by Luke Wilson
The American chain, International House of Pancakes (IHOP), is flipping the pancake into a ‘b’. IHOP, an American breakfast classic, is flipping the P to a b.
The restaurant announced that they would be changing their name to International House Of burgers (IHOb) in a series of Twitter posts on June 4. This plan was put into effect on June 11.
The reason behind changing the name is that the company wants to advertise the rollout of their new selection of burgers.
The sit down restaurant is mainly known for their pancakes, however, the introduction of what they now call the “Ultimate Steakburgers” calls for a name change. Following the announcement of the name change, the company said that the new name would stay “at least for the time being.”
Chef Nevielle Panthaky, the company’s head of culinary at the restaurant chain said, “Burgers are a quintessential, American menu item so it makes perfect sense that IHOP, one of the most iconic, all-American comfort-food brands in the world, would go over the top to create a delicious line-up of quality burgers that hit the spot any time of day.”
IHOb has gone all-in on the name change in terms of its online marketing platforms before the meaning of the “b” in the new name was revealed. On social media, the company ditched the @IHOP twitter handle for @IHOb. On its website, the company featured a countdown clock for when the meaning of the “b” would be revealed. Twitter users also shared images of the signage changing at locations around the country to “IHOb.”
Paul La Monica from CNN Money said it is, “only a marketing campaign […] IHOb wants to be known as a place to get lunch and dinner, not just breakfast and brunch. It’s adding several burgers to its menu.”
The name change has acted just as La Monica predicted, a marketing campaign, as interest in the company has increased heavily over the last week. The company has attracted a large social media crowd, along with the eyes of stockholders, company investors, and customers.
The IHOP in Hollywood, California, is getting a new store sign and several others might be receiving the same treatment. The IHOb Twitter account posted videos and pictures of the construction taking place.
But Darren Rebelez, President of IHOP, said that the majority of the 1,800 restaurants will still remain as IHOP.
Rebelez said, “We are definitely going to be IHOP, but we want to convey that we are taking our burgers as seriously as our pancakes.”
However, even before the acronym as revealed, there were signs of backlash.
Speculations developed as to what the name would stand for. The name speculations included bananas, bitcoin, bacon, burgers, and breakfast.
The ambiguity of the new acronym has caused people to match this murkiness with sloppy management.
The company knows that the change will not last for a long time. They realize that they are mainly known for their pancakes and breakfast items. In addition, the company still trades publicly as IHP, not IHB.
Rebelez is not worried about the backlash because the campaign was still getting the new ideas of IHOb burgers into the mouths of people around America.