OUR STORY

MUSEconcepts is an advertising agency originally founded by four ambitious young women. The idea behind the name was taken from the definition of the word muse. muse [myooz] (v.) to consider something thoughtfully (n.) a person, especially a woman, who is a source of artistic information

Our focus is on you.

OUR MISSION
To design creative concepts and transform them into inspirational campaigns while keeping our focus on you; our client.

Meet the Team.. 3 Executive Summary..... 5 Campaign Evaluation. 6 P&L Statement....7 The External Environment... 10 Company Background... 11 Industry. 12 Industry Overview. 12 Industry Analysis.13 Competitor Analysis. 15 Moes Southwest Grill.. 15 Chipotle... 16 Subway 17 The Internal Environment 18 Client Analysis... 19 Recent Marketing Efforts 20 SWOT Analysis... 21 Ethnographic Research.. 24 Ethnographic Research Form... 25 The Target Market. 26 Target Market Identification.. 27 Primary Research & Analysis.. 28 Objectives & Insights... 30 Key Research Insights.. 31 The Problem33 Campaign Objectives 34 DAGMAR Form...... 34 Brand Funnel.. 35 Creative Brief. 36 The Idea Pitch 37 Overview. 38 Idea Pitch 39 Idea Pitch #1. 39 Idea Pitch #2. 40 100 Ideas 41 The Big Idea & Creative Plan. 43 The Big Idea... 44 Print Advertisement.. 46 Television Advertisement 47 The Media Plan.. 48 Translation of Media.... 49 The Plan Details. 55 Media Schedule... 55 Media Budget... 56 Estimated Cost Per Thousand Impressions. 57 Footnotes. 59 Appendix.60 Works Cited 68

KARLI RAGAN
COPYWRITER

Karli Ragan is a senior marketing major from Round Rock, Texas. She's involved in the organization ARTISTS and has marketing and manager experience from multiple boutiques in town. In her free time she enjoys painting, reading, and learning how to play the guitar. She hopes to pursue a career in marketing and has a future aspiration to own a business.

AMBER CHANG
PROJECT MANAGER/VISUALS

Amber Chang is a senior marketing major from Fairview, Texas. She interned with Wistron, a company in Taiwan that engineers servers and provides cloud computing services for companies such as Facebook and Amazon, and she enjoys cooking and baking in her free time. She is looking to start her career in marketing possibly for the entertainment industry overseas.

RANDYL COOLEY
EDITOR

Randyl Cooley is a senior marketing major from Galveston, Texas. Shes involved in Texas A&Ms Student Event Planners Association and interns at Astin Mansion in Bryan. She loves dancing, anything that makes her laugh, food, coffee, cats, chocolate, and flowers. She hopes to pursue a career in event planning.

AUSTYN DAVID
CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Austyn David is a senior business management major from Nederland, Texas. Shes involved in Sigma Phi Lambda and A&Ms Society for Human Resource Management. Her favorite pastimes include playing soccer, playing flag football, crafting, and reading. She would like to pursue a career in human resources.

Color Scheme & Fonts

R: 11 G: 17 B: 30 R: 203 G: 195 B: 95 R: 241 G: 241 B: 242 R: 255 G: 51 B: 0

Century Gothic

Rage Italic
#0B111E #CBC35F #F1F1F2 #FF3300

This report provides an analytical approach to the current industry and firm specific trends, growth and threats of Taco Bell and applies a creative solution. Methods to obtain primary data included a 14 question survey distributed to 67 respondents which featured projective techniques and brand specific questions. Five individual in-depth interviews were also conducted. This enabled us to receive data through projective techniques and asking brand specific questions to uncover potential problems within the Taco Bell Corporation. Secondary data research included the analysis of information obtained through websites, databases and Taco Bells website. Results of data found consumers viewed Taco Bell as low quality, untrustworthy, and unhealthy. Furthermore, consumers of Taco Bell products were viewed as lazy and immature when compared to their competitor, Chipotles, consumers. With these results in mind, Muse Concepts formulated a media campaign to combat these negative associations. We recommend for the company to emphasize their quality and trustworthiness through a girlnext-door character, Jenny and her dog; The Taco Bell Dog. Jennys neighbors, James and Sam, will promote the healthy Fresco menu and classic offerings respectively. The media campaign will use social media heavily and will receive additional support through radio, magazines, television, promotions and internet. We expect campaign outcomes of improving consumers associations of Taco Bell by promoting the brands quality menu items, healthy options, and increasing the brands trustworthiness. Through the social media campaign and the reinforcement of the characters, customers will relate to at least one of the personalities and become connected to the brand.

Through conducting research, analyzing the data, and formulating our campaign objectives and media plan, Muse Concepts is confident that our campaign will effectively answer the brand image problems Taco Bell is dealing with, retain current customers and acquire new, healthy minded consumers. After our idea pitch and the corresponding feedback we were initially confused as one advertising executive preferred one campaign and the other executive preferred the other idea. We decided to reformulate our advertising campaign by combining our two ideas into one, taking the best components from each idea. Our communication objectives were to increase brand knowledge, brand awareness and social media usage of consumers. Taco Bell will be able to measure the social media usage through differences in customer interaction such as followers, likes and comments before and after the campaign. Brand knowledge should be increased through James, our health-minded consumer who will bring attention to the healthy menu items, and Jenny and the Taco Bell Dog, who will represent our quality options and brand responsibility. Brand awareness should be increased through reaching consumers through multiple medias, particularly to our college target market. Our marketing objective was to raise market share of both the healthy and the quality items. Relating to our communication objectives, we decided to market towards healthy minded individuals, college students and people who are looking for quick and convenient meals. Our campaign should adequately address this objective, as well as market towards Taco Bells current customers who enjoy classic menu items and Doritos Locos Tacos through the roommate Sam. Quantifiable objectives sought include doubling the $7 billion in sales from 2012 to $14 billion, increasing brand awareness from 60% to 70%, increasing brand knowledge from 42% to 55% and increasing social media usage from 61% to 77%.

Our team significantly underestimated the amount of time we would spend on this campaign. Because this is our first campaign as Muse Concepts, we had to overcome hurdles of learning how to work together and finding each others strengths to efficiently and effectively accomplish our goals. We also invested many hours in order to give our best work for our client. In future campaigns we believe we will be better at forecasting our hours.

THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

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TACO BELL was founded by Glen Bell in 1962 (Hoover,

2013). The first franchised Taco Bell opened in 1964 and the company went public in 1966 (Hoover, 2013). Taco Bell is owned by YUM! Brands and Taco Bell is headquartered in California (Hoover, 2013). Taco Bell has a large market share of the Mexican quick service industry; claiming more than 50% of the industry (Hoover, 2013). Many of Taco Bell's competitors are largely regional, but they are also competing with other national firms (Hoover, 2013). To compete with stiff competition, Taco Bell frequently produces and promotes new products (Hoover, 2013). Recently, Taco Bell has faced competition from other quick service restaurants, including Chipotle who has chosen to focus on their high quality food ingredients (Hoover, 2013). Taco Bell and other YUM! Brands are largely franchised (Hoover, 2013). Taco Bell has over 5,600 locations and it is the number Mexican fast food chain (Hoover, 2013). Taco Bells product mix includes: tacos, burritos, gorditas, quesadillas, nachos, the popular line of Frutista Freeze frozen fruit drinks, the Fresco menu of foods with fewer calories and fat and the Cantina menu focusing on quality ingredients (Hoover, 2013)(Taco Bell, 2013).

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INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
FAST-FOOD AND QUICK-SERVICE, RESTAURANT INDUSTRY

TACO BELL is part of the Fast-Food and QuickService segment of the Restaurant Industry. In this particular segment, food is ordered and served at the counter. It includes more than 200,000 restaurant locations and has a combined annual revenue of $180 billion in the United States. Both large and small companies are able to effectively compete in this industry. Large companies find their strengths in purchasing, finance, and marketing while small companies offer superior food or service. The fifty largest companies bring in 20% of the revenue. The major companies in this industry includes Doctors Associates (Subway), McDonalds, and YUM! Brands (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), as well as Caf de Coral (Hong Kong), Greggs (UK), Jollibee Foods (the Philippines), and Seven & i Food Systems (Japan). (Hoovers, 2013)
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INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
FAST-FOOD AND QUICK-SERVICE, RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
Promotion of ingredients and healthy cooking techniques to set apart from others in fast-food.

TRENDS

Higher menu prices Going green and sustainable Shift in beverage options away from only sodas (Hoovers, Fast casual dining growth, expected to grow 8% annually through 2016. (Hoovers, 2013) Driven by demographics, consumer tastes, and personal income The industry is expected to grow at an annual compounded rate of 4% between 2013 and 2017 (Hoovers, 2013) Personal income is a factor to forecast fast food sales and income grew 3.1% in June compared to June last year New menu items. Invest in product development, consumer surveys and testing, additional marketing. (Hoovers, 2013) Mass media is typically used; television, print, and radio

GROWTH

ADVERTISING

Internet marketing is used to inform the customer of menu items and hours as well as marketing their brand. Some companies have integrated mobile apps into their promotional efforts. Some companies have made it possible for customers to

KEY TARGET MARKET

Appeals broadly to consumers in all major demographic Food safety and quality: food contamination, E. coli Very competitive industry

PROBLEMS

Rising labor costs Changes in consumer tastes: some food items becoming less popular due to changing attitudes toward health and

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Product Segmentation by RevenueCensus Bureau

Hamburgers lead the industry in revenue.

Change in Consumer PricesBureau of Labor Statistics

Prices for meals and snacks in the industry have plateaued after a decrease in prices in 2011-2012.

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BACKGROUND MARKET PRODUCT MIX PRICING

Founded in 2000 in Atlanta, GA Fast and friendly Tex-Mex casual restaurant Acquired by FOCUS Brands in 2007 (Hoovers, 2013) $4.9 Million in annual sales FOCUS Brands is a private firm (Hoovers, 2013) Variety of southwest menu items from burritos and tacos to nachos and salads $1.99-$10 Average pricing for the fast food industry Primarily located in United States east of the Mississippi River (Hoovers, 2013) Operates 460 domestic locations in 37 states Fewer locations than top competitors but still very prominent in eastern United States (Hoovers, 2013) Proficient use of Facebook First TV ad in March 2013 Consumers ages 16-49 (Dostal, 2013) Eastern United States fast food consumers (Hoovers, 2013) Fun and energetic atmosphere inside restaurants from menu items to music and employee attitudes Best known for variety of burrito and free chips and salsa with every meal (Dostal, 2013) Variety of different customizable menu items Inexpensive Tex-Mex in eastern States (Hoovers, 2013) Free chips and salsa with any order Welcome to Moes

DISTRIBUTION

ADVERTISING SPENDING TARGET MARKET CURRENT POSITIONING STRENGTHS CURRENT ADVERTISING SLOGANS/TAGLINES

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Social media is where Chipotle advertises the most. They post special deals and contests (McKenna 2013). 1993 First Chipotle opened in a former Dolly Madison ice cream parlor 1998 It brought on outside investors such as McDonalds 2000-2008 It started serving naturally raised pork, chicken, and beef, and natural ingredients 2002 It opened first green Chipotle in Austin, TX 2006 It goes public on NYSE (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2013) Net income in 2012 was $278 Million and revenues were $2.73 Billion There has been a growth in Net Income since 2003 2011-2012 Net Income growth was 29.34% and EPS growth was 29.4% 2012 book value per share was $40.07 (Hoovers, 2008) Food: burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, and salads (Hoovers, 2008) Merchandise: t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, aprons, water bottles, skatedecks (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2013) Entrees are under $10 Over 900 restaurants located internationally Have started catering in select locations (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2013) Mainly advertise on social media such as Facebook and Twitter and rely on word of mouth They do not depend on TV for advertising Advertising budget is low and dropping, $6 Million in 2011 (McKenna, 2013) High school and college students, ages 16-24 It focuses on natural and fresh ingredients Implements Food with Integrity commitment not to exploit animals, people, or the environment. Want to have a fun atmosphere with quality similar to a full service restaurant but with the speed and convenience of fast food (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2013). High quality ingredients and fast, convenient service. Positive supplier relationships and company culture (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2013) Responsibility raised, obsessively craved (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2013)

BACKGROUND

MARKET

PRODUCT MIX PRICING DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISING SPENDING TARGET MARKET

CURRENT POSITIONING

STRENGTHS SLOGANS/TAGLINES

By selling these items, Chipotle appeals to the high school and college students (Chipotle Mexican Grill 2013)

This app allows customers to locate a Chipotle restaurant and place an order from their iPhone 5, iPod Touch, or iPad. It is means to target the age group 16-24. (Chipotle Mexican Grill 2013)

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BACKGROUND

In 1965, Subway was co-founded by Fred DeLuca, a 17-year-old boy saving up for college tuition, and family friend Peter Buck. Now owned by Doctors Associates Inc. and its original co-founders. Headquarters located in Milford, Connecticut. (Subway, 2013) Worlds largest Quick Service Restaurant Chain through its franchisees. Annual Sales $1.10 Billion Privately owned, Total Equity $15.84 (Hoovers, 2013) Weight Watcher options, low fat selections Subway Select Gourmet sandwiches, hot and cold subs, turkey wraps, and salads Fresh Fit for kids, breakfast sandwiches, sides & drinks (Subway, 2013) Everyday value prices, famous for their $5 Footlong (Subway, 2013) 40,217 locations in 102 countries (Subway, 2013) Able to place restaurants anywhere, with a variety of locations ranging from malls to military bases. Now focused specifically on expanding its international presence in Asia and Central Europe (Hoovers, 2013) Heavily relies on their television and sponsorships Partnerships with other companies and celebrity spokespeople (Hoovers, 2013) Subway Freshbuzzstaying up-to-date with social media (Subway, 2013) Traditional monthly specials (Hoovers, 2013) Brand strives to continuously focus on providing consumers with a wide variety of sandwiches and their nutritional benefits while offering everyday prices. (Subway, 2013) Recently in 2011, began to develop and upscale concept, Subway Caf for office buildings and higher-end locations. (Hoovers, 2013) Excellent service, great tasting sandwiches and salads, healthier options, and convenience, all at a good value. (Subway, 2013) Portable and adaptable restaurant placement are two main keys to the companys success. (Hoovers, 2013) Subway Eat Fresh (Subway, 2013)

MARKET

PRODUCT MIX PRICING DISTRIBUTION

ADVERTISING SPENDING

TARGET MARKET

CURRENT POSITIONING STRENGTHS SLOGANS/TAGLINES

In 1999, Jared Fogle created an unexpected hype about his Subway sandwich diet. Subway built an entire campaign around Fogle and other weight watchers victories. Fogle known for his big pant commercials today, has been a huge attribute for the companys marketing strategies.

September Promotion Subtember $5 Any Regular Footlong

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THE INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

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BACKGROUND

The first Taco Bell was opened 1962. The founder had experience with other Mexican fast-food outlets Largely franchised, with over 5,600 locations Known for their 1990s Yo quiero Taco Bell campaign featuring a talking Chihuahua1 Owned by parent company YUM! Brands (Hoovers, 2013) Ad Ages 2013 Marketer of the year (Morrison, 2013) Total net income 1,426M (Mergent Online, 2013) Leads market share of Mexican quick service industry with more than 50% of the industry (Hoover, 2013) Current stock price of YUM! Brands Inc is $72.06 (Value Line, 2013) Sales $6.2 B (Galegroup, 2013) Tacos, quesadillas, nachos, burritos, gorditas, salads and other specialties Other sides include cinnamon twists, grillers and their new brownie sandwich Their fresco menu items are under 350 calories 2 Cantina menu emphasizes fresh ingredients and are pricier Unique drinks offered are limeade sparkers and Frutista Freeze (Taco Bell, 2013) Under $10 Located nationally and internationally, more than 250 international locations in 20 countries (Hoovers, 2013) Primarily cable TV (41.7%) Other areas include: network TV, spot TV, local radio, national spot radio, outdoors, internet and magazines (Redbooks, 2013) Social media including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Taco Bell app available on IOS and Android (Taco Bell, 2013) Male millenniums (Morrison, 2013) Health minded (Cantina and Fresco menu) Budget-conscious consumers (Morrison, 2013) A place for quick, inexpensive Mexican food. Inexpensive items Smothered burrito and Fiery Doritos Locos Tacos4 campaigns Think outside the bun Live mas (Redbooks, 2013).

MARKET

PRODUCT MIX

PRICING DISTRIBUTION

ADVERTISING SPENDING3

TARGET MARKET CURRENT POSITIONING STRENGTHS CURRENT ADVERTISING SLOGANS/TAGLINES

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REPOSITIONING BRAND
In February 2012, Taco Bells slogan transformed from Think outside the bun to Live mas. Marketing teams main strategy was to position the brand as more of a lifestyle or experience, and to move away from their crappy humor punch lines. (Advertising Age, 2013.)

NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH

Sales are Going Loco at Taco Bell Taco Bell posted in 2012 an 8% increase in US samestore sales, after the most-successful product launch in 50 years, the Doritos Locos Tacos (Advertising Age. 2013.) To approach health-minded consumers and to promote Taco Bell as a high value and respectful brand, Taco Bell launched the Cantina Bell Menu. Created by world-renowned Chef Lorena Garcia, Cantina Bell Menu contains higher quality, low-calorie, fresh gourmet items. (Advertising Age. 2013.)
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SOCIAL MEDIA PUSH

Staying up-to-speed with their target millennial audience, Taco Bell has relied heavily on using social media as a marketing tool. (Advertising Age. 2013.)

Interacting with consumers with social media is now Taco Bells top priority in its marketing with the Doritos Locos Tacos product line. (Creativity Online. 2013.) The brand has built a fan base around their DLT products. The first two flavors of the DLT were an absolute hit all over the country. Taco Bell teased consumers, making it a mystery about the next big DLT flavor. Going beyond social media norms, Taco Bell was the first major brand to use Snapchat as a promotional technique by announcing the return of its Beefy Crunch Burrito. Snapchat is a fun way to connect with the fansIts all about treating them like personal friends and not consumers." (Business Insider. 2013.)

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bargaining power, stable financial growth ability to reinforce current markets and exploit new ones maintains a strong relationship with PepsiCo consistent performance through difficult economic times

lawsuits bad reputation change in advertising as a response to change consumers negative views, resulting in high costs

emerging markets such as China and India more than 50% of revenue comes from China and other emerging countries stabilize top line growth growth opportunities in the QSR industry in the US due to recent economic downturn

highly competitive industry (food service) relatively low to zero switching cost from one sector of the food industry to another high price elasticity of demand competitors investing in brand building towards their consumers health awareness government regulations

STRENGTHS
Taco Bell has an advantage by being a part of Yum! Brands. The company has one of the most recognized international brands because it made investment in brand promotion a priority. Yum! Brands has compelling bargaining power and stable financial growth due to its marketing position. It has the ability to both reinforce current markets and exploit new ones. Individually, Taco Bell holds 49% of the market share in the US Mexican QSR segment making it the leader in that area. It uses different store concepts in order to diversify and respond to niche segments (MarketLine, 2013). It also has a strong relationship with PepsiCo. For example, PepsiCo developed Mountain Dew Baja Blast exclusively for Taco Bell, and the introduction of the Doritos Locos Tacos has been Taco Bells biggest success in five decades (PespsiCo, 2012). This partnership will continue to be a distinct advantage for Taco Bell into the future. Due to these reasons, Taco Bell has been able to maintain reliable and steady performance through the difficult economic times (MarketLine, 2013).
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WEAKNESSES
In early 2011, Yum Brands was sued over the ingredients that were put in Taco Bells beef products. The USDA has a 40% meat qualification standard, and Montgomery-based law firm claimed that Taco Bell meat only contained 36%. The lawsuit also stated that Taco Bells meat wasnt using pure ground beef, instead they believed their beef products were made with a substance, taco meat filling. Later in 2011 this lawsuit against the company was dropped, but things did not look up for Taco Bell. Word of course got out, and it didnt take a lot of time for America to view Taco Bell negatively. The destructive media exposure resulted in a terrible sales drop for Taco Bell nationwide. In the second quarter of 2011, Yum Brands recorded a 28% decline in US sales, mainly because of Taco Bells losses. Yum Brands also had to spend a big chunk of change on Taco Bell advertising. Just to try to reverse everyones views on the brand, about $3 million to $4 million was spent on an advertising campaign.

OPPORTUNITIES
Taco Bells opportunities can be found in the international market. YUM! Brands currently has fifty percent of its revenue coming from China, India, and other emerging countries with its KFC and Pizza Hut franchises. It has the opportunity to add Taco Bell as an international brand. It has growth opportunities in the QSR (quick serve restaurant) industry in the United States as well due to the recent economic downturn (MarketLine, 2013).

THREATS
The greatest threat for Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, is staying competitive in fast food and food service industry. By being a global brand, Taco Bell must compete with all food chains globally, nationally, and locally. Price, food quality, product development, marketing initiatives, location and reputation are all important aspects for Taco Bell to retain and gain consumers. With consumers having a low to zero switching costs between restaurants, Taco Bell must mitigate competition by creating brand awareness, pricing, and food quality. Pricing is one of the largest competitive threats for Taco Bell because the fast food industry has a high elasticity of demand. When doing business both internationally and domestically, they must provide a low cost alternative to most of their menu items to compete with companies such as McDonald's and Subway. In addition to pricing, consumers expect restaurants to provide a "healthy" alternative with lower calories and trans fats. While doing so Taco Bell still needs to maintain convenience and profitability. Yum! Brands are subject to government regulations by health, sanitation, safety and other agencies where locations are held. (Marketline, 2013) By having to meet standards set by the government, Taco Bell must invest in up to date operations in order to avoid fines and closure.
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As we pulled up to the Taco Bell we had to make sure our mouths werent hanging open. The exterior of this brand new Taco Bell had largely exceeded expectations that our group had formed from our previous experiences. The Taco Bell still featured large advertisements of their newest products on their windows, but the building materials included stone and fresh paint that typical older locations lacked. Walking into the restaurant, we noticed that this Taco Bell was kept clean and tidy. While some of us had expected to see taco wrappings, shredded lettuce, or sticky hot sauce remains littering the tables, floors and chairs, we were pleasantly surprised to see the servicescape in tip top condition. Tables were free of food remnants and nearby an employee was wiping down a table. Other patrons of the restaurant included families and older customers atypical for the college town. We thought this may have to deal with the fact that this location was near suburbs. Deciding that it was best to wash our hands before ordering and consuming food, some of us headed to the bathroom. The floor was clean enough to eat off of and the bathroom even included one of those new fancy turbo hand dryers. There was even a sign on the door saying that the employees check the bathroom every thirty minutes. We then walked up to the counter to be greeted by an employee. She patiently waited while we took eons to decide what food we wanted to order. When it was my turn, I decided to take the frugal route and order off the happy hour menu. Offerings included their popular freezes and the Baja Blast sounded like the perfect way to cool down after spending the day in the hot Texas heat. I placed my order of two Doritos Locos Tacos and the Baja Blast Freeze and paid my meager bill of $4.06. With my growling stomach accompanying me, I gathered necessary tools to accomplish a successful meal. Hot sauce, napkins and a straw were nearby and I quickly grabbed them. Suddenly, I heard an Excuse me miss. The patient staff member who had taken my order was standing at the counter and looking at me. Yes? I answered. The freeze machines have stopped working, Im so sorry. She then reached down and pulled out a cup the size of my head, Please take a large drink instead, sorry about the inconvenience. With my bucket for a cup, I proceeded to the drink station and filled it with Baja Blast, a popular soda only available at Taco Bell locations. My food was soon ready and my number was called. I picked my food up and sat down with my team to enjoy my meal. I sipped on my Baja Blast, a turquoise ocean of deliciousness and opened my Doritos Locos Taco. To my surprise, a QR code peeked behind the taco wrappings. Once it was time to leave, our group got up and started walking to the doors. Just as we were opening the door to leave one of the employees said Bye, have a great day! Our team left with our stomachs satisfied and our thirsts quenched. We called it a successful trip. 24

ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH FORM

RESTAURANT VISIT
SECTION #: 501 TEAM #: 3 DATE & TIME OF VISIT: Friday, September 10 at 3:00PM TEAM MEMBER NAMES: Karli Ragan, Randyl Cooley. Austyn David, Amber Chang, Vinny Agnello RESTAURANT NAME & LOCATION: Taco Bell, 911 William D. Fitch Pkwy College Station location 1. WERE ALL TEAM MEMBERS PRESENT FOR THE VISIT? No, Vinny wasnt present. 2. AS YOU EXPERIENCE THE RESTAURANT, TAKE NOTES AND MAKE OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE ENVIORNMENT, WAIT STAFF, FOOD AND DRINKS, OTHER PATRONS, EXPERIENCES OF TEAM MAMBERS, ETC. BRIEFLY EXPLAIN THE EXPERIENCE AND ANY MAJOR OBSERVATIONS MADE.
Other patrons included families and people older than the typical college student. This may be due to the location and its surrounding suburbs. We ordered Freezes because we came during their happy hour, however the machine that makes the drink stopped working. The staff member who took our order made it up to us by giving us large drinks instead. The restaurant had nice tiled flooring, and upgrades not seen in typical Taco bells like the new hand dryers in the bathroom. Advertisements for their newest products were blown up and stuck to windows. Our Doritos Locos Tacos packaging included a QR Code.

3. WAS YOUR TEAM SURPRISED BY ANYTHING? IF SO, EXPLAIN.

Our team was surprised by how nice the location was, especially in comparison to our experiences in other Taco Bell locations. We were also surprised by how clean the restrooms and the eating areas were and by how friendly the staff was.

4. LIST 5 MAJOR TAKEAWAYS.

1. Newer Taco Bell locations featured nice updates not seen in older Taco Bells 2. Employees were friendly 3. This location was kept clean 4. Taco Bell has a happy hour featuring deals like Freezes and Grillers 5. Taco Bell is using some of their traditional advertising (window decals) but is also using newer marketing techniques like QR codes. 25

THE TARGET MARKET

26

TARGET MARKET:

18-24 year old college students

CHARACTERISTICS:
Price conscientious Motivated Impatient Attracted to recent trends Busy Expect quality at low prices Social

HOW TO ATTRACT:
Great use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube) Promotions (BOGO, % off) Low prices Fast service with quality items

MEET ROBERT. He is a 24 year old graduate student studying sociology and works
part-time at GameStop. He is carefree and enjoys coaching little league and playing on his Xbox late at night. His favorite show to watch while he studies are Breaking Bad reruns. He likes to take advantage of the meal deals at Taco Bell because hes trying to save money after accumulating debt from receiving his bachelors degree. His favorite places to eat are Freebirds and Sonic. However, he most frequently craves Taco Bell because it is open late and is a convenient place to grab food. His priorities when deciding where to eat are price and convenience.

MEET JESSICA. She is a 19 year old sophomore at Texas A&M University. She is ma-

joring in accounting with a minor in Italian. She is always busy either studying, attending class or volunteering at the animal shelter. Jessica is also part of Delta Zeta and has very little free time to relax. When she does have spare time on her hands, she enjoys eating out with her friends near Northgate. Because she is on a strict budget set by her parents, Jessica must be very conscientious on price when choosing restaurants. She often prefers Taco Bell because of their quick service, budget friendly items and amazing burritos. When she is not in the mood for Taco Bell, Jessica likes to go to Subway and Chipotle. Jessica's main concerns when choosing a restaurant for the night are price, quality and customer service.

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OVERVIEW
In our primary research we used a survey and five in-depth interviews. The survey included projective techniques of third person, picture association and sentence completion. It also included display logic to only allow the target market of 18-24 to complete the survey. Our five in-depth interviews included a projective technique of picture association and other questions involving products, service, and promotions of Taco Bell.

RESULTS & ANALYSIS

Projective Techniques We used several projective techniques including completion tests, picture association, and a third-person technique. Demographics Our sentence completion questions (questions 3-5 of the survey located in the appendix) gave us insights of common preconceptions of consumers who frequent Taco Bell and its competitors Chipotle and Subway. The larger the word is in the word cloud, the more frequently it was used in describing the restaurant. (From L to R: Taco Bell, Chipotle, Subway)

Male Female

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We used the third person projective technique to evaluate our target market by incorporating a to-do list, similar to the shopping list technique (see survey questions 9-12 in the appendix).

Interestingly, talk shows, interest in the news, and cooking were suggested for the person who went to Chipotle, but not for the person who went to Taco Bell. While Taco Bells biggest category was cartoons, no one mentioned cartoons for the person that went to Chipotle. It seems that the target market views Taco Bell as being for adolescents while Chipotle is for a more mature market. The technique gave us insights about how the target market associates the brand and will guide decisions about placing future television advertisements. By looking at the responses from 11 and 12, it is obvious the target market has more positive impressions of Chipotle than Taco Bell. Both people performed the same tasks, yet, 9 people said the person who had Taco Bell was lazy, and only 1 person said the person who had Chipotle was lazy. When making a campaign for Taco Bell, it will be important to combat the belief that the only people who eat at Taco Bell are lazy, on a budget, and in a hurry. It is important to our target market to have quality, healthy food, and they are willing to pay more to achieve that.

In-Depth Personal Interview

We chose the In-depth personal interview technique to get more consumer insights about Taco Bell. Overall, the five target consumers all view Taco Bell with the same perception cheap, fast, and low quality food. However, their attitudes and experiences with Taco Bell were a little more diverse.

Consumer #1
Views the most positively Likes Taco Bell, even though knows its cheap and low value Doesnt care too much about healthier choices Not a frequent consumer Not up-to date with recent changes in brand images

Consumer #2
Strongly states Taco Bell as dirty, cheap, and poor value Still can see themself going for the cheap prices and late hours Views advertising as annoying and repetitive

Consumer #3
Frugally chooses as a meal choice Neutral feelings toward menu products Knows paying for what you get Only one who knew the new slogan Live Mas

Consumer #4
Only has been to Taco Bell once! Views as just a normal fast food restaurant Doesnt like ingredients in food Not likely at all to be a Taco Bell customer

Consumer #5
Hates Taco Bell and never goes Strong fan of healthier options like Chipotle Uninterested in advertising and promotions

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OBJECTIVES & INSIGHTS

30

1) Taco Bell and their competitors arent viewed on the same level.
Before this project, we ourselves thought Taco Bells competitors were McDonalds, Jack in the Box, and Taco Cabana, not Chipotle and Subway. From both, in-depth and online surveys, we discovered many people dont compare Taco Bell to the two as well. This is another disadvantage to Taco Bells brand image. If consumers dont even compare Taco Bell to Subway and Chipotle, how can they continue to compete?

2) Consumers say its cheap and low value, but still go.
This insight is somewhat of an advantage for Taco Bell. We found out that even though consumers know Taco Bell is not the best for them, some still choose to go for their low price, quick service, and convenience.

3) Cleanliness = Fair; Customer Service = Fair; Value = Good

From our online survey we discovered how people rate Taco Bell on three main elements for the quick food service industry, cleanliness, customer service, and value. Why not strive to be rated as excellent? Taco Bell can work on improving these three variables, which will help solve their biggest problem, brand image.

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4) People arent familiar with the new slogan.

In our in-depth interview, we asked what Taco Bells current slogan was. Only one out of the five knew about Live Mas. One of the consumers did hear it before, but they needed some recognition. This again goes back to Taco Bells brand image. Not a lot of people are aware of the change in slogan. This is something Taco Bell should work on advertising more.

5) Bad reputation - Responsibility issue.

People still relate Taco Bell back to their meat ingredients lawsuit. This bad reputation is something the company should work hard on to overcome. They could create a double-sided advertisement, recognizing their bad reputation, and then prove to consumers they are trustworthy. Then people might view Taco Bell as the brand they are striving to become healthy, high quality, and responsible.

Two insights were discovered from our use of the shopping list technique: Taco Bell consumers are viewed as lazy. Taco Bell is viewed as serving to adolescent compared to Chipotle.
By simply changing one little detail in two peoples identical routines, we were very surprised that our respondents could conclude so much.

A trend in healthy food has recently increased over the years. More and more college students are gravitating towards this movement. Taco Bells own target market views their customers as lazy and unhealthy. This perception drives consumers away from choosing Taco Bell and seeking healthier options. Taco Bell should try to advertise more about their healthy products, to avoid this association, and to better their brand image. We also concluded Taco Bells customers are perceived as juvenile and immature while their competitor Chipotle, their customers are seen as sophisticated, intelligent, and mature. Who wants to be lazy and immature? Taco Bell should take into consideration that their typical customers affect their brand image that they are trying to transform.

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1. Brand Image and Perceived Quality

After gathering some primary research, we found that many of the people in Taco Bells target market viewed Taco Bells quality to be sub par. We believe this may stem from the 2011 lawsuit against Taco Bell, involving Taco Bells beef ingredients. Many consumers seem to view Taco Bell in an untrustworthy way, and believe that the meat is not what they say it is. Some of our interview respondents mentioned that Taco Bell may be serving food that was equivalent to dog food as well as may have dog in it. Obviously, this shows that there is a huge quality as well as brand image problem that Taco Bell needs to combat. Taco Bell needs to find a way to convince customers that they are a responsible company with quality ingredients and that their word can be trusted.

2. Taco Bell is Viewed as Unhealthy

Many of our in-depth interview respondents didnt view Subway and Chipotle as Taco Bells competitors. We believe this is due to the fact that Taco Bell was viewed primarily as unhealthy and Chipotle and Subway were viewed as more healthy. If Taco Bell wants to be considered in the same food category as Chipotle and Subway, they have to find a way to promote their healthier Fresca menu in a way that will convince people to try the menu items and ultimately prefer those menu items to Chipotle and Fresca.

3. Advertising is Inefficient
Of our five in-depth interview respondents, only one knew of the current slogan. Many were not aware of the coupon Taco Bell does on the back of A&M football tickets, or about Taco Bells happy hour. Furthermore, some respondents could recall past advertising expendentures ("Yo Quiero Taco Bell" campaign and former slogan "Think Outside the Bun"), but few people recalled current campaigns. This is an issue because Taco Bell is trying to change in the eyes of consumers and the consumers may only recall past experiences and associations of Taco Bell. We believe that these issues mean that Taco Bell is not wisely investing its advertising dollars.
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DAGMAR FORM
1. What are the marketing objectives and communication objectives for Taco Bell? The marketing objective for Taco Bell is to market towards healthy-minded people, college students, people who want inexpensive and convenient food, as well as their existing customers. The communication objective is to increase brand knowledge, brand awareness, and social media. 2. Using the following criteria for effective objectives, evaluate the marketing (sales) and communication objectives for Taco Bell.
Marketing (Sales) Objective Quantifiable
Communications Objective

Raise sales 100% by increasing average unit volumes with more menu items and more dayparts Breakfast menu extended nationally and increase market share to 1.5% Happier Hour market share increase to 2%

Increase brand engagement, brand knowledge and extend social media More national marketing to go create lifestyle brand that extends through generations Increase awareness for Cantina Bell menu increase awareness for breakfast menu Increase awareness for Happier Hour College students (18-24) Healthy-minded people College students People who want inexpensive and convenient food Before Brand Awareness Brand Knowledge Social Media 60% 42% 61% After 70% 55% 77%

Identify a Target Audience

College students (18-24) Healthy-minded people People who want inexpensive and convenient food Sales were $7 billion in 2012, and want to double to $14 billion Breakfast menu market share was 0 in 2012, and want to increase to 1.5% Happier Hour initiative was 1.2% market share in 2012, and want to increase to 2% Double sales by 2021 Extend Morning meal nationally by 2014 Increase Happier Hour market share by 2014

Benchmark & Degree of Change Sought

Specified Time Period

1 year

3. Was Taco Bell using an IMC approach? If so, what specific IMC tools were used and in what ways? Be very specific and be able to identify the IMC tool, intended audience, and results if they are provided.

Tool Advertising

Intended Audience Young adults

Results Brand awareness, product awareness 34

Brand Funnel

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Why are you advertising? MUSEconcepts aims to position Taco Bell as the best quick-service food option and to remind consumers of Taco Bells value. Who are you talking to? We are targeting college students aged 18-24. What do they currently think or know about the brand? Consumers currently know that Taco Bell is inexpensive and open late. Consumers currently view the food as unhealthy and the quality as low. What would you like them to think or know about you? We want consumers to view Taco Bell as an excellent value, to know that Taco Bell has healthy menu items, to view their food as great quality, and to trust the Taco Bell brand. What is the single most persuasive idea you can convey? Taco Bell is the best value for your money. Why should they believe what you say? Taco Bell is a company that takes a fun, exciting and enthusiastic approach to informing customers.

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THE IDEA PITCH

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MAIN INSIGHTS
1. Taco Bell and their competitors arent viewed on the same level. 2. Consumers say its cheap and low value, but still go. 3. Cleanliness = Fair; Customer Service = Fair; Value = Good 4. People arent familiar with the new slogan. 5. Bad reputation - responsibility issue. 6. Taco Bell consumers are viewed as lazy. 7. Taco Bell is viewed immature in comparison to competitors such as Chipotle.

THE PROBLEMS FACING THE CLIENT

1. Brand image and perceived quality. 2. Taco Bell is viewed as unhealthy. 3. Advertising is inefficient.

MARKETING OBJECTIVES
To market towards healthy-minded people, college students, and people who want inexpensive and convenient food.

COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES
To increase brand knowledge, brand awareness, and social media usage.

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IDEA PITCH #1: TACO BELL DOG

Slogan: Promoting a healthy lifestyle. Live Mas. Theme: Taco Bell dog and Cantina Bell Menu Description The Taco Bell dog is going up and down the stairs, does yoga, plays soccer, and takes a walk. He goes home from working out and is hungry. His owner comes in with his dog food and sets it in front of him. Instead, he looks up and whines for the owners food that was brought it, the Taco Bell Cantina Bowl. He begins eating that instead of his dog food and is satisfied. How does each idea reach/appeal to the target market? This idea will connect with the college student target market using nostalgia and a message of change in the advertisement. As we conducted our research, most consumers remembered the Chihuahua from their youth, and we thought it would be a good idea to bring back the dog. Our goal is to increase the target markets awareness of Taco Bells new brand image by incorporating their fond remembrances of the Chihuahua. How does each idea accomplish campaign objectives? One of the marketing objectives for Taco Bell was to market towards healthyminded people, college students, and people who want inexpensive and convenient food. This idea will market towards healthy-minded people with the Cantina Bell Menu, and college students with the idea of nostalgia and change that comes with the Taco Bell dog. It will also address the communication objective of brand knowledge with the promotion of the Cantina Bell Menu. This promotion will also aid in changing the view of Taco Bell consumers as lazy and unhealthy to health-conscious. The slogan is also enforced at the end of the advertisement because in our research, a large percentage of people had no knowledge of the new slogan Live Mas and still thought it was Think outside the bun.
Images from:

Logo: http://www.gmkfreelogos.com/logos/T/img/taco_bell.gif

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IDEA PITCH #2: ROOMMATES & GIRL NEXT DOOR

Slogan: Something for everyone. Theme: The roommates and the girl next door. Description Two young college roommates with conflicting lifestyles promote different benefits of Taco Bell through social media and advertisements. James is the roommate that has an internship with a prestigious law firm. He is health conscious, organized, and responsible. He watches news in his free time, and is very mature. He will promote the Fresco menu and its offerings. Sam is the gamer roommate who is laid back, sensitive, and messy. He will promote Taco Bells classic offerings, the food that is good for the soul including new product offerings like Doritos Locos Tacos. During Sams free time, he watches Breaking Bad, masters new video games, and plays guitar. Jenny is the girl next door who is the mediator between the two roommates. She will be the one to suggest going to Taco Bell whenever the roommates get in their disputes. She is sweet, fun, likable, and friends with everybody. Because she is a quality girl, she will promote the Cantina Bell menu and its quality ingredients. How does each idea reach/appeal to the target market? This ad appeals to both the classic Taco Bell customers who want their classic offerings and to the customers of Taco Bells competitors who tend to emphasize a healthier and higher quality offering. Furthermore, the main characters in the advertising campaign are college aged in order to appeal to the target market. Each of the characters have their own lifestyles so that a wide variety of college students are able to relate with at least one of them easily. How does each idea accomplish campaign objectives? This idea covers both the original Taco Bell customer as well as the new age college student who is looking for healthier and higher quality options. Taco Bell is seen as immature by our survey respondents, and competitors are viewed as more mature. James will be the way to target this more mature, health minded student, and Sam will remind others that Taco Bell still offers inexpensive food for the less health conscious. Jenny will round out this group by being a down-to-earth girl who seems trustworthy. She will be the proponent for the Cantina Bell menu which emphasizes quality. Her trustworthiness will transcend toward Taco Bells brand image.
Images from: James: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00063401.html Sam: http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/10/the-gamecube-controller-lives-on-in-the-hands-of-fake-gamers/ Jenny: http://andrewsheath.tumblr.com/

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1. "Club Bell" Coming Soon. 2. build hype 3. one page up for website 4. just says Coming soon, December 2013 5. make surveys on social media can you guess what is coming? 6. hand out flyers for this new club 7. slogan could be something you wont regret in the morning 8. have famous partiers as spokesman 9. emphasize quality ingredients 10. people can check in 11. make the lighting more dim 12. play more upbeat music during late hours 13. mountain dew freezers with alcohol 14. contest for 200 people to attend 15. Reality TV show. 16. scoop on the quality ingredients 17. behind the scenes footage of ingredients 18. behind the scenes footage of making the dishes 19. have a mini series with recurring actors 20. have viewers vote on what they will do next 21. could make the series like a soap opera 22. very dramatic, intertwined characters 23. these characters could represent different taco bell consumers 24. college student, budget friendly family, guy searching for quality food (cantina) and woman trying to lose weight (Fresca) 25. Each of these characters could have their own social media 26. mega fans contests--chance to appear on the show 27. Target both markets. "Something for everyone" 28. people who like their more junk food items and those who want healthier/quality items 29. they could fight over which they like better, spewing off things that are favorable to each 30. could also focus on how sometimes the same person wants the other menu items 31. to show we could have the quality/healthier guy eating a Doritos locos taco and being caught 32. one could be more of the immature type, the other a young professional 33. they could be roommates 34. both guys? 35. could have an online quiz to see which roommate youre most like 36. both of the roommate could have their own social media 37. they could argue about something and in the end go to Taco bell and end the commercial with them both smiling and eating 38. another slogan something everyone can agree on 39. no one will ever be upset 40. follow 2 different people during their days and they both end up at Taco Bell 41. assigned random study group, place everyone can agree on meeting 42. Taco Bell van 43. could go around the nightclubs at night 44. could go by food trucks during the day 45. have more of the junk food items for night time 46. more of the healthy items for day time 47. cooks making healthy items from scratch-freshly made just for you 48. during the day time taco bell van could park in front of corporate offices 49. play ice cream music but more upbeat and modern and Latino 50. the van should have huge graphics on it

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51. have a lot of outdoor lights Mexican patio style 52. if people spot the van and take a photo, plus tagging them, they can win something or get a coupon 53. theme song for taco bell van 54. can have van cater to your party or tailgate 55. van can donate/sponsor events 56. van bring food to salvation army, Ronald McDonald house 57. bring end hunger relief on the road 58. go around to college campuses and have a contest 59. Dog, dog food vs. Taco Bell quality check 60. bring the yo quiero taco bell dog back 61. have him say the new slogan live mas 62. show him living mas--scratching off his bucket list 63. put regular dog food in front of him and have him whine 64. sees owner about to bite into a cantina burrito and licks lips 65. he could dance/beg for the burrito or run up and grab it 66. multiple advertisements could continue to follow the dog 67. he could go out one night with some friends for late night options 68. he could feel like hes getting older and overweight and want the cantina menu 69. online games to have children and internet users direct the dog on what to do next 70. create a fan base with the dog 71. dog can have own twitter and Facebook 72. dog can Snapchat customers 73. create doggie merchandise 74. use the merchandise for sales, promotions, and prizes 75. put stuffed animal dog in kids meals or cantina menu 76. show dog helping to end hunger 77. look like Tony the Tiger commercials, but smooth like Dos Equis guy 78. Happier Hour college students 79. need a better happier hour to compete with Sonic 80. everyone says Im happy in different ways on social media 81. pass notes and whisper, big secret, new fad - hang out at Taco Bell 82. cant find happiness anywhere and finds it at Taco Bell 83. find your happy place 84. against Sonic - want a drink, but hungry too - drinks and snacks 85. vine accounts 86. pass out plastic key cards like McDonalds does at games 87. put coupons in MSC textbook bags 88. put coupons in copy corner bags 89. partner with local businesses 90. food eating contest 91. have an actual bell in the store and ring it for big occasions (lol) 92. show how taco bell makes their meat (to increase brand image) 93. taco bell punch cards--loyalty program 94. Punch cards with different menu items 95. bring back limited time only menu items 96. have a blind audience commercial--taste test for healthy menu items 97. live mas contest 98. more advertisements on social responsibility 99. customers send in commercial ideas like Doritos 100. promote hashtag account *Ideas in orange are the main ideas we went off of for our two main idea pitches.

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THE BIG IDEA & CREATIVE PLAN

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We will be using an advertising campaign featuring two male roommates, James and Sam, who have different lifestyles, and the friendly girl next door, Jenny, with her dog, who is the Taco Bell Dog. The Taco Bell Dog, known for being in the iconic Yo Quiero Taco Bell advertising campaign, will make a comeback as we re-introduce him in our campaign. He will live with Jenny and consequently will interact with her and the roommates next door. Sam and James will get in frequent arguments due to their drastically different lifestyles and preferences, and Jenny and The Taco Bell Dog will come to the rescue and bring the crew to Taco Bell; because theres Something for Everyone at Taco Bell. Originally, we had pitched both of these ideas as two different campaigns. The Taco Bell Dog and The Roomates and Jenny were combined after we had one advertising executive preferring The Taco Bell Dog better and the other preferring The Roommates and Jenny. One advertising executive mentioned that she didnt want us to exclude other consumers by just focusing on college aged students, which The Roommates and Jenny was geared toward. The other executive noted that the The Roommates and Jenny with their strong social media influence would be a great way to make something fresh and new instead of trying to promote The Taco Bell Dog again. He also believed that The Roommates and Jenny would have a longer campaign life. With these comments in mind, we went back to the drawing board to find a way to make these two ideas fit together. We decided to make The Taco Bell Dog Jennys pet, which would be the perfect way to answer these issues. We will be able to target the college aged students through The Roommates and Jenny while The Taco Bell Dog broadens our target market to older generations by incorporating a nostalgic approach. We will keep the social media strategy of The Roommates and Jenny, which features social media websites for each roommate and Jenny. We want them to feel like real people/friends by having them post to their respectable websites and tag each other in posts or appear in each others photos. However, we also want to make The Taco Bell Dog have his own social media websites and have him interact with the other three characters. We will have commercials with the roommates fighting, and Jenny and The Taco Bell Dog will suggest Taco Bell to restore peace. The Taco Bell Dog will have his own version of the commercials from his point of view and will talk directly to the audience.
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This new campaign is a hybrid of both of our ideas and will be a perfect way to fix the issues that we found during our research. Many felt that Taco Bell was unhealthy and low quality, and the brand itself was viewed as untrustworthy. Our campaign will answer these issues because Jenny and The Taco Bell Dog will be the spearheads of the campaign. They will be so likable, it will transcend onto Taco Bells brand image. Jenny will be a crusader for social responsibility, and her social media websites will reflect this. The Taco Bell Dog will promote a healthy lifestyle as he is back, and more fit than ever. You may see him getting back from jogging or yoga in our advertisements. To address the issues of Taco Bell being unhealthy and low quality, one of the roommates, James, will have a very healthy lifestyle. He will promote the healthy Fresco menu, while Jenny and The Taco Bell favor the quality offerings from the Cantina Bell menu and Sam will stick to the classics menu, which will include new offerings like the Doritos Locos Tacos. We believe Sam is necessary because the classics menu is currently very profitable for Taco Bell. Furthermore, through our research we found that many were not familiar with Taco Bells current slogan. Because of this, we propose a new slogan; Something for Everyone. This slogan will reinforce the campaign as it illustrates Taco Bells wide selections that are available to a variety of consumer preferences, such as Sam, James and Jenny. The print ad will display a glimpse of each character and their corresponding hashtag. Then it will say Vote for your favorite! Our hope is to make customers curious so they look into the characters. This will make consumers more involved in the campaign and will influence them to follow their favorite character through social media. In conclusion, this hybrid advertisement campaign will answer the problems found through our research, as well as incorporate the ideas, comments, and concerns voiced by the advertising executives during our pitch. It will also target consumers of a wide range of interest, lifestyle and age.

Something for Everyone

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Something for Everyone

THE CLASSICS CANTINA BELL

FRESCO

#TACOBELLSAM

#TACOBELLJENNY

#TACOBELLJAMES

Vote for your favorite!

/tacobell
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THE MEDIA PLAN

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SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

From our research we concluded that our target market consists of college students ages 18 -24. These consumers currently know that Taco Bell is inexpensive and is open late. However, they view Taco Bell as unhealthy and rank it poor in quality. We decided to make our marketing objective to raise sales by increasing average unit volumes with more menu items. We made our communication objectives to increase brand knowledge, brand awareness, and social media usage of consumers. To do this, we will position Taco Bell as having a variety of options including the classics, healthy and quality options, being inexpensive, and catering to convenience. We also want to build Taco Bells brand reputation and loyalty. After developing two main ideas and receiving feedback from advertising executives, we decided to combine our two idea pitches to answer both objectives. We created a new slogan to reestablish brand awareness and knowledge. Our slogan, Something for Everyone, illustrates that Taco Bell still offers their inexpensive items as well as healthier and quality menu items. We created characters to portray these faces of Taco Bell, as well as including the Taco Bell dog back into the campaign. The dog will broaden our target market to those who remember him. He will also show that Taco Bell is back and is better than ever. We will rely on social media to promote all of the characters. Each of them, with their very distinct personalities, will correspond to a different menu category at Taco Bell. The marketing advertisers loved that our primary media usage was social media because its fresh and innovative like our target consumers. They also mentioned that social media will benefit in generating a long-term campaign, and this will also increase brand awareness. The following are ways that we will implement social media as well as the other media platforms.

TELEVISION
Television advertisements will be the visual and audio experience for our target audience. We plan to have two different commercials that tie in together. The first commercial as shown on page 3 is from the perspective of Jenny and the roommates. It begins with Sam and James, two very different personalities who room together, arguing about the dirty dishes. Next door at Jennys, the girl next door, the Taco Bell Dog comes back from his run where Jenny greets him. They overhear the arguing next door and go over. Jenny resolves the argument by suggesting Taco Bell, because theres something for everyone there. The second commercial (seen on page 4) is to be shown as a supplement to the first. It is a similar commercial, but from the Taco Bell Dogs perspective instead. We have selected our commercials to run on ABC, ESPN, AMC, Comedy Central, TLC, and FOX networks all day, during both daytime television and late night television, because of our large target market. The commercial will be run on a pulsing schedule that align with our Media Plan.

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PRINT
While our print media budget will be small in comparison to our other media expenditures, we are still planning to use print media to provide our target audience with a reminder visual to make a lasting impression. Our print ad shows the three roommates with the Taco Bell Dog and the type of menu each of them prefer. We ask customers to vote for their favorite on social media sites. The print ad is also focused on bringing attention to social media. It will be seen in People Magazine and Sports Illustrated.

The radio ad will be used during the beginning of our campaign launch, as students move into apartments and dorms with new roommates and start to deal with similar problems that Sam and James face in our advertisements. This will make the advertisement relevant for consumers and they will be more likely to listen. The advertisement will be played in a more unconventional radio setting on Pandora and local ads. Radio Transcript: Jenny: Dealing with roommate problems yet? (addressing consumer) *James and Sam arguing in the background* Jenny: *sigh* Want to learn how to make roommate problems disappear? (addressing consumer) Jenny: Guys cool it, lets go to Taco Bell! (Jenny yelling at Sam and James) *James and Sam immediately quiet down* Jenny: *laughing* Why Taco Bell you ask? Theres Something for Everyone. *Taco Bell Dog barks*

RADIO

PROMOTION

Promotions encourage consumers to try new products. It will be a relatively small percentage of the total media expenditure, however we believe it will be effective in introducing the specialized menus that consumers dont normally think about when Taco Bell comes to mind. We plan to continue offering coupons on the back of football tickets and inside coupon books, but we also wanted to host tailgates for football games. In addition to this, wed like to feature a Choose 2 option in a promotional flyer, featuring each of the roommates items off their favorite menu (the Doritos Locos Tacos, the Cantina Bowl, and the Fresco Burrito). The Choose 2 option will say, Which one is your favorite? Try one for yourself and treat your roommate to the other! Theres Something for Everyone! This promotional flyer is not a coupon, it is just for promoting the three main items, likely as an in-store advertisement, so people can try two at a time. The reason it is not Choose 3 deal is because it forces customers to choose only the two theyd like to try the most and come back again to try the third, making them have to come back twice to use the deal.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media will be used heavily in this campaign. Each character; Jenny, The Taco Bell Dog, James and Sam will have their own social media websites. These social media websites will be updated frequently and the characters will interact with each other though their social media websites. Social media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook will be used because this type of advertising is inexpensive, can give you real data through likes, comments and followers and doesnt have high wear out as consumers can control this type of media. Included in social media are internet advertisements. Our goal is to engage consumers by making the characters seem like real people, and real friends. We will accomplish this goal by having the characters comment on each others posts, tag each other, and take photos together. We hope that consumers will follow all the characters, but if they only follow one character, they will still be exposed to Taco Bell messages on their newsfeeds. Instead of feeling like they are being bombarded by a company, these characters will act as brand personalities for Taco Bell. Consumers have grown use to these social media outlets and it will be an efficient way to meet Taco Bells target market.

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MEDIA SCHEDULE
The Something for Everyone campaign will follow a yearlong pulsing media schedule, that focuses on college students ages 18-24. We will synchronize this media schedule with our target markets school schedule. Higher pulsing levels will occur while students are in session and lower pulsing levels will occur while students are on break. The absolute highest pulsing level will occur as we introduce our campaign and students are going back to school.

End of August-Mid November We will use the back to school season and the fall semester to launch our campaign and have it occur at its maximum pulsing level. We chose this time for lift off because of its storyline thats constructed around two roommates constantly arguing. The roommate scenario will correlate with our audience as they go back to school, and will hope to grab their attention and engage them by relating to the characters. We will rely heavily on social media, promotions, and television during this time period. Ironically, college students are found to spend more time on social media when they should be studying. We decided to use this to our advantage, making social media use at its peak. The characters will be frequently updating their statuses and interacting with our target market. Promotions will be concentrated during this period because of football season. Television usage will be at its peak also because our commercials will present the narrative of our campaign. To reach our target audience, we will make sure to air Something for Everyone commercials on channels such as, AMC, ABC, Comedy Central, TLC, ESPN, and Fox, frequently on weekday afternoons and nights.
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Mid November-Mid December To avoid wear out, we will decrease our pulsing level for around the middle of November and December. Social media is our prime focus and will continuously be used over our year launch. However, during this month span we will slightly decrease our social media use so our audience doesnt start to get annoyed and tune out our campaign as they scroll down their screens. End DecemberBeginning February As the semester comes to an end, students will spend a lot of more of their time on the road back home for the holidays, or traveling for winter break vacations. Taking this into consideration, our overall pulsing level will somewhat increase and we will focus on using more of Radio and Print media outlets. Super Bowl also takes place during this time frame so we will increase our television usage. Our commercials will be different from the beginning of our schedule, as we move away from our introductory phase. We will make sure to have a great variety of fresh storylines that still follow our campaign theme Something for Everyone. March-July As college students are back to school for the spring semester, pulsing levels will slowly increase over this time span. We will not have a direct pulsing increase because we dont want to bombard our audience since we did not completely stop advertising over the holidays. Our social media usage will escalate and we will reduce our use in radio and print medias. As bathing suite season approaches we will ensure a rise of promotions for our healthier menu items.

MEDIA BUDGET
Taco Bells revenue in 2012 was $7 billion and the target domestic annual sales for 2013 is roughly $8.75 billion. According to Redbooks, their media expenditure in 2012 was $289 million, an 11.9% growth from the $258.5 million spent in 2011. Based on this, the advertising budget for 2012 was 4.13% of Taco Bells total revenue. We based on percentage of sales as well as data from advertising expenditures from 2011 and 2012, Taco Bell will aim to spend approximately $390 million on media expenditures (just under 4.5% of projected annual sales). This entire media budget will go to our campaign, completely abandoning the Live Mas campaign. This budget will include the two television ads, ads, print ads, promotions, and social media. The budget allocation for social media will be greater than previous years, because that is one of the focal points of this campaign.
Percentage of Total Advertising Budget 86.5% 0.25% 8% 2.5% 2.75%

Media Type Television Print Radio Promotion Social Media and Internet

Annual Budget $337,350,000 $975,000 $31,200,000 $9,750,000 $10,725,000

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Television: The average cost of a 30-second TV ad is $123,000 Radio: The average cost of a 30-second radio ad is $1000 Print: The average cost for a full color page print ad is $40,625 per issue Promotions: The average cost for an event is $5000 Social Media: The average cost per month for internet ads and social media is $893,750 Media Type Television Radio Individual Cost $123,000 $1000 Frequency 2,743 airs 31,200 airs 12 months x 2 magazines x 1 ad per magazine = 24 issues 1,950 events 12 months Total Cost $337,350,000 $31,200,000

Print

$40,625

$975,000

Promotions Social Media and Internet TOTAL COST

$5000 $893,750

$9,750,000 $10,725,000 $890,000,000

ESTIMATED COST PER THOUSAND IMPRESSIONS

Television: $25.31 Radio: $6.84 Print: $14.76 Promotions: $4.52 Social Media and Internet: $1.24

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FOOTNOTES APPENDIX WORKS CITED

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IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1.

Do you think this woman is a typical Taco Bell customer? Yeah No No No No

2. Do you think this woman visits Taco Bell frequently? Why? Often because her pose says it all No, because shes thin and doesnt have horrible acne No because she doesnt look intoxicated No, because shes taking a picture with the Taco Bell Yes, Her smile 3. How old do you think this woman is? 24 In her early 20s 24 Like 20 32 4. What do you believe are her hobbies? Working, talking with friends, shopping Pinterest and ballet She enjoys spending time with her friends I dont know, she looks kind of fun hanging out with friends. Being a cool Asian girl Sushi, karate, jumping from roof, eating taco bell

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5. How do you think this woman feels about her experience at Taco Bell? She loves Taco Bell Forgettable After shes done eating she is probably upset with herself She loves it, that looks like a first time documentation of taco bell She liked it 6. Could anything make her experience at Taco Bell better? Of course, having dessert Better food Friends eating with her She has two drinks, so thats interesting. I dont know, maybe more food? She has two drinks so it looks like she can put down food. I dont know, it looks like shes having a pretty good time. More drinks 7. Can you picture yourself in her position in the photo? Yeah Yes Yes No No Complete the following sentences: 8. Taco Bell is __________________. Yummy Cheap Cheap Gross Fast food 9. Chipotle is __________________. Good For hipsters Good Yummy Much better 10. Subway is __________________. Delicious Healthy-ish Fantastic Yummy Meh 11. How often do you eat at Taco Bell? 3 times a year 2-3 times a year Once or twice a month Never Never

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12. Describe your last experience eating at Taco Bell. Didnt describe They didnt get my order right and I had horrible diarrhea 30 minutes later Gross it wasnt good, I havent been back since Well, the last time I ate there was probably when I was 6 years old and the only thing I would get are those little cinnamon things. We never even got food, just those cinnamon things. Very Very Bad! a) What quality of food do you believe Taco Bell has? Very good Wet dog food is probably better for you. Not very clean. I wouldnt eat in the restaurant on the tables. Ever. Sub-Par Bad Crappy b) Describe the cleanliness of the Taco Bells that you have visited? Pretty fair Not very clean. I wouldnt eat in the restaurant on the tables. Ever Not very clean Good, I mean Ive only been in one. Wide range c) How would you describe the atmosphere while eating at Taco Bell? Chill but fast paced, casual Greasy Noisy and filled with college students Fine, I dont know it was clean? It was just like a normal fast food restaurant Not for me, bad d) How would you describe your customer service experience during your taco bell visits? Outstanding Poor. Except for once when the lady at the counter told me I had a face for television Sub-Par Well, the last time I went there, I tried to get a slushy thing and customer service was good because they gave us a free drink after the slushy machine stopped working Terrible 13. After eating at Taco Bell, would you eat there again? Why/why not? Yeah, I love the burritos Probably if it were midnight, nearby, and I were really hungry. Id probably regret it later though Probably, because its cheap and fast No, I think its gross No; Low grade meat 14. What do you order when you go to Taco Bell? 4 crispy tacos Crunchy tacos, sometimes their Crunch Wrap Supremes or Cheesy Gordita Crunch Usually off of the value menu I dont go to Taco Bell Crunchy taco 62

15. How do you think the food at Taco Bell is priced? Cheap Really cheap Cheap Wonderfully Cheap/good 16. What is your opinion on Taco Bell products value? (quality vs. price) You can see why its cheap Really cheap Average value Bad its really cheap but they should pay people to eat their food Low quality low price 17. What do you think Taco Bell's best menu item is? Doritos Tacos Their quesadillas, but theyre a little overpriced for their quality Bacon Chicken Ranch Chalupa The cinnamon things Crunchy taco 18. Would you recommend Taco Bell to a friend? If so, why? Sure if were in a hurry Probably not Does this friend not know what Taco Bell is? Heck no. I think Taco Bells biggest marketing thing, which I dont even know if they planned for it was Mean Girls. I mean honestly, thats the most publicity theyve ever gotten. No, I hate it 19. Do you remember seeing any advertisements for Taco Bell? If so, which ones? What did you like/ not like about Taco Bell's advertisements? The little Chihuahua; Liked that it sold the product The Doritos Locos Tacos one. I didnt like how they play it every five minutes Yes, the one where the guy brings the appetizers and his friends are fighting over them, and he brings the nacho burrito, and the Doritos Loco Fire; They are pretty stupid Yo quiero taco bell; No feelings, theyre fine. Theyre not going to convince me to eat their food. Yes, Daniel tosh is in one and Chihuahua. Indifferent 20. Do you believe Taco Bell is well known among college students? Why/why not? Well known, but its not advertised to an extent like McDonalds or Whataburger Yes, because it is inexpensive and theres one right across campus Yes, I think everyone knows about it, I think they advertise for college students Yes, because its cheap and open 24 hours. Some people like it, I dont know. Yes? They are cheap 21. How do you think Taco Bell could appeal to a younger crowd better? Better advertisement and more shops in common areas for college students like the MSC I think theyre doing fine in the younger age group. Fresher ingredients in their products Maybe say some stats about what they actually put in their food. I think a lot of people dont eat there because its scary. They have this reputation of literally having dog in the food. More promotions

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22. Would you be likely to attend Taco Bell if you received a coupon? Yeah Yeah, probably. Im still cheap. No, because its already cheap, and I wouldnt go out of my way to Taco Bell Nope No a) Would you be likely to attend Taco Bell if they had a current promotion going on? Possibly Depends on how good the promotion was If they brought back the Bacon Chicken Ranch Chalupa Nope No b) Would you be likely to purchase the menu item in the promotion or would you continue to purchase your regular menu item? Why? Depends what it is; I would if it was Tacos or my type of burrito (not sure what its called) Probably the one in the promotion, because Id want to save money I usually will try the new ones once, and then I go back to my regulars I wouldnt go Regular menu item, because it is cheap c) Were you aware that there is a coupon for Taco Bell on the back of A&M football tickets? If yes, have you ever used the coupon? I was not aware of that No. Really? Yes, and No I havent used them Yes, No Yes, Yes d) Taco Bell also put coupons in local coupon books, have you ever used one? No Yes No No No 23. How do you believe Taco Bell stands in comparison to its competitor Chipotle? Why? Chipotle is more modern and classy looking. Taco Bell is dried out and cheaper looking of the two. I havent ever eaten at Chipotle Interviewer Have you seen the new Taco Bell buildings? Respondent They are trying hard to up their standards I suppose, its helping. Theyre well on their way Inferior. The quality is worse overall. Chipotles product sells itself. I think that Chipotle is a way better option, but Taco Bell is cheaper, so I would probably go to TB more but enjoy Chipotle more *Laughs* I just dont think their competitors at all because they dont even stand for the same things. People go there for completely different things and different prices. Blows it out the water, because taste is no comparison

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24. Are you aware that Taco Bell has a happy hour? If yes, have you ever purchased an item off their happy hour menu? Which products? If no, would the happy hour be something you are interested in No; Yeah of course No; Probably not Yes; Once, their grillers No, No No, No 25. Are you aware of Taco Bells Doritos Locos Tacos? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes If yes, have you had one? Did you enjoy it? Will you eat it again? No but I want to try it No. I dont want stomach cancer Yes, cool ranch and nacho cheese, Yes No Yes, a bite. No. No!! 26. When deciding where to eat for dinner, what would be the reasons to make you want to go to Taco Bell as opposed to Subway or Chipotle? My taste for tacos and if Im on a budget If the other 2 options were closed If Im trying to save money and get something quick If someone paid me $100 I would go Chipotle burnt down along with every other place to eat 27. What other restaurants do you compare Taco Bell with? Taco Cabana, Rosas, Tacovilla McDonalds Del Taco, Taco Bueno, Jack in the Box, Taco Cabana Taco Cabana, Taco Bueno Taco Cabana 28. Do you follow Taco Bell on any social media? Yes on Twitter/ (Interviewer: why?) Because Im a college student No No No No 29. What is Taco Bells current slogan? Something to do with Doritos Locos Tacos? Once Interviewer told her Live Mas, she said ohh I knew that. Think outside the bun Live Mas Open late. wait I think thats Sonic. Yo quiero taco bell???

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SURVEY QUESTIONS
1. Are you 18-24? 2. What is your gender? a. Male b. Female 3. Please complete the following sentence. The average person who eats at Taco Bell is __________. 4. The average person who eats at Chipotle is __________. 5. The average person who eats at Subway is __________. Use the photo to answer the following questions.

6. What is she like? 7. What does she like to do? 8. What are her friends like? The following are two different peoples schedules for a typical day. Use this for the next four questions. Person 1 Wake up Get dressed Go to class Taco Bell for Lunch Take a nap Watch TV Make dinner Study Go to bed 9. What TV shows does person 1 watch? 10. What TV shows does person 2 watch? 11. What is person 1 like? 12. What is person 2 like? 66 Person 2 Wake up Get dressed Go to class Chipotle for Lunch Take a nap Watch TV Make dinner Study Go to bed

13. How frequently do you go to Taco Bell? a. More than once a week b. 1-2 times a week c. 1-2 times a month d. 1-11 times a year e. Never 14. Rate the following based on your impressions of Taco Bell. a. Cleanliness i. Poor ii. Fair iii. Good iv. Excellent b. Customer Service i. Poor ii. Fair iii. Good iv. Excellent c. Value i. Poor ii. Fair iii. Good iv. Excellent

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4-legged.com. (2009, July 23). Yo quiero Taco Bell Chihuahua Has Gone to Rainbow Bridge . Retrieved from http://www.4-legged.com/blog/yo-quiero-taco-bell-chihuahua-has-gone-to-rainbow-bridge/. Barston, S. (2013, May 3). Chipotle Addiction Runs Wild Through Darien. Retrieved from darienps.org: http://darienps.org/neirad/1305chipotle.php. Carr, A. (2013, August 13). With 600m sold, taco bell unveils the fiery doritos locos taco . Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/3015680/with-600m-sold-taco-bell-unveils-the-fiery-doritos-locos-taco. Chipotle Mexican Grill. (2013, September 10). Chipotle Mexican Grill . Retrieved from chipotle.com: http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/ Default.aspx?type=default. Dostal, E. (2013, March 6). Moes Southwest Grill readies first national ad campaign. Retrieved from http://nrn.com/ latest-headlines/moe-s-southwest-grill-readies-firs-national-ad-campaign. Gale Group. (2013). Taco Bell Corp., company profile. Retrieved from Gale Group Business Insights: Global database. Hoovers. (2013). Doctors Associates Inc., company profile. Retrieved from the Hoovers Premium database. Hoovers. (2013). Fast-Food & Quick-Service Restaurants. Retrieved from the Hoovers Premium database. Hoovers. (2013). Mexican Grill, Inc., company profile. Retrieved from the Hoovers Premium database. Hoovers. (2013). MSWG, LLC company profile. Retrieved from the Hoovers Premium database. Hoovers. (2013). Taco Bell, Corp., company profile. Retrieved from the Hoovers Premium database. iTunes. (2013). Taco Bell App. Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/taco-bell-app/id497387361?mt=8. MarketLine. (2013, August 16). Company Profile: Yum! Brands, Inc. Retrieved September 15, 2013, from web.ebscohost.com: http:// web.ebscohost.com/bsi/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ab68830b-fb354002-ad9e-6ca0265dd1b2%40sessionmgr12&vid=2&hid=11. MarketLine. (2013, August 16). Yum! Brands Inc., company profile. Retrieved from the Business Source Complete database. McKenna, J. (2013, July 31). Chipotle's and #AdGenius. Retrieved from beta.fool.com: http://beta.fool.com/jmckenna15/2013/07/31/ chipotle-a-adgenius/41591/ . Mergent Online. (2013). YUM! Brands, Inc., company profile. Retrieved from Mergent Online database. Moe's Southwest Grill. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.moes.com/about/. Morrison, M. (2013, SEPT 02). Sales are Going Loco at Taco Bell, Ad Age's Marketer of the Year. PepsiCo. (2012). 2012 Annual Report. Purchase: PepsiCo, Inc. PepsiCo. (2013). Brands You Love. Retrieved October 3, 2013, from pepsico.com: http://www.pepsico.com/Brands Redbooks. (2013). Taco Bell Corp., company profile. Retrieved from RedBooks Online Database. Riley-Adams, E. (2013, AUG 22). Taco Bell Recruits YouTubers to Promote New Fiery Flavor. Subway. (2013, March 28). Subway Named Brand of the Year in 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend Study. [Press Release]. Retrieved from http://www.subway.com subwayroot/about_us/pressreleases.aspx. Stampler, L. (2013, MAY 2). Taco Bell Just Snapchatted A Bunch of Customers . Taco Bell. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.tacobell.com/. Value Line. (2013). Yum Brands Inc (YUM)., company profile. Retrieved from Value Line database.

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