Depending on where you live, Denny's (DENN) may or may not be your top choice for a stack of blueberry pancakes and an endless supply of coffee refills.
That said, the diner staple has been around since 1953, and the fact it's remained in business for the past 69 years is no small feat.
Denny's is still recovering from the blow Covid dealt it, just like countless other restaurants that were forced to stop serving customers in person. It did start shuttering some locations in 2020 and limited its hours of operation to survive.
But as far as the brand's Twitter presence goes, it still towers over its competitors, which is probably the reason why it decided on its latest approach.
Denny's Hires TikTok Influencers?
Denny's added a limited edition collaborative menu, the Social Stars Influenced Menu on Feb. 24.
It features meals based on the preferences of high profile TikTok influencers such as Jenny Solares, Enky Boys, Jonathan Chavez, Elise Osafo, Elliot Norris, and Matt Taylor.
Each influencer worked with Denny's culinary team during the development process of the meals and also got to name them, "putting their personal stamp on the menu" as Denny's puts it.
The chain promises a total of 12 meals and will collaborate with 24 different influencers for the promotion, which will last through June 21.
"We didn't want to just work with this diverse group of social stars to 'hack the menu.'" said Denny's Chief Brand Officer John Dillon, taking a jab at McDonald's (MCD) recent menu hacks promotion. "Instead, we wanted to take it to a new level and tap into their creative personalities to create distinctly new menu items that are bursting with bold flavors."
Denny's
Is This a Smart Move For Denny's?
It's easy to see what Denny's has in mind when it comes to this promotion: Hire people that the social media generation thinks are cool to talk about their hot new collabs in front of their millions of devout TikTok followers.
It also fits with the airy tone of their new slogan "Open For Anything," which aims to present the chain in a hipper light.
The problem is, TikTok is a Waffle House generation, and Denny's is their parents' diner, at least judging by the chain's social media presence.
That's a really difficult fact to shake off, and no amount of fresh marketing can really change it — at least, until it becomes cool again because it's considered "retro."
You can get a better look at that fact in practice when you look at Denny's TikTok. It only has 4,873 followers, while IHOP and Waffle House reign in the space with more than 30K followers each.
Denny's also suffered a blow back in 2021 when celebrity jeweler and self-proclaimed "King of Bling" Johnny Dang posted a video of himself yelling expletives at a Denny's sign, saying "you wack ass if you eat at Denny's."
Dang's passionate criticism aside, there's something about the effort that feels forced and hollow. Still, considering the massive loss the brand took in 2020, it's understandable that it's hot to capture the attention of influencers' young, impressionable audiences.
Whether the push is enough to convince them to ditch their All The Way hashbrowns in favor of a Grand Slam remains to be seen.
