IHOP Selects Droga5 as Official AOR Ahead of 60th Anniversary

Today, IHOP Restaurants announced its selection of Droga5 to be the brand’s new creative agency of record. The independent advertising network, headquartered in New York City, will lead creative strategy and execution for the all-day breakfast leader, including TV and radio initiatives. The agency’s campaign work will hit the market in early 2018, at the start of IHOP Restaurants’ 60th year, beckoning an exciting new chapter for the iconic brand. The appointment of the new agency follows recent highlights from IHOP on its aggressive growth strategy to provide greater accessibility to the brand through the expansion of the brand’s IHOP N GO (to go) platform and recently announced accelerated development plans to expand the brand’s overall restaurant footprint, including through smaller prototype restaurants and captive locations including airports, travel centres, casinos, and universities.

“At the heart of all our marketing decisions is the goal of building stronger, more engaging relationships with our guests,” stated Brad Haley, Chief Marketing Officer at IHOP. “For almost six decades, IHOP has been known for exceptional hospitality, great food and a great time for families, which has made us the leading Family Dining chain in America. We just needed an equally great advertising agency to tell that remarkable brand story in a compelling, memorable and fun way. With their impressive work and credentials, we could not think of a better agency partner than Droga5 to help us celebrate 60 years of breakfast leadership and to kick off our most exciting year yet.”

Droga5 has won a litany of Cannes Lions awards, and was named AdWeek’s U.S. Agency of the Year in 2016. This year, Droga5 collaborated with The New York Times to launch the highly-recognized “Truth is Hard” campaign, which was awarded two top honors at The Drum’s 2017 Digital Trading Awards, including the Grand Prix and the Best Cross Platform Campaign award. 

"People love the cult of IHOP as much as they love pancakes,” said Jonny Bauer, Droga5’s Global Chief Strategy Officer, “and as the lines continue to blur between advertising, marketing and experience, Brad has paved the way for breakthrough ideas to be able to reach every tentacle of their impressive operation."

Droga5 joins a versatile network of agencies currently supporting IHOP marketing, including DeVries Global, MRM/McCann, Blacktop Creative and Initiative.