Denny’s is taking a more local approach to its marketing under new media agency Mindshare. The WPP shop recently replaced longtime incumbent Publicis Groupe, which had been handling the brand via Spark Foundry.

The change comes as Denny’s looks to refocus on its food, especially its breakfast items, and attract younger families with kids, according to Sherri Landry, Denny’s senior VP and chief marketing officer, who joined Denny’s in January after several years at CEC Entertainment, which owns Chuck E. Cheese.

“When I came on board, part of the charge was to think through how to position Denny’s for the next 70 years,” Landry said. “With the review, I wanted to identify new thinking related to developing media plans with a bias toward local market reach to connect with guests where they live and play. We needed an agency that had a local-up approach versus a national-down approach, which had been our strategy in prior years.”

Landry cited Mindshare’s analytics technology and agility. “We gave them a challenge, and they allowed us to pivot our media message in two weeks in the middle of the holidays to focus on our new Grand Slam pricing.”

A dozen agencies participated in the review, which began in May and was led in-house. Denny’s also announced Finn Partners as its new PR and communications agency. Denny’s handles creative in house, while using Anomaly for social media, according to Landry.

For 2022, Denny’s reported advertising costs of $81.2 million (consisting of $75.9 million related to its franchised restaurants and $5.3 million for company-owned restaurants), up from $74.6 million in 2021, according to regulatory filings.

This year marks Denny’s 70th anniversary, and Landry is looking to boost Denny’s cultural relevance by bringing in younger families with kids, and going back to the chain’s breakfast roots.

“We want to focus on taking back breakfast,” Landry said. “That is our heritage and our equity and we want to be strong in that place again. We know that consumer confidence is declining and that impacts where they spend, but we can help our guests enjoy breakfast at a great value.”

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“My belief is that we will lean more into the middle of the funnel,” she continued. “We have great brand awareness, but we understand that if we aren’t talking to our customers, we can’t win. We plan on using national cable, but also doubling down on paid social, programmatic and online video.”

Denny’s third-quarter U.S. same-restaurant sales grew 1.8%, helped by off-premise sales and its focus on breakfast. The brand also said its limited-time bacon-focused menu was a success, but noted that foot traffic was lower as consumers remain budget-conscious. By comparison, IHOP’s U.S. same-restaurant sales rose 2% in the same period and Cracker Barrel’s comparable store restaurant sales increased 2.4% in its fiscal fourth quarter.

The win is a boost for Mindshare, which earlier this year lost Kimberly-Clark’s U.S. media account and General Mills’ global media accounts.

“We are thrilled to partner with Denny’s, a brand that has captured the hearts and minds of their guests worldwide,” Nancy Hall, Mindshare’s North America CEO, said in a statement. “The Denny’s team is smart, passionate, and future-thinking. They have a real understanding of the power of media, and how it can create the best outcomes for brands and consumers alike.”