From there, Amazon and IHOP talked over plans that led to a $6 meal promotion, custom Dale Earnhardt Jr. content running during the docuseries, and both ads and on-screen integration during NASCAR races—including interactive video that lets viewers click right to IHOP’s website when Earnhardt is speaking as part of Amazon’s NASCAR announce team.
“We want to make sure that we’re culturally relevant and that we’re engaging in culture in these big moments,” Yamamichi said. “We are there for you for moments that matter. We’re there for everyday moments. It could be a celebration. It could be graduation, and now we’re part of entertainment.”
Test driving the brand
IHOP isn’t exactly a stranger to NASCAR. In 2023, it placed its logo on driver Aric Almirola and the Stewart-Haas team’s No. 10 Ford Mustang and rebranded drivers’ victory spinout celebrations “pancakes”—awarding points to loyalty program members if the IHOP car won.
But IHOP is also a brand that customers think they know until they haven’t been back in a while. In 2022, it hired agency Pereira O’Dell and underwent a smile-focused rebrand. Recently, it’s wanted more people to know about the options available beyond its restaurants and syrup-abundant tables—focusing on catering.
In one of IHOP’s spots with Earnhardt, it made him an IHOP restaurant employee of the month and put his pit crew to work in the kitchen. When a delivery order comes in, he goes tearing through suburbia in an IHOP-branded car and delivers pancakes to awestruck fans.
“We want to work with people who want an association with the brand—we don’t want it to be forced,” Yamamichi said. “While on set, he was really concerned about being able to pick up his kids from school, and that embodies IHOP so well.”
The Amazon NASCAR partnership opens up several opportunities for IHOP in terms of not only reach but direct impact on its business. While Prime Video’s stream allows for interactive ads, Prime membership also confers free membership in GrubHub+, which includes access to IHOP delivery in several regions, when asked about the potential connection, Yamamichi said IHOP is already looking at its demand-side platform and campaigns for the rest of the year, “seeing where it makes sense.”