MKT 265 final project - Denny’s was founded in 1953 by Harold Butler and Richard Jezak. Initially not PDF

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Denny’s was founded in 1953 by Harold Butler and Richard Jezak. Initially not a restaurant, it was originally a donut stand called Danny’s Donuts. (Denny's, n.d.) In 1956 it became a 24-hour coffee shop before becoming a restaurant by the name of Denny’s in 1961. This change to being open 24 hours e...

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Final Project: Denny’s MKT 265

Denny’s was founded in 1953 by Harold Butler and Richard Jezak. Initially not a restaurant, it was originally a donut stand called Danny’s Donuts. (Denny's, n.d.) In 1956 it became a 24-hour coffee shop before becoming a restaurant by the name of Denny’s in 1961. This change to being open 24 hours every day has heavily impacted how the chain is viewed today. Someone once said, “You don’t go to Denny’s. You end up at Denny’s.” (Jimmdog123) but once someone gets there, they would sure love for them to enjoy themselves. Denny’s is a strange place with its own atmosphere and rather than fight their strangeness, Denny’s has taken it and has made it into a marketing strategy all its own. Anyone who has stayed awake for 24 hours knows that by the end of it, they are not firing on all cylinders. When a restaurant, or any business, is open 24 hours a day, this can be felt everywhere: the people, the atmosphere, the “energy” as some may call it. The posts on Denny’s social media accounts range from things one might joke about with friends while waiting for their Grand Slam to come out, like how scary the very idea of sentient broccoli would be (Denny’s, 2017), to things that may cross their tired mind when Denny’s is the only thing open, such as a giraffe with stacked pancakes for a neck that is wishing everyone a happy national pancake day (Denny’s Diner, 2017). What all the posts have in common is that they all draw people’s attention and make more people think about the chain, increasing the possibility of more people going to Denny’s. Some draw attention to current deals such as free pancakes. A deal for free food is good but just posting “we are offering free pancakes and free delivery today” would not draw that much attention. Instead, Denny’s would post a picture of a pancake with wings being set free and put emphasis on the word “free” to grab attention first (Denny’s Diner, 2021). Denny’s is best known for serving breakfast foods such as pancakes, waffles, and eggs, and being open 24 hours. Their overall brand is seen clearly throughout their digital marketing as

nearly everything they post has to do with breakfast foods or other types of diner food. Starting in 2013, Denny’s has partnered with Erwin Penland to handle their social media and the results speak for themselves. Since the beginning of their partnership, as of 2015, Denny’s following has grown “by 150 percent, with 1,800-plus average engagement per post.” (Taylor, 2015) While customers 50 years and older have long been the core group of Denny’s customers and remain a good portion of their audience, around 40 percent, Denny’s recognizes that the other 60 percent of their customer base are younger. (Brandau, 2010) Their more traditional marketing, such as television ads, and billboards, are more geared toward the older customers, but their digital marketing, more specifically social media, is targeted more toward their younger audience. While television ads can reach a lot of people, not many people enjoy seeing repeated commercials for the same places again and again unless they are very entertaining and even then, there is a limit. With digital marketing, it is a bit easier and cheaper to release various advertisements than it is to make multiple television advertisements or billboards. In 2010 in an interview with Nation’s Restaurant News, Vice President of Marketing and Product Development, John Dillon, stated “There is always a need for TV. People want to see the food. Other tools such as social media or partnerships…help us tailor a message to customers so that we don’t have to scream from the rooftops on national TV.” (Brandau, 2010) They may have a lot of 50+ customers but they cannot cater to only that segment without risking the loss of their younger segment of customers which makes up the larger majority. Denny’s main goal is to get people to visit and eat with them, as is any restaurant’s goal in marketing. Denny’s promises good food at a fair price any and every hour of the day or night and they stick to that promise. Their main goal for social media varies with each platform. Denny’s currently has an active account with Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, along with semi

active accounts with Pinterest and YouTube. They were active on Tumblr until about 11 months ago but have since stopped posting for unknown reasons. In simple terms, Denny’s marketing is to say “Do you like breakfast? We have breakfast! Anytime and all the time!” Each account seeks to achieve the overall goal of attracting returning customers in its own way. In terms of followers, Denny’s most successful social media profile is their Facebook page with 1,335,728 likes. (Denny's, 2009) In contrast, Facebook also has the lowest engagement relative to the follower count with under 500 likes per post and very few comments. Facebook is the account Denny’s uses for its tamer, more traditional marketing and news. This more traditional marketing style is marketed towards the older customers in their target market who may not be interested in the silliness of Denny’s other social media postings. Similarly, Denny’s YouTube channel focuses almost entirely on their traditional marketing, the likes of which would be seen as a commercial on TV. This channel has 35.5K subscribers with 85 uploaded videos. (Denny's, 2006) Each of these accounts seek to achieve Denny’s marketing goal through more traditional marketing content, such as a straightforward picture of food in bowls with some text (Denny’s, 2021), however, the YouTube channel appears more successful with some videos achieving multiple millions of views. While most of their videos are commercials, some are closer to webisodes and they appear to be more popular. (The Grand Slams – Episode 15 – A Very Slammy Christmas, 2015) Twitter has Denny’s second largest following with 471,082 followers. (Denny’s, 2009) Twitter has a bit better engagement than Facebook but not very consistent, with likes and retweets ranging from double to quadruple digits. Their Twitter is much more casual and nontraditional than Facebook, looking more like an ordinary Twitter profile than a company’s

advertisements. While Twitter appears to be less organized than most business accounts, but it is the spontaneity that is perfect for Twitter, the website of quick thoughts. (Denny’s, 2020) If Denny’s social media accounts were on a scale of traditional to non-traditional, Facebook would be at one end and Instagram/Tumblr would be far at the other end. As an imagebased site, Instagram requires its users to post a picture if they want to post any text unless they choose to post a temporary story. Denny’s could have used this site to post ordinary pictures of their menu items, as most restaurants do, however, they instead chose to flex their photoshop muscles and create weird, attention-grabbing pictures instead. Why simply post a picture of a plate of eggs with text saying there is a coupon for some money off an order of eggs when instead one can edit an egg to look like an accountant in an office and use it to make a pun while telling the same message. (Denny’s Diner, 2021) Not every site is the same and not every site has the same way to post things. This lack of posting the same across each platform makes it difficult to have a unified message but not impossible. For Denny’s, each account has its own voice. Facebook is the serious older sibling to the less serious younger Twitter and Instagram and none of their posting styles would really work on any of the other sites. Facebook’s straightforward advertising of food in a bowl would be seen as boring on Instagram in the same way that Instagram’s egg accountant photo edit might seem confusing on Facebook. While pictures can be posted on Twitter, it is largely a more text-based site, even with the character limit for each post. Due to the text-based nature of the site, Denny’s is unlikely to post the same edited pictures to Twitter that they post to Instagram and would need to choose their words carefully to be quick and fun. Even though Instagram has the third lowest follower count of Denny’s accounts, the higher engagement and setup of the site make it the most effective site for Denny’s the use for

marketing. The picture-based posting is beneficial as Denny’s is a restaurant and as such their entire business is food. Even if the pictures they post are not strictly real food pictures, they are still able to use it to their advantage by having the pictures catch the attention of passing, or scrolling, customers. Something that Denny’s often does well is that they use memes to their advantage. The internet moves fast, and few things are remembered for long so to market online, businesses will need to understand and act quickly as well. Many people see Denny’s itself as a meme by now and so it is beneficial for those operating this Instagram to be on top of every emerging joke, meme, reference, etc. and be ready to make it Denny’s-related without losing the “charm” it may have originally had. This may be more difficult for more serious companies, but Denny’s is often more focused on making people confused but interested so they have it a bit easier. Some may not even seem funny and somehow, they are. Despite what Denny’s is doing well, there is still room for improvement. A problem across multiple of their profiles is the lack of a consistent posting schedule. While it is not necessary to post every single day, having set days that they post might give more of a sense of structure. Something else that should be addressed is that many of the comments they receive on Facebook posts are complaints about service received in their restaurants. While that is not something that can be completely avoided, it is something that be addressed correctly or incorrectly. Currently, Denny’s either ignores these comments, or responds with prewritten comments telling them to call a number or fill out a form. It is understandable that a large chain like Denny’s may not be able to personally handle each complaint online on their social media accounts, however, it would at least look better to the public if the comment received an individual reply as opposed to an afterthought like many receive. (Denny’s, 2021) While not as important on Facebook, on Twitter and Instagram, hashtags can make all the difference.

Researching effective hashtags to use in a post would be highly effective in helping Denny’s to improve its digital activity. Even if one has an idea in mind, there are many steps involved when creating a digital marketing campaign. As with any project, the first step after choosing a topic is research. In the case of creating a digital marketing campaign for Denny’s, one would want to know Denny’s target market and where would be most effective to reach them. Currently, their most popular social sites are Instagram and Twitter, with Twitter having more followers but Instagram having better engagement. Denny’s demographics can best be seen by looking at the demographics for these followers and analyzing various posts which received the most engagement for each platform. A good marketing campaign stems from a good starting idea. Books and movies may come and go but they can create worlds and storylines that can remain for years to come. The series known as ‘The Hunger Games’ was a very popular book and movie series in the mid to late 2000s. While it may no longer be in the height of its popularity, the idea of a competition based on champions from various districts can still be. In this campaign, there would be several pairings of foods chosen to compete against each other for victory. What would the food-victor win? That does not really matter all that much, but perhaps whichever pairing wins will be sold at half off at every Denny’s restaurant for a certain period. Suggestions for pairings could be bacon and eggs, waffles and hash browns, and pancakes and grits. It would be best to start out with many “champions” so that the campaign would not end too quickly. At the beginning, videos would be made for each pairing in the style of a dramatic introduction video like those done for professional wrestlers. These videos can also show off dishes that Denny’s serves as a double-edged sword. While most of the images would be posted on Instagram, as it is an image-

based site, Twitter could be used to post little updates on the contestants throughout the weeks to keep people involved until it is time to vote at the end of the week. Perhaps Waffle fell in the river and got soggy, or Bacon had to fend off wild animals, or Grits just wants to go home. These updates can also be posted in Instagram stories but might not work as Instagram posts as a picture would need to be figured out for each. At the end of each week, a poll would be put up on Twitter and on Instagram for people to vote for their least favorite team. It would be free to vote, however, with a proven purchase of one of the contestants, a voter would be able to remove a vote from another contestant and lower the risk of them being voted off. This purchase could be disguised as sending a gift to their champion of choice. Overall, this campaign would have a sense of faux seriousness to it while also being silly. Like a narrator speaking over a tense situation and, without changing tone, cracking jokes about what is going on. It would be seriously silly. The more violent aspects would need to be downplayed or avoided completely because Denny’s wants people to eat there not be scared off. The main goal for this campaign would be to attract new customers to Denny’s, either for delivery or to eat at the restaurant. A secondary goal is to increase the number of followers on Denny’s Twitter, Instagram and possibly YouTube. For this campaign, Instagram would likely be the best platform for the bigger and possibly more important posts involving videos and pictures while Twitter would also be used for sharing text updates of contestants doing their day-to-day survival. Instagram has the most followers of any of Denny’s social media profiles, or at least the most followers which engage with the content, currently with 265,330 followers (Denny’s Diner, 2012). Twitter follows that number with 469,974 followers (Denny’s, 2009). That may seem backwards but what Instagram lacks in followers, it makes up for in consistent post engagement. YouTube may also be useful for uploading the videos for each contestant to enable people to

share the videos more easily. Denny’s YouTube currently has 35.5k subscribers, the lowest of the official Denny’s social media profiles but still a considerable number of followers. (Denny’s, 2006) References and parodies are all well and good and fun however sometimes there is the risk of breaking copyright or trademarks. In making this variation of ‘The Hunger Games’, Denny’s would need to verify that they do not make too many close references to the books or movies to avoid any possible lawsuits or cease and desist orders. One way to avoid copyright infringement risk is to change the title so that it references what is referenced without outright copying it. While it would be best to change it more, the change could be as simple as The Hungry Games.

References

Brandau, M. (2010). Denny's reaches different demographics with targeted marketing. Retrieved 13 March 2021, from https://www.nrn.com/archive/dennys-reaches-differentdemographics-targeted-marketing Denny's. n.d. Denny's. [online] Available at: [Accessed 10 March 2021]. Denny’s [@DennysDiner] (2017, November 9). here is a scary thought: sentient broccoli [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/DennysDiner/status/928685117119139840 Denny's. [@dennys]. (2006). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/user/dennys/videos Denny's. [@dennys]. (2009). Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/dennys/ Denny’s. [@dennys]. (2021, March 8). Bowls make everything better. Well, everything that’s food-related. Order one of our New! Bowls now: order.dennys.com. [Image and link attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/dennys/photos/a.385196608140/10158684361303141/? type=3 Denny’s. [@dennys]. (2021, February 18). More delicious diner food at a super affordable price. Order the $6.99* SUPER SLAM today: order.dennys.com. *$8.99 in. [Image and link attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/dennys/photos/a.385196608140/10158641657463141/? type=3 Denny's. [@dennysdiner] (2009). Twitter. https://twitter.com/DennysDiner

Denny's. [@dennysdiner] (2020, November 19). No shirts. No shoes. No Surface. Just an endless void. [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/DennysDiner/status/1329476034534789125 Denny's Diner. [@dennysdiner] (2012). Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/dennysdiner Denny’s Diner. [@dennysdiner]. (2021, February 19). Get it… Egg-countant. Ty we will be here all week. And so will our 5OFF20 coupon for saving. [Image] [Edited Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CLet61JgUxe/ Denny’s Diner. [@dennysdiner]. (2020, December 27). Ugh same. [Image]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJTpQJGl7ZG/ Denny’s Diner. [@dennysdiner]. (2017, September 26). Happy #NationalPancakeDay. Yes, this exists why would we lie to you about a pancake-necked giraffe? Come on now. [Image] [Edited Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/BZhZiM5HDWU/? utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Denny’s Diner. [@dennysdiner]. (2021, January 13). FREE PANCAKES and FREE DELIVERY. With every order, now through 1/18. You’re welcome. [Image] [Illustration]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ_hL4klDDA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Jimmdog123. [u/jimmdog123]. (2019, January 1). YOU END UP AT DENNY’S! [Image]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/tumblr/comments/abgtf2/you_end_up_at_dennys/ Taylor, K. (2015). Why Denny's Sounds Like a Chill Teenager on Social Media. Retrieved 12 March 2021, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244361 The Grand Slams – Episode 15 – A Very Slammy Christmas. (2015). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9hisLZSA00...