In its latest instance of innovation, digital video recorder (DVR) pioneer TiVo Inc. (TIVO) has teamed with Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) to give its device users the ability to order pizza for delivery or pickup and track timing from their TV set.
Starting yesterday, this new service is free to all broadband-connected TiVo subscribers and supports both delivery and pick-up orders, whereas pick-up orders done without TiVo incur a delivery charge. Viewers pay in cash when the pizza is delivered.
The deal is but the latest evidence of TiVo’s ability to continuously evolve itself way beyond the DVR box that gave it initial fame for its ad-skipping ability. Later, the company began selling viewer data collected from its DVRs to advertisers. It then created innovative software interfaces with cablecos. Its efforts to redefine the value of the in-home DVR continue.
TiVo subscribers can access their Domino's Pizza order from various advertising entry points on the DVR maker’s user interface, including Gold Star Sponsorship, Program Placement, Interactive Tags in live TV spots, and through Music, Photos, Products, & More by clicking on “Order Your Domino’s Pizza Now.”
TiVo subscribers can set up a user name and password on Dominos.com so that each time they use their TiVo remote to place an order, they can log in with a simple account number. Alternatively, TiVo subscribers can enter their delivery address, build their pizza order right from the television set by selecting type of crust, toppings, and sauces, and get the pizza delivered by their local Domino’s.
The deal edges TiVo very close to, if not to, actual TV commerce, or T-commerce. With T-commerce, TV viewers buy products through their TV sets.
“We are confident that teaming with TiVo on this novel, easy, and convenient way to order pizza right from the TV will be very well received by our customers,” said Rob Weisberg, vice president of precision and print marketing at Domino’s, in prepared comments. “This is the first step in the future of customer interactions with the brands they seek to engage with and buy from.”
Karen Bressner, senior vice president of Advertising Sales, TiVo Inc. said, the new partnership “offers yet another advertising solution as commercial avoidance continues to increase. With just a few clicks of the remote, TiVo users can pause their program, order a pizza, and then sit back, relax, and return to their favorite show without missing a single second.”
