Brief:

• Breakfast chain IHOP is celebrating its 60th anniversary with a mobile-based "International Passport Challenge" through June 10, according to a press release from the company.
• To enter the contest, guests must try all three of the restaurant's new line of international pancakes and upload a photograph of each to their account on the IHOP mobile app. After uploading all three photos, guests will have the opportunity to submit their mobile "passport" for entry into a sweepstakes to win IHOP meals for a year.
• The new flavors include Mexican Tres Leches, Belgian Dark Chocolate Mousse and English Sticky Toffee at participating restaurants in the U.S. The company plans to introduce more international flavors throughout the year.

Insight:

IHOP's mobile-based contest aims to drive foot traffic to the chain's more than 1,600 stores across the country and encourage people to download the relatively new app to receive additional offers and promotions in the future. That's an especially important strategy in targeting mobile-savvy millennials who show a greater preference for interacting with contests and other content on mobile devices.

IHOP and its sister brand Applebee's, also owned by Dine Brands, are trying to reverse a decline in visits with the recent introduction of technologies that include mobile ordering and delivery, per the Los Angeles Times. IHOP launched a new website along with the mobile app in 2017, as well as online ordering in a move to adjust to consumers' shifting preferences and signal the brand's commitment to remaining a leader in the casual breakfast restaurant space as fewer consumers eat out.

To continue in this mission, Dine Brands plans to implement Wi-Fi, tabletop tablets for food ordering and mobile-phone checkout in all Applebee's and IHOP restaurants in the near future, according to The Los Angeles Times. It's also partnered with delivery companies UberEats, DoorDash and Grubhub to appeal to consumers' shift toward on-demand food delivery and worked with General Motors to develop a feature that lets drivers more easily order food by tapping the IHOP or Applebee's logos on their in-car digital dashboards.