Initial Post Review the following information to see how Taco Bell used integrated marketing communications and social media to communicate its message: Background on Taco Bell • • • Read the video case in the textbook on 493-495. Watch the Taco Bell case video: http://www.viddler.com/embed/df449288 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Review the following online websites and articles: o Taco Bell’s Marketing Strategy: http://www.businessinsider.com/taco-bell-marketing-strategy2014-3 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. o Taco Bell and IMC: http://blog.imagesmith.com/2012/03/14/integrated-marketing/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. ***Based on the information provided, put yourself in the position of a marketing consultant brought in to the company to critically examine the company’s repositioning efforts, and then formulate a set of well-developed and supported recommendations to the company’s senior leadership team. The recommendation should be logically presented, well-supported, and thoroughly vetted.*** You might remember some of The Bell's advertis friendly competition as pioneers of the growing fast- ing campaigns such as "Yo quiero las Bell," "Gross food industry. However, when the burger restaurant Taste, Loco Value," or "Get it at The Bell The sme market became crowded with competitors, Bell de- recent "Think Outside the Bun"' campaign was dy cided to try something new tacos! Taco Bell executives recognized that they had an op mented with many concepts. First he developed a portunity to reposition the chain crunchy taco shell and opened a res- Tracee Larocca, brand creative diret taurant called Taco Tia. His marketing tor at Taco Bell, explains, "We real activities consisted of handing out ized there was a big opportunity as the sombreros and having Mariachis play Heowo culture shifted from 'food as fuel to outside the restaurant. Next, Bell 'food as experience,'" Taco Bell con- started another restaurant, El Taco, sidered many new taglines, such as with a group of celebrity partners. Fi- “Keep Life Spicy” and “Hunger for nally, after a friend suggested that Más," and eventually developed the Glen should use his name in his busi- © David Paul Morris/Bloomberg “Live Más” campaign. As campaigns ness, the first Taco Bell was opened in via Getty Images and positioning changes, integrated Downey, California. Taco Bell grew quickly and as Bell began open- marketing becomes increasingly important. Accord- ing additional locations he decided that the restau- ing to Larocca, “as the brand's creative director, my rants should resemble the appearance of California's job is to make sure that all of our communications historic missions. With the help of an architect he have the same look, tone, and feel across all plat- created an inviting design based on an adobe-like forms, making sure we maintain consistency in our exterior with a red clay-tile roof. The name and logo brand voice no matter what we're doing internally or utilized a mission-style bell, a version of which is externally.” still in use today. Through franchises and additional Advertising Age magazine recently named Taco corporate locations Taco Bell soon reached from Bell the winner of its Marketer of the Year award for coast to coast. its extraordinary use of integrated marketing in the Today Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, launch of its Doritos Locos Tacos. The new product which also owns and operates KFC, Pizza Hut, and went through three years of development and 45 pro- WingStreet. Taco Bell now has more than 6,500 loca- totypes before its launch, which led to sales of 100 mil- tions and $7 billion in sales. Many locations are co- lion units in its first 10 weeks. Taco Bell allocates branded with KFC, Pizza Hut, and Long John Silver approximately 70 percent of its budget to traditional stores. Taco Bell also operates Taco Bell Express lo- media, 20 percent to digital media, and 10 percent to cations in convenience stores, truck stops, shopping new media where it can “explore.” The traditional malls, and airports. media budget included a Super Bowl ad utilizing the "Live Más” theme. “It was all about a mindset and not INTEGRATED MARKETING necessarily an age range or a demographic,” explains COMMUNICATIONS AT TACO BELL Larocca. The ad, called “Forever Young,” showed “a From its beginning, Taco Bell has used very creative group of old people breaking out of a retirement home promotional activities. For example, when the Mir and having a great night on the town,” she adds. space station was about to reenter the Earth's atmo- The social media component of the campaign in- sphere, Taco Bell placed a target in the Pacific cluded Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Snapchat, and Insta- Ocean and announced that every person in the gram. The Twitter campaign, for example, included a United States would receive a free taco if any piece Hometown Tweet-off where anyone could send a of the falling space station hit the target. Similarly, tweet saying why a Taco Bell truck should visit their in its "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" promotion, Taco Facebook and watched the responses in the comments hometown. Similarly, Taco Bell posted pictures to Bell promised to give everyone a free taco if any player steals a base in the World Series. While the and the "likes." Some of the new media budget was space station did not hit the target, several players used to try things such as Taco Bell's own video chan- nels for Web and mobile, and a live stream to a bill- board in Times Square. As Rob Poetsch, director of public affairs and engagement, observed about the Doritos Locos Tacos launch, "for the first time, we had a fully integrated plan that engaged all of our have stolen bases in the World Series, leading to free tacos for everyone! Taco Bell has also offered spe- cial promotions with Mountain Dew, partnered with the NBA as its official fast food, and created videos for movie-theater advertising. constituents." 494 Bell. All of these activities are contributing to the company's continued growth. Yum! Brands expects Taco Bell's domestic sales to double by 2021!" Questions THE FUTURE AT TACO BELL Taco Bell continues to develop new products, brand concepts, and promotions. For example, waffle tacos Cinnabon Delights, and the AM. Crunchwrap are new additions to the menu. In addition, a new brand concept called Taco Bell Cantina, which is testing its first locations in Chicago and San Francisco, will of- fer "tapas-style appetizers for customers to share. and beer and wine, in an urban setting. Finally, a new breakfast menu campaign used 25 men named Ronald McDonald to help suggest that a new generation of fast-food breakfast items is now available at Taco 1 What factors contributed to Taco Bell's early success? 2 Which of the promotional elements described in Figure 17-2 were used by Taco Bell in its Doritos Locos Tacos campaign? 3 How does Taco Bell ensure the continued success of the food chain? ommunications and Direct Marketing connect VIDEO CASE 17 Taco Bell: Using IMC to Help Customers Live Más! THE COMPANY “Every touch point is considered,” explains Stephanie Perdue, Taco Bell's senior director of marketing, “from the posters in the restau- Video 17-7 rants down to the packaging, Taco Bell Video and all of the different media Case channels.” Stephanie is de- kerin.tv/13e/v17-7 scribing the integrated market- ing communications (IMC) approach used by Taco Bell, the nation's leading Mexican-style quick service restaurant. IMC is one of the key factors that has contributed to the extraordi- nary success of the food chain, which serves more than 36 million customers each week! The story behind Taco Bell and its success is fascinat- ing. After World War II, a young marine named Glen Bell returned to his home state of California with an entrepreneurial spirit and an observation that people were hungry for fast, good food. He opened his first restaurant, Bell's Burgers, based on the simple con- cept that customers might want to walk up and get their food from a service window. Not far away, two brothers named McDonald were operating their new restaurant using a "drive-in” concept. For several years, Bell and the McDonald brothers enjoyed
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