Dominos to increase ad budget to 20m

Home delivery pizza chain Domino’s says it expects to boost its advertising budget by more than 10% to £20m in 2009 to capitalise on budget- conscious Britons choosing to eat at home.

The company, market leader in its sector, this morning (February 17) reported an 18.4% increase in sales for the year to December 28. Chief Executive Chris Moore said that a third of the 2.7m households that ordered its pizza and snacks in 2008 were new customers.

Moore attributes the growth to the company’s £18m marketing spend, which rose from £15m in 2007 and saw it become headline sponsor of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent and make other deals with shows such as The X Factor.

He added that online orders jumped by 74% with an average value of 20% higher than phone orders “Mainly as a result of increased spend in highly targeted online marketing in 2008.” Online sales grew to represent 23% of the company’s total orders last year from 17% in 2007.

Dominos upbeat announcement follows news that fast food outlets are generally benefiting from the demand from recession-hit Britons for cheaper food. Yesterday Kentucky Fried Chicken announced it would be opening a further 300 stores in the UK over the next 3-5 years, with 44 opening in 2009 in response to booming sales.