During my conversation with Jay Baer for this week’s episode of Marketing Smarts, he mentioned the avalanche of invitations that we receive to join various social networks.
I mentioned, as an example of these ubiquitous invitations, the Twitter and Facebook icons I had seen on the cardboard holders of the Doritos Locos Tacos I had consumed days before. At the time, my 13-year-old nephew had commented, “Everybody wants you to like them on Facebook.”
Instead of dismissing the brand’s desire to connect with fans via social media, Jay discussed the company’s missed opportunity. Making a taco out of a Dorito is actually kind of a brilliant idea, he said, so why didn’t Taco Bell feature a URL or a QR code on the wrapper that leads to a short video on the origins of the novel product? The basic idea behind such a video was summed up by Jay as follows…
How the hell did this happen? How did this freaky Frankenstein marriage of Taco Bell and Doritos come about? A.) Why didn’t this happen 20 years ago? And B.) how do you get a Dorito into a taco shell? What’s the story behind this experiment? How many did you test? How did you test it? What is the documentary filmmaker sort of deal here? I would download that before I got the first two bites down because it’s relevant and interesting. And it’s relevant and interesting at that exact moment.
Jay made a good point. In the case of Taco Bell and Doritos, coming up with relevant content for consumers wasn’t out of the
question—they just hadn’t done it.
Or had they?
I realized that I was so focused on wolfing down this devilish delicacy that I had not noticed whether the packaging had a QR code on it at all. I headed over to YouTube, where I found numerous reviews of this product, many of which included shots of said packaging. Sure enough, a QR code was on the packaging.
Whipping out my handy smartphone, I zapped the code to see where it might lead me.
Unfortunately, it did not take me to an eye-opening documentary like Jay described. Instead, it took me to this site, where I could watch videos of upcoming bands as part of something called “Feed the Beat.” For this promotion, Taco Bell gives gift cards to touring bands that they can distribute to their adoring fans. Though some people might have found this interesting, no one could call it relevant to my Doritos Locos Tacos experience. (Truth be told, I was listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan while eating mine, which may tell you something about the currency of my musical tastes.)
So, Doritos and Taco Bell, if you are reading this or if you listen to the podcast, Jay Baer has some ideas about how you might have done this differently—and how you might do things differently in the future.
Of course, even if there was a missed opportunity, Taco Bell has sold 100 million of these newfangled nacho-flavored tacos in 10 weeks, which stands as “the most successful product launch in the chain’s history.”
Would a different social content strategy have made the launch even more successful?
(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Young Adult)
Tags: Consumer Packaged Goods, Content Marketing, Content Strategy, Doritos, social media marketing, Taco Bell
