A couple years ago, we introduced the Grand Slams For Denny's. They gained popularity beyond everyone’s wildest expectations, but even the Grand Slams episodes are just, well, videos.

You watch, maybe “like” or comment and share or don’t share and then move on to the next list or cat video or news blooper reel with nothing to show for it. But we wanted to engage consumers on a deeper level. So we started thinking. And tinkering. And we came up with a couple great ideas. 

We started by creating an episode that looks, feels, walks and talks like a QVC show. But we went further than just producing a spoof. 

We built an entire experience from the ground up. We actually created thousands of Grand Slams products: bacon scarves, temperature-sensitive coffee mugs, egg hoodies, bacon- and coffee-scented candles and pancake t-shirts. We even created actual Grand Slams skate decks, too. And we not only featured them in the episode, but following the rules of QVC, told viewers that they could actually get what they were seeing. And we created a website to do it. And the items sold out in less than 30 minutes.

Then when we sent each item, we created a letter from either Sausage or Bacon in the package so people would have a full appreciation for the rivalry between the two pork products. We asked consumers to post photos of their stuff and they listened. 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand it worked so well the first go, we made another one.

Then we went nuts during the NCAA tournament by creating an episode that showed one of the best parts of basketball: the dunk contest. And we asked viewers to vote for the best dunk. And they did.

This interactive end card allowed viewers to vote for the dunk they liked best. And five Grand Slams fans get free Grand Slams for a whole year.

These aren't just t-shirts. Each of these was stuffed into a t-shirt cannon and shot into the hands of fans during the NCAA finals by the Grand Slams. 

And occasionally the Grand Slams got to work with some pretty amazing movies. Like Independence Day: Resurgence. Needless to say, we had fun with it. But we didn't stop there. In the spirit of engaging consumers beyond the "like" button, we asked consumers to show us who they'd choose to help them defend against an alien invasion by #ing their photos on Twitter and Instagram. The prize? Seeing the Hollywood premiere in person. Did it work? Did it ever.  

We even got our message into both movie theaters AND movie theatres by hijacking the message at the beginning that tells patrons to STFU. But we replaced the talking film reel with, well, talking breakfast. Point is, we went beyond traditional YouTube engagement by speaking to our audience where they already are and offering to accept their movie tickets as coupons for late night grub after the movie.