In a company release, CEO Julia Stewart summarizes the thinking behind the new name and tagline: "The acquisition of Applebee's required that we select a name for our company that reflects our company's core competencies and recognizes our ownership of multiple brands, and DineEquity does just that," she says. "Further, DineEquity's tagline 'Great Franchisees. Great Brands.' prominently identifies two of the most important contributors to our success. With Applebee's and IHOP, we have brought together two great brands, and we are beginning to demonstrate how we are more successful together than we could ever have been apart. Our name change to DineEquity reflects the promise of our newly combined company."

For most consumers, DineEquity is likely to remain a background presence at most. Culminating in the name and tagline, the new brand development effort is geared to quickly convey the company’s core strengths to financial audiences and franchisees.