Domino’s set to up ad budget to £10m

Domino’s Pizza UK and Ireland is planning to boost its advertising spend by at least 20 per cent next year, following a year of strong sales. The company has invested &£8m in advertising this year.

The increased budget will see the company step up its presence in television advertising and direct marketing to support both brand building and new product development. It also plans to increase its local marketing.

The news follows the promotion of sales and marketing director Chris Moore to the new position of chief operating officer. Moore will continue to oversee the strategic direction of sales and marketing, but his role has been expanded to include the training and operations division and human resources. He will also oversee e-commerce.

Moore, who has already taken up his new role, says the company plans to continue its marketing strategy but “take it up a notch” following strong results for the first half of the year. It reported an 8.4 per cent increase in like-for-like sales at its 317 mature outlets for the 26 weeks ended July 3. Sales including mature stores and new openings increased by 20 per cent.

Moore says sponsorship of The Simpsons on Sky One will continue until July 2006, but will not comment on whether it will be renewed. He will not confirm whether he is in talks about sponsorship of The Simpsons on Channel 4, previously held by Pizza Hut (MW August 25).