IHOb: Stupid or Genius?

Let's deviate from the political theme for a bit and turn our attention to pancakes...or a lack thereof, for that matter. IHOP changed their name to IHOB to shift their focus from pancakes to burgers. Yes, burgers. I thought this was a parody of rebranding moves in big companies, but this is real. The chain is coming out with their line of Ultimate Steakburgers and intends to show that they are "serious" about these burgers via the name change. Some people think that this "rebranding" is not that at all, but a marketing ploy. Others call it "bizarre" and a "nightmare".

Needless to say, IHOb had accomplished their goal: getting people to talk about their brand and food. Several other food Twitters jumped in as well, with Burger King switching its name to Pancake King on its Twitter accounts. Waffle House, another breakfast chain that serves burgers, intends to stick to its roots as the Waffle House while still serving burgers. It's like how Dairy Queen serves chicken fingers and pretzels with cheese dip, but most people don't come for that. They come for the Blizzards and soft serve.

I don't know about anyone else, but this is the exact sort of thing high school me would have done with Photoshop and a desire to troll people. That's why I sincerely thought it was a parody, especially since the original chain had a pretty good track record of serving pancakes with flavors such as birthday cake and English sticky toffee. Naturally, some customers have voiced concerns about not being able to enjoy their favorite pancakes again.

All in all, IHOP is known for doing one thing well and that's the pancake and, in temporarily (hopefully) drawing emphasis away from their original product, customers will buy more pancakes when they do return. It worked for Coca-Cola when they made their formula taste more like Pepsi, so let's hope that we get our pancakes back.

Sources and Photos:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ihops-name-change-what-does-ihob-stand-for-6-11-18/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/06/13/in-defense-of-ihob/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.927c1291569a
http://turnto10.com/news/local/ihob-b-is-for-burgers