Denny’s Pushes Late Night Menu with Marketing Blitz
In a move to entice the 18-to 24-year-old crowd back to its restaurants, Denny’s is changing its look to feed its late-night crowd’s appetite for hip music and new food.
The casual dining chain is replacing its standard piped music with alternative rock from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The firm is also offering two late-night-only menus, which includes a value menu with items such as nacho cheese fries and a chicken strips and mozzarella sticks combo and a “shareable” menu that offers seasoned kettle chips or mini-burgers.
A new Web site at http://www.dennysallnighter.com features a rock music blog and information about Denny’s new late-night menu. Denny’s also launched a new “Adopt-A-Band” program where visitors can choose emerging touring bands they think are most deserving of promotional support and free food from the company.
Already the initiative is creating buzz. Since the site’s launch just over four weeks ago, the 1 million voting mark has been surpassed, Michael Polydoroff, director of sales promotions and licensing for Denny’s, said.
“We are talking to them in their channels to fit to their needs,” Polydoroff said of its young adult target audience.
Denny’s wait staff is also making changes. It’s swapping its typical dress of black pants and collared shirts with jeans and T-shirts during these hours.
An aggressive push is underway in the social networking scene with pages set up on MySpace.com and Facebook.com. Denny’s has also hired alternative-rock bands, including Taking Back Sunday, Plain White T’s, Eagle of Death Metal and The All American Rejects, to help develop late-night menu items. Those offerings, part of the Rock Star Menu, will be available in August and October, Polydoroff said.
Filter is handling the music program for Denny’s, the Web site creative and social networking and blogs initiatives. Publicis is in charge of the P-O-P and creative.
