Millennial, Gen-X Opps: Denny's taps marketing VP (Score 65)

Sales Lead: Kristen Zucks Didier joined Denny's as its marketing VP in July 2023.

• Zucks Didier joined from CEC Entertainment, where she served as the senior brand strategy director.
• Now, she leads Denny's brand strategy, guest insights, and marketing planning.
• The company will likely:
  • Adjust strategy
  • Keep increasing national TV spend
  • Return to higher digtal spend
  • Seek new agency partners
• Target demographic: 
  • Millennials and Gen-X

Additional recent news:

• ​​​​​​​Denny's also recently launched a career program for its employees and aspiring restaurant professionals.
• The program, GAIN, include GED accreditation, help with career direction for high school students, and credit for college students learning life skills.

Additional spending insights:

• Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: So far this year, Denny's has spent approximately $11.3m on national TV commercials, 28% more than the approximately $8.8m spent within the same 2022 timeframe.
  • Last year: The company spent around $14.9m on this channel in 2022 after having spent 13% less, around $13m, in 2021.
  • 2023 ad programming: Denny's 2023 commercials have targeted Spanish-speaking audiences watching shows such as Primer Impacto, Enamorándonos, El amor invencible, Mujer, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: The diner chain has spent roughly $1.7m on digital ads YTD, down 32% from the roughly $2.5m spent by this point last year.
  • YTD data: So far in 2022, Denny's has earned ~241.5m digital impressions via Facebook (66%), Instagram (26%), YouTube (5%), and desktop display (3%) ads.
  • Last year: The company's estimated full-year 2022 spend, $4.2m, reached 17% more than that of $3.6m in 2021.
• Additional channel insights  
  • Denny's utilizes search marketing and Google Ads along with print (magazines), digital, local broadcast, OOH, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok (albeit barely), and online video (via Youtube.com, Youtube IOS, and Youtube Android) ads.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: In case her hire leads to agency reviews, reach out sooner rather than later to get on Zucks Didier's radar.
  • ​​​​​​​Denny's is especially vulnerable to review due to the January 2023 hire of SVP and CMO Sherri Landry.
• Current agency roster:
  • Conill Advertising: Multicultural AOR
  • Anomaly: Creative AOR
  • fluent360: Multicultural agency partner

Insight Sources: Broadcast insights estimated by iSpot; digital spend insights estimated by Pathmatics; search marketing insights by Bombora; additional channel insights estimated by Vivvix.