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IHOP Deserves An Award For The IHOB Marketing Campaign

A lot of people (including me) were angry that IHOP played us. But...it worked.

Heather DeSalvo
Jul 23, 2018
Temple University
165
IHOP Deserves An Award For The IHOB Marketing Campaign
c1.staticflickr.com

Remember when IHOP announced that they were changing their name to IHOB? The Internet went crazy.

Everyone knows that IHOP is known for pancakes. Pancakes. NOT BURGERS.

Well, on July 9, IHOP announced via Twitter that they faked their name change to IHOB to promote their burgers.

Umm...excuse me, IHOP? https://twitter.com/IHOP/status/1016366117986566144

Maybe I'm just stupid, but this announcement took me by surprise. Others, including the famous Kalen Allen, knew it was coming.

https://twitter.com/TheKalenAllen/status/101649740...

A lot of people (including me) were angry that this restaurant chain played us. But...it worked. They got more Internet traffic and probably more visits. They also gained publicity for their new burgers.

In short, IHOP's marketing ploy was GENIUS.

I remember passing by IHOP restaurants and wondering why the signs still said "IHOP." Now I know why, but for me, that was the first hint that something was up. IHOP would never abandon its title as the "International House of Pancakes."

The fact that the name change was a marketing ploy was confirmed by Chief Marketing Officer Brad Haley: "When we launched our new Ultimate Steakburgers last month, we were blown away by the public's reaction to our IHOb campaign since, ultimately, it demonstrated how much love there is for the IHOP brand and our pancakes."

I remember seeing IHOP replace every "P" with a "B" on Twitter. Their pancakes were known as "bancakes." IHOP kept dropping hints that this was a marketing ploy. Yet silly old me was too oblivious. What a clever marketing strategy! Then, once everything was revealed to be fake, they announced that they just wanted to "bromote" their new burgers.

https://twitter.com/IHOP/status/1016708077435879424

Looking back on everything, I love IHOP even more now. I've always loved their pancakes. My obsession with their pancakes is so strong that my mom got me a gift card to IHOP for my birthday. Yup, that's me.

https://tenor.com/view/raven-yup-thats-me-na3m-gif...

My anger about IHOP's marketing ploy was short-lived compared to my love for pancakes. In the end, the marketing team for IHOP are absolute geniuses. Now I can enjoy burgers AND pancakes from my favorite breakfast chain.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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