The Challenge
At IHOP, breakfast is a social experience. And, the restaurant's guests are particularly active on social media. But IHOP's site didn't offer the social experience that reflected the brand or engaged their large, loyal and digitally enabled fan base
The challenge: Transform IHOP.com into the brand's digital hub, connecting it's digital and social footprint, where today's IHOP fans can connect to the brand through social media channels directly on the site.
The Idea
Breakfast lovers around the nation were already talking about IHOP. So we harnessed this brand love to create a new, social-driven site where the guests share the spotlight. MRM re-architected the IHOP site to fully connect traffic from ALL of their branded social channels, driving interactions from those channels back to IHOP.com.
The new IHOP.com is the place for conversation and the heart of the brand's ecosystem – connecting IHOP's vast social footprint.
IHOP loyalists congregate to share their opinions, be heard, and actively speak for the brand.
Through the new members-only "My IHOP" loyalty experience, guests can create personalized profiles, linked to their existing social accounts, to unlock site functionality, such as food ratings, favoriting foods and social sharing of all of their favorite menu items, while also enjoying rewards for participating.
"Our guests spend 3.5 minutes with us on IHOP.COM. Incredible!"
The Execution
The Results
IHOP guests flipped! Following the launch of the site in 2012, #IHOP became the #1 ranked term in Twitter GLOBAL Trends 2012 in the entire food category, pushing Starbucks to #2.
As a result of a robust SEO strategy IHOP has become the leading competitor among both organic search competitors and traditional competitors.
The My IHOP community continues to grow rapidly, with no paid promotional support.
This new fully integrated social experience continues to drive national conversations, guest engagement, loyalty, advocacy and, most critically, restaurant traffic.
The Awards
- Best Restaurant Site
IHOP.com was recognized as the Best Restaurant Site in the Sitecore Site of the Year – North America program.
- 2012 Agency MVP
IHOP awarded MRM "2012 Agency MVP" for launching the new IHOP.com in time to unveil key features and functionality at the 2012 IHOP Franchisee Conference.