Have you heard about the Denny's Allnighter? What about the Denny's 'Creature Comforts' campaign? No? That's okay; I didn't either. It's probably a sign of the times that I am too old to appreciate staying up until 2AM and heading to Denny's for some grub after a night out.


That said, I do remember trips to Denny's many moons ago that included a cranky waitress or waiter who hated us being there (okay, so we were a bit wound up) and food that was, well, not a grand-slam by any stretch. Sound familiar?
My, how times have changed!
Who knew that Denny's has been serving up food to bands and music fans since the 1950s?! Well, that heritage lives on with Denny's Allnighter, which is sponsored by Dr. Pepper.
Today's Denny's is all about enticing night owls with alternative music and affordable food from 10pm-5am (that's the 'allnighter' part). And not just any music, but music from bands they adopt as well as more well-known bands such as Good Charlotte, Sum 41, and Rascal Flatts. And not just menu food, but food created by the bands that drop by Denny's while on tour. The staff also dons relaxed uniforms and serves up food to the sounds of Envy on the Coast (that's the creature comfort part). Hmmm, doesn't sound much like the cranky wait staff or Denny's that I remember.
So aside from inviting bands to cook and eat and their fans to join in, what makes this campaign cool? Denny's has, of course, totally embraced social media to reach out to the 20-something crowd with their campaign including the usual suspects: Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Lala, YouTube, and an iPhone app.
It's not enough to just use the tools...it's about the buzz.
And they are definitely creating a buzz. With Denny's sponsoring after-parties and special giveaways for this summer's Warped Tour, they buzz will most likely continue to grow.
Denny's isn't using social media just to blast out messages–they are actually talking to people on Twitter, every month people have a say on the bands that Denny's adopts and, ironically, if you plan on dropping by Denny's after the Warped Tour, you'll need to RSVP to hang out with the band.
An RSVP to eat at Denny's?! Yep, you read that correctly and that's where the buzz comes in to play.
I don't know about you, but I think this is a grand-slam. Why? Aside from some PR and some late night advertising, the campaign is not mainstream and that's what'll keep it a success–for now.