NRN: Denny’s CMO Reveals Plan to Age Down Brand

On Friday, Nation’s Restaurant News published an interview with Denny’s CEO John Dillon, who discussed the family-dining chain’s plans to adjust their branding to appeal to millennial consumers. The rebranding, stages of which are already being implemented throughout the system, includes store remodels and a new digital marketing strategy.

As part of the brand’s new marketing strategy, Denny’s has revealed a cross-promotional partnership with Lucasfilm surrounding the new Star Wars franchise entry, “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” The partnership includes collaboration with a number of other brands from a range of sectors, including Hulu, Pandora and Amazon.

“We’re really looking to up our game and appeal to a different generation of buyers,” said Dillon in the interview. “The beauty of a franchise like Star Wars, it appeals to people like me, so Gen X. It appeals to Baby Boomers, Gen Z and millennials. As a family diner, it made a ton of sense for us. [These partnerships] have started to age down the brand, which is one of our objectives.”

Read the full interview at nrn.com.