Celebrity Endorsement
Franchise Fast Casual PR Case Study
OUR WORK | Taco Bueno
Taco Bueno is a regional Mexican-American fast food restaurant chain specializing in Tex-Mex-style cuisine. The Dallas-based company was founded in 1967 by Bill Waugh, who had the idea to open a Mexican restaurant after eating at a local taqueria. Waugh took his inspiration and created Taco Bueno, which soon became a popular spot for hungry Texans looking for a quick and tasty meal. Today, Taco Bueno has over 175 locations across the United States, making it one of the largest Mexican-American fast food chains in the country. While its menu has expanded over the years to include items such as burgers and fries, Taco Bueno remains best known for its delicious tacos, enchiladas, and quesadillas. So next time you're in the mood for some Tex-Mex, be sure to swing by Taco Bueno and enjoy a delicious meal.
Taco Bueno operates 186 restaurants in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Louisiana. The company is privately owned by TPG Growth. Web.
PR Is What Landed Taco Charlton As Chain’s Spokesperson
The world stood still the evening of April 27 as first-round draft pick Taco Charlton was announced to join America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys. ESPN writer Todd Archer wrote, “Taco Charlton playing for the Dallas Cowboys seems to be a natural fit because of the affinity for Tex-Mex food in the area. So what's the favorite taco for the Cowboys' newest firstround pick? Crispy? Soft? Chicken? Beef?” The next day’s headline in The Dallas Morning News read: “Taco Bueno” and at that moment TrizCom Public Relations was tasked with leveraging mass media and sentiment to persuade Taco Charlton to become a spokesperson for Taco Bueno in the 2017-2018 football season.
COMMUNICAITONS OBJECTIVES
Primary Objective: To have Taco Charlton pick Taco Bueno as his partner over other Tex-Mex restaurants by using earned media via mass media (particularly in sports and restaurant trades) and generating 200 mentions with an aggregate reach of 10 million to influence the decision-making process even though the dollars behind the deal might not be as large as rivals in the same category.
Secondary Objective: Leverage the connection and opportunity presented between Taco Bueno and Charlton to reach a new demographic (M 25-45) and increase web traffic to TacoBueno.com by 25 percent within two months and increase share of voice by 20 percent, thus increasing sales.
CATEGORY EXPERTISE
Franchise - Fast-Casual Restaurant
Execution
On the morning of April 28 (the day after the draft), we created a statement to be used with the Charlton/Bueno connection because CEO Mike Roper was conducting multiple interviews for his evening premiere of Undercover Boss. In Roper’s first interview (CBS) at 11, we primed the producer about the draft and the front-page headline to be incorporated within the live interview. At the end of the interview, Roper held up a copy of The Dallas Morning News front page exclaiming you don’t get much better than this. Charlton was scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. presser, and at 3:15 p.m., we issued a five-sentence statement from Roper welcoming Charlton to America’s Team to 1800 journalists. On May 3 (Taco Tuesday – which happens to be owned by a competitor), we contacted Charlton’s agent and sent earned media to open the conversation focusing on authenticity, Texas born and Bueno’s fan enthusiasts (Buenoheads). After several meetings and negotiations, partnership was agreed upon. On June 27, we gave an exclusive to NFL influencer Ian Rapoport. His tweet announcing the Taco Bueno/Charlton partnership resulted in multiple phoners and pickups including ESPN, which was syndicated worldwide.
Outcomes
Both Primary and Secondary Objectives achieved. Charlton signed contract with Taco Bueno to be their spokesperson and Taco Bueno reached a new audience (M 25-45) by incorporating sports and the brand, which resulted in an 80 percent website traffic increase.
Earned Media Mentions: 782 mentions were captured from April 27- June 30 including top tier outlets: NFL, Total Pro Sport, Pro Football Talk, 12 Up, CNN, ESPN, FOX Sports, MSN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo!, SB Nation and The Washington Post.
Earned Media Social Shares: 31,656
Earned Media Aggregate Reach: 887,020,685
Influencers: Curtis Fish 1 Retweet (5M), Darren Rovell 1 Tweet (1.8M Twitter, 1.8M Instagram), Ian Rapoport - 2 Tweets (2.6M Twitter, 1.3M Instagram).
Twitter Reach: June 28 - 1707 Tweets with a direct reach of 11,305,288.
Share of Voice: Increased 26 percent.
Web Visits: increased website traffic by 37 percent
KEY EARNED MEDIA PLACEMENTS
ESPN.com-Dallas Cowboys' Taco Charlton says name has attracted endorsement opportunities
ABC News-Cowboys' Taco Charlton hearing from endorsers over nickname
CBS Dallas Fort Worth-Taco Charlton Already Getting Taco Endorsement Calls
Sports Foodie-News Cowboys DE "Taco: Charlton Already Bringing in Endorsements
SCOUT-Cowboys 1st+10: Taco, Cheeto and the Draft
NFL-Most worrisome picks
CW33 - NewsFix-Dallas Cowboys first-round pick Taco Charlton arrives in the Big D
ESPN.co.uk-Taco Sell: New Cowboy's name attracting deals
Fort Worth Star Telegram -Taco and lamp companies are lining up to sponsor these NFL rookies with unusual names
KERA-Here's How Dallas Cowboys' New Pass Rusher Taco Charlton Got His Texas
Chronicle-Eagles’ Mathews, Smallwood and Co. may have reason to worry
CBS 11-Taco Charlton Teams Up with Taco Bueno
WBAP-Taco Bueno Announces Partnership with Dallas Cowboys Rookie Taco Charlton
Fox 4 News-Cowboys rookie Taco Charlton signs endorsement deal with Taco Bueno
Yahoo Sports-Taco Charlton gets deal with Mexican restaurant chain
ABC News-Taco Charlton gets deal with Mexican restaurant chain
Bleacher Report-Taco Charlton Inks Endorsement Contract with Restaurant Taco Bueno
NBC Sports-Taco Charlton Finally Gets His Taco Endorsement Deal
ESPN-Taco Charlton gets deal with Mexican restaurant chain
105.3 The Fan-Taco Gets a "Bueno" Endorsement
SB Nation-Dallas Cowboys Rookie Taco Charlton to Partner With Taco Bueno: Report
NBC 5 DFW-Dallas Cowboys Rookie Taco Charlton to Partner With Taco Bueno
Sportsnaut-Taco Charlton finally lands taco endorsement deal
CBS Sports-Taco Charlton fulfills his destiny by signing an endorsement deal with Taco Bueno
247 Sports-Taco Charlton lands major endorsement, and this one makes sense
The Dallas Morning News-Cowboys' Taco Charlton on finally inking deal with Taco Bueno
Detroit Free Press-Ex-Michigan DE Taco Charlton cashes in on name with Taco Bueno endorsement
ProFootballTalk-Taco Charlton finally gets his taco endorsement deal
Dallas Sports News-Cowboys' Taco Charlton on finally inking deal with Taco Bueno
The Comeback-Taco Charlton, who loves tacos, signs endorsement deal with Taco Bueno
The Score-Cowboys rookie Taco Charlton signs deal to endorse tacos
WFAA-Taco Charlton, Taco Bueno team up with endorsement deal
NFL.com-Cowboys DE Taco Charlton to partner with Taco Bueno
NY Daily News-Cowboys rookie Taco Chalrton lands Taco Bueno endorsement deal (of course)
Sporting News-Cowboys rookie Taco Charlton lands inevitable taco endorsement
UPI-Dallas Cowboys' Taco Charlton finally gets taco chain endorsement
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