Denny’s was remixing their classic dishes to reintroduce them to the current generation of diners. Our objective was to create a promotion that tied into the “remixed” theme, while increasing downloads and engagement with the Denny’s app. We partnered with Atari to remix their classic video games with a Denny’s twist and adapt them into app games. The campaign launched in July 2014 with the release of the games on the Denny’s app. We hacked Atari consoles and cartridges as a promotional piece for influencers to play our games. We even built retro Atari arcade consoles and invited the high scorers to play them during a showdown in Las Vegas that we streamed live on Twitch. During this promotion, Denny’s experienced their highest sales and restaurant traffic since 2006. The app was downloaded 475,868 times in the first three months, and the buzz generated over 10 million additional impressions.

We picked our favorite Atari titles and rebooted them with a Denny’s twist, creating app versions for both Android and iOS users. We also hacked Atari consoles and cartridges and sent them as a promotional piece to influencers. In addition, we built the first Atari arcade cabinets in over 30 years, and invited the high scorers of our games to a showdown in Vegas. The high scorers played the app games on our retro style cabinets, and we streamed the world championship live on Twitch. And the best part? We created the work 100% in house.

During this promotion, Denny’s experienced their highest sales and restaurant traffic since 2006. Overall sales and guest check average increased by 3% year over year. Year over year Facebook impressions increased 1,012% from 15 million to 170 million, and year over year average Facebook engagement increased 192% from 918 to 2,600. Similarly, year over year Tumblr followers increased 128% from 25,190 to 57,549. Year over year Tumblr impressions increased 359% from 8 million to 38 million, and year over year Tumblr engagement increased 268% from 3,724/day to 13,692/day. Year over year Twitter followers increased by 56% from 13,336 to 20,839 followers. In addition, the app was downloaded 475,868 times in the first three months, and the press generated about the games produced over 10 million additional impressions. This resulted in Denny’s most engaging and successful partnerships in its 65-year history.