May 23, 2024
John Peyton, CEO, Dine Brands
Never Leave Serendipity To Chance—Applebee’s On A Date Night
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Ever wonder how some companies seize serendipitous moments—with the likes of Adam Sandler and Walker Hayes—while others pass on the opportunistic gifts that could have moved their brand needle?
On the heels of a deal to be the official bar and grill of the NFL, an Undercover Boss series coming soon, and 200 new concepts in their test kitchens—Dine Brands is on a role. The $8 Billion restaurant group, that owns Applebee’s, IHOP and Fuzzy’s, has 3500 restaurants and 125,000 people who are rebooting these iconic brands at scale.
We invited hospitality guru and CEO of Dine Brands, John Peyton for this episode of The Reboot Chronicles to unpack funny untold behind the scenes stories, explore the art and science of innovating—and what happens when you combine the Applebee’s and IHOP menus.
The Best Marketing Is A Good Company
I am sure we can all agree on the fact that the best thing that can happen for your company is having a popular country artist make a song involving your business, or have a wildly successful comedian crave one of your milkshakes. Now although these aren’t scenarios you can build a plan around they are scenarios you can strive for through making a brand that people become connected to.
Maintaining Consistency While Allowing For Inconsistencies
As IHOP and Applebee’s are growing and spreading all over the nation and all over the globe, they are going to have to start to balance a lot more regional palates and regional tastes. As a brand, they want their restaurants to be consistent, so that if someone from Ohio travels to The Middle East, they get a little taste of a familiar plate of hotcakes. But, they are franchises who allow for regionalization. So there is a balancing act that John and his team perform to get the best of both worlds, where you can get a familiar meal anywhere you go, and maybe along the way try something new if you are feeling adventurous.
Learning To Fail Quickly
When you are managing two of the most popular chain restaurants in the United States, and another restaurant that is sure to reach those same heights, you have to learn to be quick. Quick on jumping on new marketing opportunities, like when Adam Sandler talks about your milkshakes, or even on new menu ideas from a franchisee that came up with Pancake Tacos. But one other area where you need to be quick is in your failures. As John puts it “ Fail fast, learn lessons from it and move on.” Although failures can be disappointing, you have to crack a few eggs to make a Pancake Taco.
