I'm aware that the title of this blog may seem a bit odd in the context of this class, but if there is anything you might have caught on to in my last blog post, it's that I like thinking in terms of metaphor and examples. In this case, it just so happened that I did the readings on social media marketing and price points right around the time I stumbled upon
Taco Bell's twitter page.
Here is an example of what you will find:
Frequent and individualized correspondence is notable here (great example of the wing 3 of the dragonfly effect), and they speak in a voice that is casual and personable. They certainly know how to grab attention--from wittily responding to celebrity tweets to shamelessly flirting with followers (note the two kissy face emojis--they are everywhere), showing they know how to use wing 2 as well. These wings are working in concert with wings 1 and 3, the idea of a concrete goal and taking action. The message behind all of these tweets is simple: Taco Bell is good. Taco Bell is accessible. Eat more Taco Bell. They literally say things like this, so it's no secret. They own the fact that they are fast food and don't try to sell it as something else (looking at you,
Dairy Queen). This type of accessibility jives well with their open-late philosophy and very low price point (to say nothing of the fact that it is delicious, whether you are too proud to admit it or not).
It may seem silly to commend a professional brand for tweeting in a manner alarmingly similar to that of my 17 year old sister, but as it turns out I am not the only person that is impressed with the Taco Bell strategy. This
blog post calls them a marketing genius. They were also Ad Age's
2013 Marketer of the Year. I think this speaks a lot to the future of what marketing is--unless your goal is to create a luxury item, or one that is meant to inspire trust and reliability (I'm thinking doctor's offices, mainly--even insurance is
not above humor, and attempts at too much seriousness can
fall flat), you have to speak on the level of your audience.
Do you have other examples of brands that you think are really nailing their marketing?
It is silly but def genius! I'm looking at building a strong social media presence for GDF11 for Pets to go along with our Indiegogo Campaign 2.0. It for sure looks like this kind of personalization/interaction ie. thank you posts, answering questions, etc are going to be a super key element (and a ton of work). How many people do you think they have running their twitter? Anyway, I'm totally with you on looking at major brands like this for examples and I think it makes a lot of sense in the context of this class!
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