IHOP is changing its name—again.
Last June, IHOP, known to many as International House of Pancakes, ran a risky PR stunt, “changing” the company’s name to IHOB, International House of Burgers for a short period. Now, as the anniversary of that attention-grabbing temporary move nears, the chain is teasing another switch on social media.
“What could the P be?,” a tweet from the company reads, showing the now long-outdated IHOB logo flipping from a “b” to a “p.” Underneath that is the saying “we heard you.” The bio on the company’s Twitter page also now reads “When we changed our name to IHOb, the internet had a lot to say. Well, we heard you. Stay tuned for June 3.”
The announcement is certainly having just the reaction the IHOP marketing department was hoping for. Social media is teaming with speculation, reactions and a little bit of nervousness. (Consumers, after seeing how last year’s name change, which lasted just a few days, know the chain isn’t likely making any drastic menu focus changes.)
Probably not… but definitely not definitely not.
— IHOP (@IHOP) May 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/Vento_647/status/1133356618278744065
https://twitter.com/bgfloyd1015/status/1133183804175245313
International house of Pretzels incoming
— 🍊🍩 (@lurkingtil1am) May 27, 2019
— ceeks (@70Ceeks) May 28, 2019
Cmon IHOP, not again man pic.twitter.com/NgefXWSXsU
— Amanda (@IAmDramaMama) May 27, 2019
The 2018 name change was meant to highlight menu items beyond the well known breakfast foods. It irked customers, but sales of the company’s burgers spiked during the campaign. So, it’s entirely likely the company is hoping lighting will strike twice as it rolls out a menu addition or highlights another offering.
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