To many brands, listening to consumers means conducting a few focus groups and studying a report or two. But how much does that really accomplish? Are they just “protecting” themselves from the truth (which does more harm than good)? Because in the digital age, everyone gets to be heard—and Domino’s has finally perked up its ears.

Consumers had been complaining about its sub-par pizza on Twitter (one compared its crust to cardboard), and the truth wasn’t easy for Domino’s to swallow. So, it cooked up The Pizza Turnaround, a documentary and campaign that followed the company’s execs as they examined focus groups and web commentary. The brand didn’t hide or get defensive about its failures; instead, it confronted complaints head on. More importantly, it worked on solving them.

“Boring,” “artificial,” “imitation of what pizza can be”—this was the kind of feedback posted to the kitchen wall for inspiration. A team of Domino’s chefs took this and created a new recipe. And since Domino’s turned to the web to study the problem, it returned to let the world know of the solution.

This strategy proved successful for many reasons, but primarily because Domino’s showed it paid attention to its consumers, and was transparent in its process of fixing them. Sure, brand’s response may have been carefully calculated and the employee reactions scripted.  But Domino’s didn’t try to hide the bad press either and it jumped at the chance to improve. Any way you slice it, it demonstrates a smart reaction to negative table talk.

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