Denny's
sticky kicks
Denny's
sticky kicks
The Situation
Denny’s didn’t have an awareness problem, brand love was lacking. So, we brought an idea that would really “stick” with consumers, influencers and media and firmly inject the brand into “cool” culture: shoes filled with what else but pancake syrup.
Sticky Kicks, the first-ever sneakers with real syrup inside, basically took over news and social media for about three weeks with of wall-to-wall media coverage in the likes of USA Today, Dexerto, Vice, Good Morning America First Look, CBS Mornings, NBC, and a bit during The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Media story shares, influencers, Reddit threads and their followers drove a social media ripple speculating about and reacting to the design.
And that brand love? Yeah, it skyrocketed.
The Idea
How did we make Denny’s the hottest name in footwear? We tapped the right partner to custom-make 30 pairs of shoes, and used them wisely. We engaged not another footwear brand but @Mache, a go-to footwear artist for athletes, influencers, plus the NFL, MLB, NBA, and WWE.
Then we slowly dripped the drop to maximize attention leading up to National Maple Syrup Day.
Social teaser posts drove speculation, and media poured in to see WTF was happening. We revealed the shoes one week out, leveraging social media, media relations, and Denny’s swaggy assets to drive more chatter and sign-ups for the Denny’s Rewards program, as members would receive VIP access.
Naturally, the shoes sold out in ~ a minute and resold for upwards of $1,500. That’s when our organic influencer deliveries kicked in to drive conversations beyond launch day and sell-out.
The Results
Wall-to-wall media coverage and social conversations about Denny’s breakfast for three weeks…
- Viral sell-out: Dropped via Denny’s Rewards; sold out in under 60 seconds, and signed up thousands for Denny’s loyalty program.
- Massive reach: 2B+ earned impressions and 254M organic social impressions.
- Cultural impact: featured on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and GMA, NBC News and CBS This Morning, 50+ national stories, 1,600+ hits across all top 100 broadcast markets; and drove comments like “oh my god,” “this definitely makes me want to go to Denny’s and get a hot stack,” and “Man, I could go for some pancakes…”
- #1 Share of Voice: Denny’s earned media SOV was ~30% vs brand competitors, up 2x from the same time period year ago. This activation earned us more than 100% increase in SOV YOY.
- Market value: Original pairs now reselling for $1,500+.
DELIVERING UNPRECEDENTED
BRAND ENGAGEMENT
DinerDrip.com traffic grew 3,290% from the 12/10 announcement to the 12/17 on sale date.
Loyalty acquisition target of ~10k Denny’s Rewards Sign up achieved.
Views to sign up conversions were 8.85%, eclipsing the 3-5% industry benchmark.
YUP,
WE ATE.
The week of the shoe drop was a moment. Sticky Kicks landed across USA Today, Dexerto, Foodbeast, Vice, People, AdAge, Forbes, and national morning and evening newscasts with on-air mentions on Good Morning America First Look, CBS Mornings, NBC News Daily and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. What else? The kicks sold out in ~ a minute and are reselling for upwards of $1,000.
Sticky Kicks outreach has driven 1,682 earned placements and 2.18B impressions, including coverage in all of the top 100 local broadcast markets. The program has also generated an additional 213M organic social impressions, extending the impact well beyond launch week.
2B
impressions
23
National stories
1,600+
Placements - FIVE Yahoo!, three MSN, and broadcast news feed across all the major news networks
1,227
TV Segments hitting all top 100 media markets
6
Organic macro influencer posts
534
social accounts posting content
533
Net new rewards signups
One
Late night monologue
“Man, I could go for some pancakes!”
- Stephen Colbert
