Dennys Grand Invitation Back

Challenge

Denny’s had been ramping up for a major rebrand. They had overhauled the majority of their menu, sourced higher quality and ethically-sourced ingredients, renovated many of their stores, and revamped their employee training.

Now it was time to communicate the exciting news and extend an invitation to all to come and check out the new Denny’s.

Insight

Working with a team of agency partners, each responsible for a specific demographic market, we developed a strategy that worked for all of us: “Nothing can bring us together like Denny’s.”

This was based on a wealth of consumer research and strategic brainstorming, inspired by the fact that so many of our guests felt that togetherness was lacking in today’s world. Some felt the diner setting of Denny’s was a good place to leave divisiveness at the door.

But for Hispanics, this was not particularly motivating -- they didn’t feel they needed to come together, because togetherness was already a core tenet of who they are. What they wanted was a place that facilitates that built-in togetherness -- and the new Denny’s, with its spacious booths, elevated menu with enough variety to please everyone, and always-open doors, was perfectly suited to deliver on that.

Solution

Rather than emphasize the division that others may feel, the Hispanic-targeted creative work focused on how Denny’s facilitates compartir - the spirit of togetherness that defines Latinos and that is heavily embraced at mealtime.

We featured a wide range of Latinos, suggesting that no matter who you are, and how diverse your family -- however you define it -- you are welcome here. We depicted generations within Latino families, varied use of language and accents, and Latinos of all stripes.

This warm, encompassing approach telegraphed a clear invitation to Latinos to check out the new Denny’s, where we, like they, embrace and enhance the spirit of compartir.

Results (Campaign live date w/o 4/29)

The Spanish :30 spot performed strongly in testing. In fact, in two independent quantitative tests, results were overwhelmingly positive. Respondents gave the brand significant credit for both emotional and rational attributes like being warm, being welcoming to all, having good quality food, and having friendly, helpful staff. In ACE Metrix testing, the spot scored above the norm on many measures, and significantly so on communicating change, proving that we were successful in modernizing Denny’s among Hispanics.

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