June 2018 Newsletter
Rebranding and Social Media. How IHOP has everyone talking…
Dear
I am sitting down to write this newsletter on June 12, 2018. Why is that important? It is important because of what happened recently. Get ready for this. IHOP known for their towering stacks of pancakes loved by many flipped their P to b.
Say what?!
IHOP is now IHOb.
International House of burgers
I guess IHOP or rather IHOb has had burgers on their menu since…I don’t know how long. Have you have had a burger there? I know I haven’t. I go for pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, breakfast. I go for breakfast, and only breakfast, when I go. Regardless of the time of day.
You know what else I haven’t thought of in a few years?
IHOP!
I can make pancakes at home. I have gotten pretty damn good a cooking bacon. The trick. You bake it. In the oven. Once it is crispy you cut it up into little pieces and throw it in the pancakes. Oh, I’m getting hungry for some big fluffy bacon pancakes covered in syrup. Aren’t you? Mmmmm. There was a time we would take our kids to IHOP once a month. Now it’s the Mathers Pancake House. We cook at home. You’re welcome anytime. Just give us a little notice.
You know who else hasn’t noticed IHOP? The internet. The internet and social media haven’t given two craps about IHOP in years. That changed with a little computer image of the P getting flipped to a b and then seeing a burger patty getting smashed on a grill.
BOOM!
International House Of burgers
Brilliant.
Do you know why? They have always had burgers on their menu! They might switch up their name, their social media usernames, menus might change but they still are IHOP. They still have the same thing everybody loves, that breakfast. But with a few posts and clever marking, they have everyone talking.
Burger King or Pancake King is. They seemed to have joined the bandwagon with name changes. (they have since changed their name back)
Wendy’s is talking. They do a lot of talking on twitter. One of my favorite follows.
Waffle House is still Waffle House. Which isn’t saying much.
It’s amazing.
You know what I want right now? A burger. From IHOb. I don’t even care if it’s good. If they can get everyone’s attention they win. They win my attention and maybe after I write this newsletter maybe my money. In our world, attention is the new currency.
#theywin
They aren’t the first to do a social media stunt rebrand. Domino’s pizza was trash a few years ago. You knew it. I knew it. Everyone knew it. Domino’s even knew their pizza was a dumpster fire. They took negative comments from focus groups and used them in advertising. Then they said they would work to get better. They did! Now they are a force in the pizza industry. We ordered Domino’s recently and was surprised. Great tasting pizza at an affordable price. Great job Domino’s!
#iwasnnotpaidtosaythat
Discount stores have been around for decades. Kmart. Walmart. I despise Walmart. It’s always a mess. Tons of people, long lines. You can never find an associate to help answer questions. I’ll gladly pay a little more money for a little less selection and go to Tarjay or just Target if you aren’t being pretentious. It’s funny that you can use the word pretentious when talking about a discount store. Target. Sorry, let me adjust my ascot and monocle, Tarjay has teamed up with big names in the past. Recently, Target has teamed up with Queer Eye on Netflix as a go-to budget option for guys that care about their fashion and personal care. While all those discount stores have their own store brands there is just something different about saying you got it at, ahem, Tarjay.
#igotthisattarjay
I used to introduce myself as a real estate agent. Eww. I hate doing it now. Because I know what a lot of people think as soon as those three words leave my mouth. Politician. Car salesmen. Telemarketer. While those aren’t the same as real estate agent they bring the same visceral response. They think I’m always trying to sell them. It can get awkward really fast. I’m working on changing that. No one likes to think they are being sold to. Soon I might be introducing myself as a storyteller. Entrepreneur. Conscious Capitalist. Who knows.
In just a few days since IHOP flipped the P to a b there have been people upset with their choice of marketing. Other people just want a delicious burger and know IHOb has their back. With a drink and endless fries for $6.99. Whatever happens, right now they have the attention and are controlling their message. Other companies are scrambling to get the attention back.
Hey! We have more than just pancakes. We have burgers too! Come on over for lunch.
Come over for dinner.
They are controlling their message. They are controlling the attention
It is really about branding for all of us. In the Social Media world that we live in today we are all our own little media companies. You might be CNN, MTV, a local newspaper, AM radio or Auto Trader. But you are a media company. With every blog post, video, picture, you control the message. You might even call it Your Own Personal Narrative. You, me, IHOP (Sorry,IHOb), Domino’s, Tarjay all control the message that we share with others. I’ve been working at changing my “real estate agent” message. Some people like the changes. Other people don’t. That will always be the case for everyone.
Yes, scrambling was used on purpose. Scrambled. Scrambled eggs. Breakfast. IHOP. Get it? Okay, I’m not a comedian. OR am I?
What are you?
Dosen’t that burger look good?
