Denny’s first attempt at advertising in the Super Bowl was a Grand Slam, and a great example of the power of a Big Idea, something we’re always championing here at Stradella Road.
Unlike the SOBE Life Water spot, which was all sizzle (looking like an extended Dreamworks 3D spot no less) and no steak, Denny’s captured the current economic zeitgeist by offering a free breakfast to America… talk about a clutter buster. The TV spot was extremely funny in its own right, plus it drove a massive national program with an announcement sure to even have Ma and Pa Joad lining up.
The company estimates that the entire promotion, from ad buy to food costs, totaled $5 million. While more expensive than typical programs, the Grand Slam’s two pancakes, two eggs, two sausage links and two pieces of bacon was a high-value consumer offer and it resonated. Denny’s estimates that they served approximately 2 million people during today’s eight-hour Grand Slam giveaway.
With 98 million viewers exposed to the witty Super Bowl ad and the millions of earned media impressions from local newscasters doing Monday follow ups and on-premises reporting on Tuesday, this should be an awareness bonanza and exceptionally effective from an ROI standpoint. Suffering from the slump that has challenged the rest of the casual dining industry, this program certainly differentiates Denny’s from the pack. And it feels highly likely that people who never would have considered Denny’s as a dining option now have the brand on radar.
What could Denny’s have done better? From a fully-integrated standpoint, Denny’s missed the mark. As reported by Advertising Age, (a) the company didn’t include a URL in the TV spot and (b) the Denny’s website crashed right after the ad aired and was down for the rest of the game. This goes to show that consumers will search out information online whether you make it easy for them or not. So, you know, we suggest you plan ahead and make it easy.
At the end of the day programs like this live or die by the effectiveness of retail execution. Locations around the country during the program were giving away upward of 1,000 breakfasts and some serving double. While there were some delays and hiccups, we think consumers will forgive a bit of a logjam for a high-value program-and free is about as high-value as you can find.
|
