IHOP has performed a number of marketing stunts over the years to catch consumer attention, including swapping the “P” for a “B” in its name to celebrate an expanded line of burgers in 2018. The diner chain’s next big swing comes in the form of 20,000 pancakes.
Ahead of the 20th anniversary of National Pancake Day, IHOP will try to break the Guinness World Record for most pancakes served in a single eight-hour period, with $1 donated to Feeding America per flapjack. The “20K for Pancake Day” blitz, which will take place on the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday (March 1), is the first major step in the Dine Brands-owned marketer’s attempt to return to relevance, a strategy that also includes in-housing creative functions and fresh marketing leadership.
“The reason we are doing this, the whole catalyst, was for us to position ourselves and make ourselves culturally relevant,” said Lenna Yamamichi, who stepped into the newly created role of vice president of IHOP brand creative earlier this year. “We want people to be talking about IHOP. We’re hoping that, with an activation like this, that [IHOP] becomes top of mind.”
Yamamichi, a restaurant industry veteran who previously worked at Taco Bell for over two decades, is prioritizing social media and public relations in a shift away from a prior focus on what she termed “blanket advertising.” The executive wants to recognize audiences that go deeper than broad-based demographics, whether that means Gen Z teenagers like her own daughter or moms who love Ugg boots and Stanley tumblers. The pivot to a social-first mindset — an increasingly common one in a world dominated by apps like TikTok — has also involved instating more active social listening practices.
“We are daily listening and making sure that we are on-trend,” said Yamamichi. “When something happens, you literally only have 24 hours to respond.”
Bringing IHOP’s marketing transformation to fruition also means wresting more direct control over marketing duties through a significant in-housing push. The Brand Amp previously handled IHOP’s social work while Pereira O’Dell was its creative agency of record since 2022. Pereira O’Dell notably handled a rebrand for IHOP that centered on smile iconography.
"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,” an IHOP spokesperson said over email. “This year’s celebration of National Pancake Day marks our first large cultural activation and initiative in this next phase. We are very proud of our partnerships with Pereira O’Dell and The Brand Amp and the work we have done together. We thank them for their commitment to the brand, creativity and support of our strategic growth objectives over the years.”
Dine-in opportunity
“20K for Pancake Day” follows a challenging year for restaurants marked by consumer spending pullbacks and increased promotional activity. Domestic same-store sales, a key metric of industry health, declined 2.1% for IHOP in Q3 of 2024, per an earnings statement from parent Dine Brands, which also owns Applebee’s and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.
The pancake push has incentives beyond the Guinness World Record attempt. On National Pancake Day (March 4), IHOP will offer dine-in customers a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at participating locations.
IHOP setting a more ambitious marketing agenda for 2025 comes as other dine-in brands have seen a surge in interest thanks to savvier social media strategies that have won purchase with Gen Z. Chili’s is the category star of the moment, with TikTok cheese-pull videos and viral menu offerings like the Triple Dipper helping to deliver an eye-popping 31% jump in comparable sales in its most recent fiscal quarter.
IHOP is chasing a similar sales opportunity, but Yamamichi also hopes the National Pancake Day campaign can remind people of the value the diner offers as a gathering place for families and friends.
“It’s that sense of belonging to something bigger that I think is the important part of this event to start to kick off that brand momentum,” said Yamamichi.
