Denny’s latest campaign uses QR codes to provide fans with exclusive content from Warner Bros. Pictures upcoming film “The Hobbit.” Before the film’s official release on December 14, Denny’s is promoting new “Hobbit-themed” menu items and enabling mobile users to access exclusive video, online games and other content via QR codes on placemat menus.
“Mobile is a channel we will increasingly support moving forward,” John Dillon, vice president of marketing at Denny’s, Spartanburg, SC told Mobile Commerce Daily. The brand introduced its first mobile app earlier this year and has already used QR codes in-store to bring consumers to Denny’s home page and Facebook pages. For this campaign, “..some of the more exclusive pieces are unlocked in-store only, so mobile platforms play a critical role in delivering the Hobbit-themed content.”
Eleven new “Hobbit-themed” menu items are available starting today, including the “Hobbit Hole Breakfast,” “Gandalf’s Gobble Melt,” and “Build Your Own Hobbit Slam.” Customers purchasing Hobbit-themed entrees will receive a card pack featuring exclusive collectible trading cards designed around the film — and Denny’s coupons.
Any customer at Denny’s can also scan any of the four QR codes found on placemats. The codes link to an exclusive video, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” online games, and a behind-the-scenes look at a new national TV spot.
The fast-food restaurant chain is clearly trying to appeal to a younger audience with this promotion: “Our Hobbit campaign and accompanying QR codes allow us to give access to a much more robust array of content and really give our guests a new layer of the brand experience. QR codes are especially relevant in interacting with the next generation of Denny’s guests, specifically the younger demographic where social media and the mobile experience is an important part of their everyday lives,” said Dillon.
Denny’s is also using traditional billboards, online banner ads, and a national TV spot to promote the new menu and the brand’s partnership with ‘The Hobbit.’
What do you think? Will the focus on a younger audience – using mobile technology – around a highly anticipated film release lead to greater engagement for Denny’s?
