In an effort to enter the sphere of cultural relevancy, IHOP attempted to break the Guinness World Record for most pancakes made in eight hours last weekend. The marketing stunt came from IHOP’s new in-house marketing team which was assembled earlier this year, and marked the 20th anniversary of the company’s “National Pancake Day” on March 4.
Oodles of pancakes
Led by IHOP’s Head Chef, Art Carl, the “20K for Pancakes Day” event took place on the Santa Monica Pier last Saturday. Members of the public were encouraged to attend and take part in the record attempt. According to Business Wire, there was also a philanthropic purpose for the stunt:
“For every pancake served during the record attempt, IHOP will donate $1 to Feeding America®, directly supporting the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and its mission to end hunger in LA County.”
In addition to the event, the company also gave away free pancakes at select store locations on March 4. Lenna Yamamichi, newly-appointed vice president of IHOP brand creative, stated:
“National Pancake Day is a holiday our fans have come to know and love, which is why we wanted to make the celebration even bigger for our 20th anniversary with 20K for Pancake Day.”
A new direction for IHOP marketing
Since appointing an in-house creative team, IHOP has parted ways with its previous marketing partner, Pereira O’Dell and The Brand Amp. An IHOP spokesperson stated:
“As we enter our next chapter, we are focused on ensuring the brand shows up holistically and with consistency. As such, we have ultimately decided to move our social and creative work in-house. This year’s celebration of National Pancake Day marks our first large cultural activation and initiative in this next phase.”
The appointment of the new marketing team follows a drop in domestic same-store sales for the company in Q3 of 2024. According to Yamamichi, the goal of the team is to make IHOP “trendy” – to employ social media marketing tactics and to target specific age demographics. In other words, no more blanket advertising. She stated:
“The reason we are doing this, the whole catalyst, was for us to position ourselves and make ourselves culturally relevant. We want people to be talking about IHOP. We’re hoping that, with an activation like this [20K for Pancake Day], that [IHOP] becomes top of mind.”
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