Grow Market Lead
BY KERRY PIPES
Building “America’s Diner”
Frances Allen strives to make Denny’s vision real
F
rances Allen is no stranger to
big brands. Over the past 25
years, she’s logged successful
stints as a senior marketing
executive at Dunkin’ Donuts, Sony Ericsson, PepsiCo, and Frito-Lay. During
that time she has spearheaded brand repositioning initiatives, led new product
introduction strategies, and launched
expansion into international markets.
Now, as executive vice president and
chief brand officer for Denny’s since July
2010, Allen is responsible for the overall direction of the brand’s marketing
strategies and initiatives, positioning,
advertising campaigns, menu development, and restaurant image. One of her
core tasks has been to lead the implementation of the company’s “America’s
Diner” campaign, an effort to reposition the brand to reflect its roots and
connect with guests. We asked her how
she plans to do that, and about the everchanging role of CMO.
Describe your role as CMO. My role
is to create a vision for the brand based
on real consumer insight. The most
important part of my job, though, is to
inspire all those around me to want to
deliver that vision… not just the marketing department. I need everyone, from
the customer service department to the
operations team, the operators, and the
finance group to be just as motivated
and committed to delivering against
our brand positioning. A brand positioning is just a bunch of words unless
it becomes real at every touchpoint
within the consumer experience. This
requires all departments to be striving
to deliver an authentic brand experience. And this is especially true in the
restaurant or retail business.
At Denny’s that vision is “America’s
Diner,” a place that feels like home for
everyone who walks through diner doors,
no matter what life stage, age, gender,
or ethnicity. It’s a come-as-you-are,
no-nonsense, democratic environment
where people can relax, be themselves,
and connect with the people they care
about. It’s a unique, competitively distinct, yet powerful consumer proposition that is absolutely authentic to
who we are as a brand. Whether we are
thinking about service, environment, or
food, “America’s Diner” is our North
Star that guides our strategies and our
initiatives.
What’s unique about the CMO
position at Denny’s? Our passion-
ate people. It’s always the people. The
core tenets of marketing stay the same
no matter what business you are in, but
the people make it unique.
What’s the most challenging part
of being a CMO today? The changing
pace of technology creates a constantly
different consumer and communications
landscape. The CMO today needs to
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