The founder of Denny is Henry Denny who born and raised in Co. Waterford in 1789. Henry’s father Abraham was a shoemaker by trade and had experience of farms from selecting his hyde suppliers. It is believed this is where Henry gained experience and knowledge of farming and its potential for food produce.

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Henry founded the company in 1820 and a few short years later he had eighteen bacon factories in Waterford. When Henry passed away, in 1870, he had three sons. Abraham his eldest son, started to run the business in Ireland whilst his two younger brothers, Thomas and Edward moved to London “where they acted as agents for the parent company in Waterford”. (Denny, 2018)

Henry Denny’s son Abraham died in 1892 and he passed down the business to his son Charles E. Denny. Charles shared the same forward thinking as his grandfather Henry, and so he took further strides in developing the Denny methods. At the turn of the century competition from many Countries, particularly Denmark, was steadily increasing but Irish bacon was still the market leader.

Henry’s other son, Edward Denny, formed an association in Hamburg with J.D. Koopman who was shipping bacon. J.D bought a bacon factory in Jutland and built one in Silkeborg. Denny’s were involved in the business from the start sharing their unrivalled knowledge, expertise, and production techniques before buying the business in 1894.

Henry Denny’s & Sons started to make their mark in Northern Ireland in 1921. They once again shared their expertise with the Pigs Marketing Board of Northern Ireland and set up the first Wiltshire Bacon factory in the province.

A defining moment in Denny’s history arrived in 1933 at an International Food Fair in Manchester, when Denny was awarded a gold medal for making the finest sausages, which is now in the Waterford Museum of Treasures. This gave birth to the Denny Gold Medal Sausage which is so well known today. In 1982 Denny was acquisitioned by the Kerry Group. The Denny branding is still used, and Denny is regarded as the market leader in Ireland.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The strength of the campaign was the theme of “home.” Denny’s aim was to encourage consumers to think of home when seeing Denny product and merchandise. Denny wanted consumers to embrace the warm reassuring feeling of home and the importance of family. From an early age it’s engrained in almost every single one of us that home and family are far more important than wealth and capital gain. People were really struggling financially around the time the campaign was launched and so the importance of family was further realised by people around this time.

Denny were already a market leader in their field so this was always going to help the campaign gain traction relatively quickly. Denny is considered a premium but affordable domestic product and as Kerry Foods (parent company) and Denny continuously strive to ensure they remain top of the polls in that space.

Weaknesses

The only main weakness of the campaign we could find was that it very much aimed towards making an emotional connection to the consumer using a family theme. The majority of people are family orientated but the campaign could cause negative feeling for the minority who don’t. Irish family culture shone through heavily in the ads. In the multi-cultural Ireland, we live in this perhaps should have been re-evaluated by the marketing team.

Opportunities

The “taste of home” campaign was launched by Denny in 2010. This was during a time of economic downturn in Ireland, in fact the country was in the middle of recession. Dining out was a luxury few people could afford. People were eating in their homes and were extremely scrupulous when it came to spending money. Denny products are considered premium products but are reasonably priced. This meant that it was an affordable item to be added to the shopping basket of households experiencing some financial strain.

Threats

Before launching a campaign, it is imperative that any potential threat of negative press is considered by the marketing and advertising team. In Ireland today (2018), the homeless crisis has hit an all-time high and is worse now than ever before, but this problem has been in existence for many years. A campaign actively promoting home could potentially have been considered to be a lack of empathy towards the homeless population of Ireland.

Denny however made a very generous contribution of €1 to the Simon Community on behalf of every person who shared their thoughts of home. All people had to do was post their comments / opinions of “what home is” on an online portal, www.homeis.ie. Over €50K was raised and this funding went on to support a range of high-quality services throughout the country.

Comparative Analysis & COO (Country of Origin) Marketing Mix

The country of origin, conveyed through marketing communications messages, can act as an influential factor in consumers buying decisions. Denny effectively use this technique by creating ads reminding both listeners of the importance of both family and home.

The country of origin can be used as a selling tool and a marketing technique to sell a product. Research suggests that the image consumers have of the country and the product or brand originates from influences their purchasing intentions. (Placeholder1)

There are several examples of organizations that have used consumers favourable associations with its country of origin and a specific product or service category in order to create effective marketing communications campaigns.

Emirates airlines is known for providing excellent in-flight service quality in line with the luxury hospitality associated with them Emirates.

Another example would be campaigns for French fragrances such as Chanel and Dior and actively feature images of Paris to reinforce the association between the products COO and with romance and beauty, it creates a tie for the consumer.

Ikea have Sweden’s reputation for being a social family orientated nation to position their business across all of the various continents.

Campaigns for German cars, like Volkswagen and Audi, often include German features to exploit consumers Association of high-quality reliable manufacturing with Germany. The famous catchphrase from almost all Audi ads quickly springs to mind, “Vorsprung durch Technik” This German phrase translates into English as “progress through technology,” a one-liner boasting of how technologically advanced the German automobile manufacturing industry is. This phrase has been used Audi cars since the 1980s, capitalizing on the German reputation for technical expertise. Audi is of course a part of the VW Group and all their advancements in establishing a reputation for technical quality was undone by the 2015 emissions scandal, although this has been quickly forgotten about!

The “Taste of Home” campaign is a good example of ”turbo-charged marketing” which goes beyond integration of different bits of the mix and amplifies them. The different bits of the mix don’t just look the same, they reinforce one another.

The Home Is campaign involved engaging with consumers to learn about what home means to them, including a mobile house that toured the country, “pop-up” homes inside stores and online forums. This was followed by a “live” TV ad on Christmas day with one the families, and the recruitment of people to feature in the follow up TV campaigns ads.

The beginning of this turbo marketing campaign is the creation of a big brand idea, which for Denny is “The Taste of Home”. The idea works well as it combines (in this case literally) product sausage “taste” and emotional sizzle “home”. The brand is famous for making Ireland’s favourite sausage, and the whole experience of making and eating and Irish fry-up is strongly linked with a sense of home and this creates an emotional connection between customer / consumer and product.

For this campaign Denny involved journalists from the start when the pop-up homes started appearing. Further PR value was created by publishing results on what home is from the 12,000 consumers who shared ideas and each idea shared led to a donation towards the Simon Community, helping to aid the homeless in society. Something similar was demonstrated with the live Xmas TV ad.

Having launched “The Taste of Home”, Denny followed up with a summer campaign focusing on the ham range, and the idea of taking the feeling of home with you wherever you go. This is nice as it helped to showcase the vast array products Denny have available and it also takes the consumer into a new season. Denny used a “reality TV” style of communication, to create a real-life feel and stand out from the crowd, i.e. “live” TV Christmas ad.

Campaign Target Audience and Objectives

Denny’s main target audience for the “Taste of Home” campaign appeals largely to families of all shapes and sizes. Some of which are families who have some members living abroad. An example of this is;

“a ‘real life’ family, the Rooney’s, who now live Down Under in Australia but hail from the Leitrim/Fermanagh border. It shows the family arriving home to Ireland with their new baby daughter Kiera, to meet with grandparents and family for the first time. The ad aims to capture the reality for many Irish families today who have been separated by emigration and long to reunite with their loved ones.” (Marketing.ie, 2014)

The relevance of this ad to the target audience has to do with the number of young Irish people who emigrated from Ireland due to the economic situation the country was in at the time that this campaign aired.

Another ad in this campaign is directed at families with small children. This is illustrated by a real-life video of a young girl opening her presents from Santa Claus on Christmas morning, followed by the family eating Denny products around the kitchen table. For many Irish families, a fry is cooked on Christmas mornings as small children are up very early and Christmas dinner is usually many hours later in the afternoon. Not only is a fry quick and convenient to cook and clean up after on busy mornings such as Christmas morning but is often a tradition that is passed down from generation to generation.

Continuing the themes of families, Denny also targeted family occasions such as a different real-life ad they ran in this campaign which portrays as mentioned above another hectic morning in a Dublin household where a family prepare for the wedding of their daughter. Make-up is being done, ribbons are being tied on cars and the father of the bride is making everyone a Denny breakfast. This is also common in Irish households where such busy mornings often require 5 minutes where the family is together with nothing going on before the rest of the day begins.

Campaign Objectives

Denny’s “The Taste of Home” Campaign had many objectives. Their main objective was to strengthen the emotional connection between the consumers and Denny itself. To do this they utilised the following; Repeated Assertion, Emotional Appeal and Psychological Appeal. These objectives allowed Denny to make more memorable ads. This in turn increased sales and added more value to the products Denny provides.

Repeated Assertion

In this campaign, there is a common theme that is repeated in each of the TV ads, family and togetherness. Some examples of this theme include a wedding, a day out at the Point to Point, a homecoming of a family and their small child from abroad, a Christmas morning, a first day back at school and families and friends going to a GAA match. At the end of each of these ads one phrase is repeated, “The Taste of Home, for us good food is just the start of it”. The same song is also used in each of these ads, “Homebird” by Foy Vance. This song has become synonymous with Denny as anytime this song is played people would immediately think of Denny.

Emotional Appeal

Emotional Appeal is a big factor in this campaign. By using real families and not famous people, consumers can relate more to the ads. Each of these ads spark an emotional response due to, as mentioned above, families and togetherness as well as the special occasions that Denny decided to film at. For the Irish population, days such as the ones portrayed in the ads are highly emotional and important to everyone involved. For example, the first day back at school is a day when emotions run high and not just for the students themselves but also for the parents. All of us remember our first day back at school and just how nerve wracking it was. For all of these days, Denny played a major part.

Psychological Appeal

This method of appeal is closely linked with Emotional Appeal in the fact that it appeals to one’s emotions, placing a greater emphasis on the consumer and not the product. There are many different attributes of Psychological Appeal which cover all emotions good and bad. Denny focuses on positive appeals such as Pleasant Appeal and Music Appeal. Pleasant Appeals “create a positive experience and a high level of liking”. (Whelan-Ryan, 2018). An example of Pleasant Appeal which is shown in the ads is A Homecoming. Denny filmed the arrival home from abroad of a young family and their new born child of which was meeting their grandparents for the first time. Watching the grandmother smile and coo at the new born plays to the affectionate side of people, often instils smiles on the viewer. Music Appeal grabs the attention of the listener of the ads. The track “Homebird” by Foy Vance puts the consumer in a relaxed and comforted mood. It complements the main theme of the campaign and augments the sound of sizzling Denny food on the frying pan.

Denny executed the campaign flawlessly, by using the aforementioned techniques and achieved their main objective. This achievement reinforced the brand name and what they stood for. This culminated in Denny winning the prize of best marketing campaign from the Irish Marketing Awards in 2010. They were also the leading brand for sausages, bacon and ham. (brandgym, 2010)

Overview of Main IMC Theme

The Emotional Selling Point being communicated throughout the “Taste of Home” campaign is heritage and nostalgia. Heritage is a big part of the Irish culture, some examples of this are sons taking over family businesses, recipes passed down from generation to generation and the nature of only buying one brand of a specific item. When a non-emotional product i.e. sausages, is assigned an emotional value, this allows you to build relationships with customers. Denny capitalises on this by assigning family values to the product. This campaign in particular uses common family scenarios in each of the TV ads to illustrate that Denny is a family brand.

The message content throughout the TV ads shows Irish families in a variety of special days. Denny are able to connect with a large portion of the Irish population by depicting the six special occasions listed above such as the wedding and the first day back at school to name but a few. Nearly every person can relate to at least one of the ads illustrated by Denny like taking ham sandwiches to school or a GAA match or having a fry on Christmas morning when you have been up since 5 a.m. and it is too early Christmas dinner.

The creative element in this campaign was very dynamic. Each ad in its core message is similar but the way Denny portrays it is unique to each advert. By using real life unscripted families, the audience is able to better relate than if Denny decided to use actual actors. Its authenticity is what makes people pay attention to the ads.

Overview of Main IMC Campaign

Denny utilised a collection of IMC tools including Advertising which we talked extensively about in the campaign objectives, going through the different advertising techniques they used such as repeated assertion, emotional and psychological appeal and how these techniques used complimented the campaign and made it memorable.

Another IMC tool that Denny used was Public Relations. Denny wanted to see what home meant to their consumers. During the campaign timeframe Ireland faced a problem with homelessness. Denny noticed that with their profits they would be able to contribute and lessen the problem by donating money to the Simon Community. “The Denny ads were filmed in Irish homes from all over the country” (NEWSDESK, 2010) and as a ‘thank you’ to them for sharing their moments Denny donated €10000 on behalf of each of the families to the Simon Communities of Ireland. Denny also contributed “€1 to Simon on behalf of each person who shared their thoughts on home during the tour or posted comments on www.homeis.ie.” (Simon Community, 2009).

Evaluation/Critique of the Campaign

Denny’s ‘Taste of Home’ Campaign was very well thought out. The way they used the different techniques and IMC tools generated a positive reaction from the Irish people. By using real life families for their ads, it made it easier for the consumers to relate in turn reinforcing their brand as an Irish household name.

The song used in each of the TV ads attracted the viewers’ attention to the ad and as Tricia Burke, Marketing Manager of Denny at the time of the campaign said “Once we heard the track we were immediately taken both by the melody and by the way it had such obvious affection for home and family” (NEWSDESK, 2010). The music also worked effortlessly with each ad and for the viewers added a sense of home and heritage.

The contribution made by Denny to the Simon Communities of Ireland made a big impact on lessening the homelessness crisis in Ireland as well as how consumers viewed the brand as a whole. Knowing that Denny made the contribution to the Simon Community lets people know that Denny cares about a very serious topic and the fact the brand knows that home is important to the Irish. The founder of Denny is from Waterford in Ireland and it shows that Denny cares about its roots in Ireland even though they are now an International Company.

There was not a lot that one could criticise about this campaign. The only thing you could say is that Denny did not use all the tools available to them to their advantage. For example, Social Media could have engaged more viewers and increase the number of consumers throughout Ireland and worldwide. Denny did not primarily focus on this tool, instead they decided to only focus on TV and Radio advertising as well as the fantastic work they did with Public Relations.

Conclusions & Recommendations

In conclusion this campaign worked really well for Denny and the campaign advertisements are still remembered today along with the music track ‘Homebird’ being released three years prior to this campaign, which is still remembered many years after the campaign has concluded, known as the Denny ad song.

A recommendation we would give if Denny decided to run this campaign in today’s climate would be to definitely incorporate social media into their campaign. Currently Denny only has approximately 30K likes on Facebook and just over 200 subscribers on YouTube which is incredibly small for a well-known international company. With less and less people actually watching the television nowadays and more watching programmes online, Denny would need to increase their online presence to attract more consumers in Ireland and worldwide.

References

brandgym, t., 2010. DENNY’S “HOME IS”: BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN WINNER. [Online]
Available at: https://thebrandgym.com/dennys-home-is-best-marketing-campaign-winner/
[Accessed 07 November 2018].
Denny, 2018. Our Story. [Online]
Available at: https://www.denny.ie/story
[Accessed 19 November 2018].
Marketing.ie, 2014. Kerry tackles Denny rebrand. [Online]
Available at: https://marketing.ie/kerry-tackles-denny-rebrand/
[Accessed 4 November 2018].
NEWSDESK, T. H. P., 2010. Foy Vance track for Denny media campaign. [Online]
Available at: https://www.hotpress.com/music/foy-vance-track-for-denny-media-campaign-6208216
[Accessed 17 November 2018].
Simon Community, I., 2009. Denny’s Home Is campaign supports the Simon Communities of Ireland. [Online]
Available at: http://www.simon.ie/Portals/1/Docs/PressReleases2012/2009%20Releases/3-Press%20Release%20-%20Simon%20Communities%20of%20Ireland%2017%20Nov%202009-%20Final.pdf
[Accessed 17 November 2018].
Whelan-Ryan, F., 2018. Psychological Appeal, Pleasant Appeals. In: Advertising 2018. s.l.:s.n., p. 15.