Why I think Taco Bell’s Branding is Brilliant - Opinion Piece
In 2016, Taco Bell underwent a massive rebranding, completely transforming itself as a company. The changes encompassed everything from logo design to building exteriors, interiors, and menu modifications. Despite the extensive overhaul, the restaurant managed to preserve its iconic essence, a common objective in most rebrands. The new logo remains recognizable even without the "Taco Bell" text, the redesigned buildings have a distinct yet familiar appearance, and the addition of new menu items seamlessly complements the classic offerings. However, instead of dwelling on these widely known elements of Taco Bell, I want to emphasize the sheer brilliance of their branding strategy, which revolves around a deep understanding and dedication to their target market.
Very few, if any, companies openly discuss their target market or customers, yet every company has them. When considering marketing and advertising, identifying the audience you are targeting is arguably the most crucial aspect. The aim is to make your message resonate and evoke emotions within your customers, so they constantly think about the brand and its objectives. In Taco Bell's case, their ultimate goal is to entice people to purchase their food. Although Taco Bell doesn't publicly disclose its target customer, their rebranding efforts, combined with information circulating on the internet, make it quite evident who their intended audience is.
Imagine it's 1:30 am. Max has just finished studying for the day and decides to unwind by smoking some weed. As his hunger kicks in, he craves some late-night munchies and turns to DoorDash to satisfy his cravings. This is when Max would choose Taco Bell as his go-to option. This is Taco Bell’s audience! A late-night stoner who wants something delicious.
When examining Taco Bell's customer focus, their rebranding efforts align perfectly with their target demographic. The primary objective of their recent advertising campaigns revolves around the concept of "late night." This theme shows through in their color palette, featuring darker purples and neon hues that emulate the ambiance of illuminated night-time neon lights. Moreover, Taco Bell's messaging is explicitly geared towards this particular time of day because this is when the usual customer would order their food from the restaurant.
Their strategic approach to targeting their desired market is further exemplified by the choice of celebrities they collaborate with, such as Pete Davidson, one of today's most renowned comedians, who openly expresses his love for cannabis. By featuring him in commercials and social media engagements, Taco Bell demonstrates a deliberate and focused effort to appeal to their target audience.
Taco Bell's rebranding is a meticulously crafted tactic aimed at honing in on the audience they know will remain loyal to their brand and drive revenue. By explaining my perspective on their target audience and providing evidence of their marketing techniques that support this strategy, I hope you too can recognize how they are purposefully advertising with a specific type of person in mind and how it really is accurate and brilliant.
Hi Siena! I genuinely think this blog is amazing and especially unique. This post was really interesting to read and your microscopic observations are so intricate and detailed that the average person wouldn’t care to notice. I love how you wrote about the intended audience for Taco Bell, and how their marketing and re-branding has played such a major role in the people they attract, or at least want to. When you write about the “late night” concept of the fast food chain it makes total sense because of how their color palette contains a lot of cool, dark tones, and a lot of their advertisements depict people in “late night” situations. Your take on their strategic approach is an excellent example of how even businesses want to appeal to people through their advertising. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Siena, touching base on the skillful advertising from Taco Bell is unique and I never thought I would read about it, until today. It was a good read, and I didn't really think of it, nor did I notice the changes, so as I was reading your post I was nodding and was like "Wow I never thought of that." I know you were speaking specifically about Taco Bell, but the "late night" concept made me think of Jack in the Box as well because of their Munchie Meals, which is also fire. The hyperlinks you included also helped strengthen that Taco Bell knows specifically who they want to cater to as their target audience. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHi Siena! As a marketing major I found this blog post to be very interesting! I like how your mention that they shifted their branding to match more with their target demographic. Taco bell is definitely a more late night food and is for when the munchies kick in for sure. I do think they made a smart move with the rebranding and taking away the actual words of taco bell was smart because it is such a well known brand that it seemed unnecessary. Great job!
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