What are the 3 most important
keys to being an effective CMO
leader today? 1) The ability to bal-
ance left and right brain thinking. Using data to make a creative leap into a
big idea or unique insight. Reading the
data and listening to your gut. 2) The
ability to communicate, inspire, and
lead with a clear, compelling vision. 3)
And, once communicated, the ability
to get out of the way to let a talented
team of people deliver, to do their jobs
with passion and purpose.
How do you prepare a marketing
plan and execute the strategies?
First, positioning three or four core marketing strategies into tactics; how these
strategic moves play out over the year
depends on the ebbs and flows of the
brand. Then, charging our marketing
team and agencies with innovation in
all aspects, not just products, but thinking about all the ways we connect and
engage with Denny’s consumers.
How do you measure marketing
results and effectiveness? In the
restaurant world, the key measure is
traffic. There are macro impacts on
traffic and brand impacts on traffic. It
is making sure you cross-examine both
and constantly read, react, and refine
your marketing plan to deliver the
results. It’s also working closely with
smart analysts to help read and interpret the data. Your financial analysts
are your friends. They can help you set
clear goals and expectations up front
and analyze results in an objective and
thorough way.
Discuss your core consumer marketing strategies and objectives.
1) Everyo ne has been to a Denny’s at
some point in their lives, and most have
positive memories. The goal of our brand
positioning and aligned communication
is to reconnect to our guests as “America’s
Diner” and create an environment that
fosters new memories, helping them fall
in love with the brand all over again. 2)
Our core consumer is working class and
has very restricted disposable income. We
need to remain committed to creating
affordable comfort food accompanied
with a warm family dining experience
delivered at a great value, every day.
3) Balance affordability with innovative newsworthy, head-turning menu
innovations, and limited-time offers.
4) Expand relevance beyond breakfast.
Describe your marketing team
and the role each plays. Our di-
verse team includes many roles, from
insights to product development, product marketing to consumer engagement
(advertising, menu, merchandising, etc.)
and field execution. We’re a group of
talented individuals dedicated to working together and delivering the brand
promise of “America’s Diner.”
Why is it so important for the
marketing department to have a
“personal touch” when it comes
to helping the brand connect with
prospects? People don’t buy a “what,”
they buy a “why.” They are more loyal
if they feel a brand is a brand for them,
versus a rational transaction.
How does this help your franchise
development effort? Our North
Star, “America’s Diner,” is all about the
emotional connection. It’s also the reason franchisees bought into the brand.
What ways/tools do you rely on
to do this? Our advisory board for
both marketing and operations is very
involved in the development of systemwide marketing programs such that our
vision, mission, and values statements
are authored by both franchisee and
corporate leaders. This has allowed us
to make better-informed decisions on
programs and marketing campaigns that
will best resonate with our guests. We do
this through the cascading of information through field teams, internal communication, annual conventions, local
market meetings, training, and the like.
Do today’s prospects expect more
from the franchise marketing department? What, and how do you
provide it? Like all shareholders and
stakeholders, they expect us to be better informed and do more with less.
They expect us to be focused on both
the short and long term. They want a
silver bullet, but I honestly believe they
realize it doesn’t exist today. Finally
they want and expect us to lead while
making sure we have listened to their
points of view.
Grow Market Lead
be agile and keep up, while also having
the confidence to not want to control
everything. The consumer is in charge
today. To borrow from a colleague, no
marketer would ever have invented
Gangnam Style or “Duck Dynasty.”
How is technology changing the
way franchise marketing is done
in terms of one-on-one contact?
As a heavily franchised organization,
it is critically important that we work
very closely with the Denny’s Franchisee Association on the brand strategy
and direction. Today’s technology and
communications tools certainly make
that flow of communication more engaging and efficient. Our franchisees
are the men and women who are in the
field every day, running restaurants and
interacting with our guests on a daily
basis. They hear directly from the guests
and are invaluable in shaping the decisions for the brand. It is our one-onone interaction with them that helps
us make balanced and well-informed
decisions in a timely manner on behalf
of the system.
How are you assisting your existing franchisees with more contact
and transparency? What are their
immediate needs? We have an ad-
visory structure for marketing, operations, and development made up of a
core group of franchisee leaders who
help us refine our plans and test our
strategies and initiatives. In addition,
we hold DMA-level meetings where
information is cascaded and needs are
communicated to corporate.
How do you work with other internal departments, and does
technology help? We have our in-
ternal version of Facebook, which we
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