Cannes Lions

Denny’s Tumblr

EP+CO, New York / DENNY'S / 2017

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Overview

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Credits

OVERVIEW

Description

Rather than try to push product, especially on a platform that angrily eschews brand interference and advertising in general, our main objective for Tumblr was kind of ridiculously silly and simple: just have fun. Tumblr had to be a place where Denny’s could extend the late-night, oddball conversations between friends that occur in our booths every day. But more importantly, they didn’t just want to talk to the Tumblr community; they wanted to be a part of the community. So they made GIFs, wrote goofy poems and played meme-games with their fans, who the brand now calls friends. Denny’s Tumblr spoke to them like we would speak to anyone we cared about, talking about news, current events, pop culture, popular memes – all over a big stack of fluffy pancakes.

Execution

Nowhere else will you find an off-the-wall, bizarre mix of cheeseburger sunsets, flapjacked bodybuilders, bacon-focused haikus, mourning coffee, or existential pondering about personal relationships with your breakfast. On average, Denny’s posts 3 gifs, images, quotes, chats or text posts every single day – a truly dizzying amount of content. As a way to connect and converse directly with the tumblr community, Denny’s also regularly utilizes the Tumblr “Ask Box”. A unique feature of Tumblr where our fans can ask absolutely anything and where Denny’s can dish out advice or professes undying love for their followers. Through Tumblr, Denny’s lends its imagination to its menu and captures the true essence of a diner – a place where anything can happen at any time.

Outcome

The first for a brand on Tumblr, a true fandom was built around Denny’s. Our fans truly love us, sending fan mail, making their own Denny's art, and begging to be a part of our team. But, love for Denny’s Tumblr isn’t just limited to our fans. With headlines like “20 Times Denny’s Tumblr was the Funniest Thing on the Internet” and “Why is the Denny’s Tumblr So Damn Insane?”, Denny’s Tumblr was featured in dozens of articles over the past year, generating over 1.7M earned media impressions and reinforcing the brand as a leader on the platform. In fact, Denny’s Tumblr content drew so much engagement that it earned 18 “Marketer MVP” awards from Ad Age* – the most of any brand on the platform. The Tumblr community eats up Denny’s content, growing our engagement rate by 20%* while follower-count surpassed 530,000, an increase of 18%*.

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