27th November 2023
Denny's Takes Local Approach After Hiring Mindshare
Denny’s is taking a more local approach to its marketing under new media agency Mindshare. The WPP shop recently replaced longtime incumbent Publicis Groupe, which had been handling the brand via Spark Foundry.
The change comes as Denny’s looks to refocus on its food, especially its breakfast items, and attract younger families with kids, according to Sherri Landry, Denny’s senior VP and chief marketing officer, who joined Denny’s in January after several years at CEC Entertainment, which owns Chuck E. Cheese.
“When I came on board, part of the charge was to think through how to position Denny’s for the next 70 years,” Landry said. “With the review, I wanted to identify new thinking related to developing media plans with a bias toward local market reach to connect with guests where they live and play. We needed an agency that had a local-up approach versus a national-down approach, which had been our strategy in prior years.”
Landry cited Mindshare’s analytics technology and agility. “We gave them a challenge, and they allowed us to pivot our media message in two weeks in the middle of the holidays to focus on our new Grand Slam pricing.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Denny’s, a brand that has captured the hearts and minds of their guests worldwide,” Nancy Hall, Mindshare’s North America CEO, said in a statement. “The Denny’s team is smart, passionate, and future-thinking. They have a real understanding of the power of media, and how it can create the best outcomes for brands and consumers alike.”