Taco Bell #OnlyInTheApp

Services: Public Relations Strategy and Social Media Measurement Impact & Reporting

With so many food chains promoting their new apps, it’s tough to break into the news even when you’re swinging for a titan like Taco Bell. When it was time to roll out their new app to promote in-app ordering and menu customizations, we new we needed a big PR stunt that would get people’s attention and truly embrace the Live Mas slogan.

In order to draw attention to the app and boost downloads, we ordered a total social media blackout with the hashtag #OnlyInTheApp, meaning the only way any fans would be getting any Taco Bell goodness, was in their new app. We streamlined fans to go to one place and managed to make it appear like all the posts previously shared by Taco Bell on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Tumblr and Google+ had been permanently deleted (even though they weren’t thanks so some negotiation).

Within 24 hours, the Taco Bell app had broken into the Top 25 Chart after the blackout stunt. It was so popular, it was downloaded more than Google Maps, Spotify and Gmail.

Additionally, we provided gift cards to influencers and members of the media to test out the app for themselves and select a small list of outlets we chose to share the embargo with. We were so pleased with the success from this campaign, and so was Taco Bell considering they jumped from their usual spot at 60 on the app download list to 24.

My job specifically was to calculate how many social media impressions we had obtained and how many outlets covered the story so I can share the information directly with our clients. Turns out, we gathered over 4.5 million impressions from media coverage. Outlets like Forbes, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Marketing Dive and more share the Taco Bell app success, making this one of the most memorable and successful campaigns ever launched.