Have you heard about the Denny’s Allnighter? What about the Denny’s ‘Creature Comforts‘ campaign? No? That’s okay; I didn’t either. It’s probably a sign of the times that I am too old to appreciate staying up until 2AM and heading to Denny’s for some grub after a night out.
That said, I do remember trips to Denny’s many moons ago that included a cranky waitress or waiter who hated us being there (okay, so we were a bit wound up) and food that was, well, not a grand-slam by any stretch. Sound familiar?
My, how times have changed!
Who knew that Denny’s has been serving up food to bands and music fans since the 1950s?! Well, that heritage lives on with Denny’s Allnighter, which is sponsored by Dr. Pepper.
Today’s Denny’s is all about enticing night owls with alternative music and affordable food from 10pm-5am (that’s the ‘allnighter’ part). And not just any music, but music from bands they adopt as well as more well-known bands such as Good Charlotte, Sum 41, and Rascal Flatts. And not just menu food, but food created by the bands that drop by Denny’s while on tour. The staff also dons relaxed uniforms and serves up food to the sounds of Envy on the Coast (that’s the creature comfort part). Hmmm, doesn’t sound much like the cranky wait staff or Denny’s that I remember.
So aside from inviting bands to cook and eat and their fans to join in, what makes this campaign cool? Denny’s has, of course, totally embraced social media to reach out to the 20-something crowd with their campaign including the usual suspects: Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Lala, YouTube, and an iPhone app.
It’s not enough to just use the tools…it’s about the buzz.
And they are definitely creating a buzz. With Denny’s sponsoring after-parties and special giveaways for this summer’s Warped Tour, they buzz will most likely continue to grow.
Denny’s isn’t using social media just to blast out messages–they are actually talking to people on Twitter, every month people have a say on the bands that Denny’s adopts and, ironically, if you plan on dropping by Denny’s after the Warped Tour, you’ll need to RSVP to hang out with the band.
An RSVP to eat at Denny’s?! Yep, you read that correctly and that’s where the buzz comes in to play.
I don’t know about you, but I think this is a grand-slam. Why? Aside from some PR and some late night advertising, the campaign is not mainstream and that’s what’ll keep it a success–for now.
Tags: Buzz Marketing, Denny's, Social Media, word-of-mouth
This is wrong on so many levels I can’t even begin to count.
Denny’s has been playing around with this ‘eat with the bands’ crap for a while now. With same store sales flatter than the pancakes they serve do you really think continuing the attempt to ‘appear cool’ is more important than trying to actually create a better experience for their core guests?
So much for another chain not learning from the consumer recalibration that has taken place.
@JeffreySummers, my perspective is from one of a marketer, not a resturant consultant or a 20-something. That said, given that they just kicked off the Creatures Comforts campaign recently, I’d like to give them some time to prove its effectiveness (or not). As well, I’d have to assume there’s a reason why they are spending the extra effort and money (i.e. marketing research that we are not privy to) targeting this audience. As well, I give them props for the buzz that has been created so far… I saw a bunch of tweets from people who were happy to get their RSVP in for a night with a band or to hang out. Will it be effective in the end to increase revenues for franchisers, well, that remains to be seen. As for marketing to core guests, maybe they should try social media to get their feedback as well. Just a thought…
Life is not all beer and skittles.
When I was a teen in the late 80’s, Denny’s is the place where all the teenagers ended up on weekend nights after the movies or parties or whatever. Beth’s comment about the surly waitstaff was dead-on. It seemed to me then that Denny’s was fighting with their core customers: Denny’s didn’t want the teens there, and did everything they could, including playing loud Muzak, to drive the teens away. But isn’t it smarter to try to attract and retain these customers, to try to get them to spend more, to try to get them to come back? It’s a sea change in their corporate culture, to be sure, but the Super Bird and Moons Over My Hammy will only take revenues so far.
Good for Denny’s to distinguish themselves in this way. It seems to me like their “core group” is one that is cutting back during these tough economic times and so Denny’s needs to develop a secondary core to keep them going.
On another level, this seems to parallel the typical restaurant’s happy hour – a strategy to bring in traffic during what would otherwise be a slow time. Instead, Denny’s is generating revenue when they might otherwise have their doors shut. This is giving them short-term benefits (the buzz) and long-term benefits (carving out an interesting niche that may lead to a new loyal segment with significant lifetime potential value).
There was a lady from the countryside who came to the city and checked into a hotel. Then she said to the bellman, “I refuse to take a tiny room like this, with no window and no bed in it! You can’t treat me like a fool just because I don’t travel much! I’m going to complain to the manager!” So the bellman said very politely, “Madam,this isn’t your room. It’s the elevator!”