marketers to play. What’s one piece of work from your career you’re proudest of? I love the work our brand has done for the communities and neighborhoods we serve. One of these was our Paving for Pizza campaign, where we partnered with local communities across the country to literally fix potholes so customers could get their pizzas home safely. A second, and perhaps even more topical, is a campaign called Local Surprises, where we rewarded customers in select markets with gift cards to local small restaurants, to bring awareness to the hefty fees aggregators charge these restaurants and to urge customers to order from neighborhood eateries directly. You see a [company] culture more clearly when things really hit the fan. What’s one major setback or moment of failure you’ve had in your career? And what did you learn from it? There was an external partnership and promotion I cultivated that, let’s just say, worked too well and turned into a crisis. Fortunately, the internal team rallied together and overcame the challenge. It taught me to interrogate every opportunity, ask the tough questions, and truly plan for the worst. It also taught me the importance of building a culture that embraces risk and failure. You see a [company] culture more clearly when things really hit the fan. You have to hire for one thing and one thing only. What do you look for? Past leadership experience: captain of a sports team, club president, creator of a program/new business. Hard skills like analytics, project management, and even strategy can be learned from the right manager and teams. The innate desire and grit to lead, create, fight for great ideas, overcome obstacles, and command the respect of others are way harder to teach. What’s something most people don’t know about you? My dream since being little was to be a writer. I love writing, especially poetry. I can’t think of a better legacy than your written word living on for thousands of years. Outside of marketing, what is something innovative that inspires you? Ukraine’s resistance. And to have a courageous, relatable global leader like Volodymyr Zelenskyy to set the standard for leadership. We are in desperate need of heroes to inspire us to be better. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? They’re going to blame you or congratulate you, so at the very least, do it on your own terms. What’s your top binge-worthy show of all time? Total throwback: 24. The adrenaline-inducing ticking clock was irresistible. Could not move from my couch for days at a time back then. With three kids under age seven, the only thing I’m binge-watching these days is Encanto. Often saying no is hard, but it’s just as important as saying yes. What one question would you ask the marketing community and why? In business today, is anything not marketing? Potentially the greatest value marketing leaders can contribute is to guide their organization to strategic focus and prioritization. Often saying no is hard, but it’s just as important as saying yes.