Creativity in Public Relations

Another brand that I think is well in tune with its target audience is Taco Bell. For those of you not in the US, Taco Bell is a fast food, inexpensive Mexican food chain.

My ex-colleague and pal Will Bortz is one of the marketing gurus at Taco Bell and recently announced another spot-on campaign that speaks directly to their youth audience with the “Feed The Beat” campaign that just launched.

The campaign invites indie bands to visit a site to upload info about the band as well as submit a sample track for judging. Lots of bands will get free Taco Bell food and a lucky few will make it to the a battle of the band style competition - with consumer votes moving bands to the next round.  3 final bands will get a major marketing push via Taco Bell, which reaches millions of people who walk through their doors each day.  It’s a bit of an unconvention way for bands to break on the scene - but one that I think will become more and more common.  Brands are looking for new ways to spend their marketing budgets given the increasing decline of effectiveness of traditional advertisements.  And this is even more true for younger audiences who are spending more time online than on TV these days.

I think this campaign works on a number of fronts.  The first one is obvious - using the youth currency of music to engage with a younger audience.  The second one is a bit more sublte - indie rock or alternative music focus.  This is a more credible and authentic route for the right brand to venture down and should give Taco Bell some extra bonus points with this audience.  It’s also smart for Taco Bell to ask for the band’s social network page as part of the registration process - which I’m guessing will play a role down the line with the campaign using these sites to promote the competition, going where the kids are and doing it in an appropriate way. The website right now isn’t that exciting, but assuming it will get a total makeover when the competition truly kicks off with the battle of the band weeks.  I think they could have done a bit more on the site to engage and entertain bands making the visit.  

The campaign is also casually connected to Taco Bell’s push around the “Fourth Meal” - the time between dinner and breakfast, that provide a solid connection to Taco Bell restaurants staying open very late to cater to the younger audience who is out late all the time.

All in all a very solid campaign and approach, and I definitely look forward to watching the fun roll out over the next few months.  Obviously if a band is discovered and makes it big Taco Bell will have a whole big heap of fun on its hands.