Denny’s brings everyone to ‘America’s Diner’

Denny’s, the Spartanburg, South Carolina-based brand known for keeping the “Open” sign lit around the clock, serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert at any time of the day — including nights and holidays — has taken on the moniker “America’s Diner” since 2011. The franchise has taken its slogan to heart, and has succeeded in appealing to a wide range of demographics in the melting pot that is the United States. In addition to extended hours, the 1,700-location brand serves a wide array of patrons through an expanded menu, senior discounts, ethnically focused marketing material, such as the Denny’s Latino Facebook and YouTube pages launched July of this year, and in-depth programs focused on researching trends among patrons. By supporting such relationships with different customers like seniors, Millennials and Hispanics, Denny’s continues to grow. John Dillon, CMO of Denny’s, spoke with 1851 Magazine to discuss how the brand stays relevant to its wide cast of consumers and maintains strong consumer clout in the world of franchising. What did your consumer research and focus groups tell you about your core customer groups that you didn't know from seeing your dining rooms filled with seniors in early evening or with younger diners at late night? What we've really been able to more deeply understand over the last few years is not just who's in our restaurants, but why they're there. Why are they coming back, and what would get them to come back more often? You have to observe, yes, but you also have to listen. Ask the hard questions, be ready for the answers and be prepared to do something to address what you hear. How have the past few marketing campaigns, like "Always Open" or "America's Diner," tried to speak to all the demographics you serve (seniors, Millennials, Hispanics)? To what extent is there a common denominator for Denny's marketing and branding? ?Denny's is America's Diner, and since solidifying that positioning for our brand in 2011, we've focused our efforts behind that as a “North Star” in our marketing work.  The beauty of the America's Diner positioning is that it articulates who we truly are as a brand, in an ownable and motivating way to our guests.  Being a diner is not about the physical aspect exclusively, but even more importantly it's about what a diner means emotionally — a come-as-you-are environment, welcoming to all different types of people no matter what time of day, enabling them to relax and connect with people they care about. That's the North Star we were missing before as a brand, and with it we've been able to develop a clear roadmap that's been able to drive our business. How do you plan and budget for demographic-specific marketing initiatives (Denny's Latino page on Facebook, partnering with AARP, or branded-entertainment for Millennials) and what's the key to making them cohesive under all of Denny's marketing? Again, it comes down to the different ways to articulate what binds all of our guest segments together under the America's Diner positioning.  This could mean slightly different things depending on the needs and motivations of the segment, but all are centered around America's Diner and the tangible and emotional benefits that brings our guests.  We have programs in place against each of our demographic segments, but we always remember guests cannot be defined by demographics alone — you have to truly dig deep and understand their motivations to visit.  That's where the magic is, and business results will follow.