IHOP or IHOb?
Every company knows that a brand name is not just a name. Serving as the main foundation of their identity, it evokes ideas, emotions, experiences, and expectations, all of which account for our decision to choose one product or service over the other. But what if a brand changes their name?
Taking on this challenge is IHOP, also known as the International House of Pancakes. The 60-year-old breakfast chain has changed its name to IHOb, with “b” standing for burgers. They are now offering “Ultimate Steakburgers” with seven varieties, shifting the focus away from pancakes to burgers.
Brad Haley, the chief marketing for IHOb restaurants, commented on the reasoning behind the name change, “IHOP makes world-famous pancakes, so we felt like the best way to convince them that we are as serious about our new line of Ultimate Steakburgers as we are about our pancakes, was to change our name to IHOb. We’ve pancaked pancakes for 60 years now, so it’s the perfect time to start burgerin’ burgers.”
Although many consumers were confused by this marketing stunt, IHOb, who has been suffering from declining brand awareness and changing diet trends over the past years, at least accomplished their goal of drawing attention to an increasingly popular non-breakfast item that has always been on their menu. With decreasing popularity in pancakes and growing trend in burgers, IHOb saw this as an opportunity and was able to create a marketing campaign that generated a buzz.
The question is did it work? Time will tell if IHOb’s stunt successfully translated to their sales.
Check out this ad that Droga5 shot for IHOb:
