How did Taco Bell’s marketing change during that time?
Taco Bell is and always has been a leader and innovator as a marketing company. What hasn’t changed is that we love/obsess over our consumers and that we have the courage and rebel soul to go bigger and bolder than most. What hasn’t changed is that we love to tell stories, but what has changed is where and how we tell stories—ideas need to live in more places than ever before to connect with consumers. We are constantly thinking about getting ideas to live in multiple places of culture—from social, film, digital or earned.
The Mexican Pizza campaign turned into a big cultural moment, with Doja Cat helping to bring the item back to Taco Bell. Can you talk about the role social media played?
The Mexican Pizza return was all social. Our fans are always very vocal about what they want and with this item, a particularly outspoken one caught our attention–Doja Cat. Authenticity is big for us, so we leaned into that brand love and tapped her as the face of our campaign. Doja broke the news in a moment that about broke the internet by announcing the Mexican Pizza’s return during her live set at Coachella. And when it made its way to restaurants, she teamed up with another one of Taco Bell’s biggest fans, Dolly Parton, to create Mexican Pizza the Musical on TikTok in celebration. A concept that originated in a post by a social media creator named Victor Kunda.
Everything in that campaign started from, traveled across and evolved via social.
How has the company’s social strategy changed since then?
Since then, we’ve honed our strategy to keep fan-first insights at the core and find that unlocking that unique access to the brand to let them co-create with us outperforms almost everything. You have to be self-aware of what people want and find cool ways to make them a part of experiencing it.
You’ve been a part of several major promotions, including the “Taco Tuesday” push with Lebron James and bringing back the Volcano Menu. What’s the philosophy/strategy behind Taco Bell’s marketing that leads to promotions like these?
We are always tapping into the strong Taco Bell fan love to guide the decisions we make. When we’re launching a promotion or bringing back an item, we put real customer feedback at the center and then team up with some of the most beloved voices in culture to make sure our fans know they are seen and heard. But we don’t just borrow cool; Lebron James, Paris Hilton and everyone we’ve worked with are fans of tacos and Taco Bell themselves, which helps us engage with consumers in different ways that feel genuine and authentic.
