Publicity Stunt

Ford Motor and Domino’s pizza have teamed to deliver pizza with a driverless car. It’s a publicity stunt with a purpose. Both companies are trying to learn how consumers will relate to robotic vehicles. In this case, the car will come to the curb and the customer must leave the house, enter digits from one’s phone number and retrieve the pizza from a box in the rear window. At issue is whether customers will accept the added burden rather than having a human deliver the box to the door. The two companies will find out soon enough. Meanwhile the stunt part of the project is garnering Ford and Domino headlines and positioning them at the forefront of driverless technologies. A smart move.