denny's campaign book

Kyle James & Maria Buitrago

C R E AT I V E B R I E FC R E AT I V E B R I E FWHAT’S OUR TASK?We are communicating because Denny’s is looking to reach the “night owl” segment of college students and increase the number of people coming into the restaurant during the late hours of the night and early hours of the morning. Our assignment is to reach out to a new segment of customers in a fashion that will attract the late night crowd without devaluing the Denny’s brand.

WHO ARE WE TALKING TO?We are mainly talking to the “night owl” college student population in college towns around the country. These are the people that will go to Denny’s during these late hours to get food to help themselves “un-wind” from a long night out partying or studying.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?The problem is that there are no restaurants open after college students spend a long night out partying, studying, or working late shifts where they can get food with friends without having to worry about disturbing other people.

WHAT’S OUR GOAL?Our communication should tell our audience that Denny’s is a fun place to both get food and hang out with friends during any hour of the day, and especially late at night. It will do this by utilizing humor and graphs, something that almost all college students will recognize, in a way that communicates that Denny’s is the go to spot when the sun goes down.

What is the strategic idea?The strategic idea is to create graphs and charts that utilize breakfast food to play on some of the humor-ous things that people do late at night in restaurants. While we will obviously focus on some of the funny things said by people who have had a little too much to drink, we also will focus on the “slap-happiness” that comes with being overly tired.

How will we support it?• We will support this idea through a line graph about slap-happiness, a bar graph about productivity

levelsduringfinals,andapiechartthatbreaksdownsomeofthecommonthingsthatpeopleundertheinfluenceofalcoholmightdoatDenny’s.

• We will make these ads stand out by incorporating a Denny’s theme against a diner-colored back-ground that incorporates breakfast foods.

• We will also give the ads an animated feel, which is something that very few companies are doing in print ads, but still stays on brand and will help the ads stick out amongst the clutter.

Must-do’sWe must make the graphs easy to understand and visually appealing, or we can come off as “too much like school” and complicated.

Creative considerationsHow will we create an ad that is humorous and attracts college students for late night eating, yet still remains classy enough to not alienate the older crowd that comes to Denny’s in the mid-morning and evening?

Deliverables & MEdiaThe deliverables are three print ads that will run in college newspapers in the midwest. We chose these ads based on the fact that incomes are lower in midwest college towns when compared to colleges on the east and west coasts, and because chain restaurants tend to do very well in the midwest. There will also be a social media activation that will invite users to share stories, quotes, and pictures at Denny’s that are #OnlyFunnyAt4AM on Twitter, Facebook, and Vine.

Slap-happiness levels,(by time of night)

midnight humor. Made better at

1:00 a.m. 2:00 a.m. 3:00 a.m. 4:00 a.m.

“I’m crying please send help”

“ha.”

Share your Denny’s late night story that’s #onlyfunnyat4AM @DennysDiner

finals week productivity levels(during an all-nighter)

classic all-nighters.Made better at

“I wrote three term papers in

one night.”

“Plenty of people

college.”

on an empty stomach

with a Bold Roast Coffee

with a Bold Roast Coffee AND a Grand Slam


Breakdown of a 3 am visit to denny’s, (post-party)

end-of-the-night recaps.Made better at

Wondering Where Sarah Went

Discussing the Merits of R. Kelly’s “Ignition (Remix)”

Ordering More Pancakes Because 3 AM Pancakes Don’t Count

Laughing Way Too Loudly at Your Own Joke

Thanking Baby Jesus and Also Beyoncé for this Feast

Eating a Grand Slam

Singing R. Kelly’s “Ignition (Remix)”

Overzealously Telling Your Friends You LoOoOve Them


C R E AT I V E B R I E FP R I N T P L A C E M E N T

The Lantern The Daily Cardinal The Purdue Exponent

We plan to place our advertisements in the student publications of various midwestern colleges, such as Ohio State, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Purdue University. At large-scale universities such as these, our ads will have great reach, and the advantage of immediacy, as the opportunity to go to a Denny’s Diner after a party is likely to arise soon after reading. In order to increase the immediacy, we plan to place these ads on Thursdays and Fridays (possible because each of the papers chosen is a daily publication). Finally, we have selected full-page format, which will immediately draw attention to the ads.

Have a funny, ridiculous, or otherwise memorable experience at Denny’s? Share it with us on Twitter @DennysDiner or on Instagram @Denny’s to win some Grand Slams for you and your friends, on us!

CREATIVE BRIEFS O C I A L M E D I A

#onlyfunnyat4AM#onlyfunnyat4AM

Have a funny, ridiculous, or otherwise memorable experience at Denny’s? Share it

with us on Twitter or Vine @DennysDiner or on Instagram @Denny’s to win some Grand

Slams for you and your friends, on us!

PP R O C E S S W O R K

NANNERPUSS: ENSHROUDED

IN MYSTERY

SOCIAL MEDIA INSPIRATION

PRELIMINARY TREND BOARD

PP R O C E S S W O R K

t h e t h e p i t c h

Primary research For our primary research we used the tactic of observation to get the insights that we desired. We went to Denny’s three different nights throughout the week between the hours of 1 and 4 a.m. (Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday) to try to get an idea of who, if anyone, was there at that time. On Wednesday, we saw a few people at Denny’s in work outfits from other places of business that had closed at midnight. These people were often with friends, or coworkers, and were laughing and unwinding during this time. On Saturday, the crowd at Denny’s were people who seemed to have just come from the bars or a house party and were looking for a place where they could enjoy a post-party meal and discussion with some of their closest friends. On Sunday, we found students in Denny’s at this hour with notebooks and laptops on the tables either by themselves or with others, discussing things going on in classes, studying for the next batch of tests, and trying to destress in advance of the week ahead. These insights told us that Denny’s can be used as a late night hotspot for three things that largely make up the life of a typical college student: working, partying, and studying.

Secondary research Our secondary research showed us that Denny’s is classified as a small restaurant chain that employs approximately 8,250 people. Their stock is currently selling at around $9.69 a share (As of Nov. 29) and their estimated takeover cost is $900,620,000. Denny’s true competitors lie in the “mom & pop diners” that exist in many of the small towns and cities across the U.S. Denny’s also finds competitors in other late night dining options such as the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) and Steak N’ Shake. Denny’s competitive advantage against all of these places is that Denny’s is seen as more of a welcoming environment. Where as other places might scold you for being too rowdy, Denny’s will likely join in on the excitement going on.Denny’s will need to start standing out in the industry if it wants to survive. “Mom and pop” diners are slowly starting to die off around the countries and many similar chains, such as Friendly’s, are starting to see their doors close at an alarming rate as well. The more that Denny’s can reach a niche market and have strong brand loyalty of the customers in that market, the better their chance becomes at surviving in the restaurant industry.

target market profile Staci is a 21 year old fashion merchandising major from Kent, OH. She lives in a sorority house with all of her Gamma Delta Phi sisters and loves going out on the weekends. Staci loves to sit down to a meal with her sisters after she tears up the town on Fridays and Saturdays, but always has trouble finding places that are still open when the bars close. The places she does find constantly tell her and her sisters that they’re being too loud and totally kill their vibe. She just wants to find a place as fun as she is and can keep the good times rolling even after drinks stop pouring.

Goal and objective The goal of the campaign is to increase the number of people who come to Denny’s during the late night hours. The objective of this campaign is to target college students who have just finished working, partying, or studying and persuade them to visit Denny’s to cap off the night with food and many laughs.

strategy We will accomplish this goal by creating ads that poke fun at some of the ridiculous things that happen when people are in their “slap-happy” or “punchy” mode. These will be presented on graphs, which will appeal to the college student crowd.

The promise We promise to offer customers good food, good times in an inviting an environment no matter what time of the night you show up. Get ready for laughter when you walk through the door, because late night humor is better at Denny’s.

the big idea Our big idea centers on the notion that a visit to Denny’s isn’t just about the excellent food—it’s about the quality of the shared experience with your friends. It’s about the conversations that become inside jokes for the entirety of friendships. Most importantly, it’s about the lack of judgment involving your choice to order Red Velvet Pancake Puppies at a diner at 3 a.m. What makes it better is that it happened at Denny’s.

Creative Our creative choices reflect the tone and spirit of our message, namely that Denny’s is a fun, whimsical, and welcoming place for college students in a late-night setting. The color palette was selected from Denny’s existing branding, and the executions were made to be understood at a glance. Simple, almost flat graphics and clear, crisp type also contribute to this goal. The idea is that our target market has neither the time nor the attention span to read excessive body copy or get into the details of a complicated visual; however, a simple graph can evoke a laugh and is easily shared with friends via social media, which is one of Denny’s strengths.

denny's campaign book

Design