Ta.co
When Taco Bell approached us six years ago, they were facing stagnant sales, a lackluster brand image, and had lost their distinct voice. The quick-service restaurant industry was generally struggling, characterized by a sameness across brands. Our first step was to restore meaning to Taco Bell, introducing the concept of Live Más. This philosophy isn’t about making drastic life changes, such as quitting your job to travel; rather, it’s about seizing everyday chances to do something a bit different—like skipping work for a surf day, taking a different route, or choosing a taco over a burger. This new approach shaped our brand voice, tone, and actions. While television ads created excitement and boosted sales, their online customer experience was inconsistent and failed to match the brand's vibrancy. Most fast-food websites lacked appeal, resembling “corporate brochures,” which is why few people visit them. With Taco Bell’s brand identity established, we aimed to differentiate in the industry. The approach needed to feel more like a fan-driven initiative than a corporate one. We utilized our expertise in strategy, design, technology, and e-commerce to transform TacoBell.com from a basic site into a fully functional retail channel. The website now provides customers with unique features such as full item customization, personalized food preferences, and special offers based on purchasing habits, all designed to feel like they were crafted by fellow fans. The site’s tone, voice, and product photography were designed to resemble Instagram posts rather than stock images. Deutsch facilitated a series of Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions with Taco Bell IT stakeholders to create an effective architecture capable of managing traffic spikes. We continue to support ta.co and have enhanced the e-commerce API through conversational interfaces. Remarkably, without any advertising, the ta.co site generated over $10 million in additional sales in its first year, equivalent to 30 Taco Bell locations. Over the past five years, Taco Bell’s business has grown by 25%, and profits have risen by 19% this quarter alone, outpacing the entire Yum! portfolio.