Taco Bell jumps in with tweets and video ads

Tressie Lieberman

There's a wonderful, potentially mysterious story on this one.  Trust me, and bear with me.

Tressie Lieberman is Director of Digital and Social Marketing at Taco Bell, and she know very well that nowadays you have to have a pulse on what's hot and trending, socially speaking, and you have to act quickly on your marketing ideas.

Of course, she cannot just do anything her pulse or creativity tells her to do.  I don't imagine she has a limitless budget.  But while some ad campaigns do require time, effort and planning, some must move, move, move without hesitation.

There was no time for rest this past Labor Day for Taco Bell’s social marketing team, busy shooting a YouTube video about a fan who started a drawing club out of the chain’s Pacifica, Calif., location. 

The concept was pitched the previous Thursday, then developed and filmed over the holiday weekend. 

... Lieberman describes her job as a “daily adventure” where each morning begins with a staff meeting in which ideas just like this are hatched.

Whether it's the your iPhone videocam, or a easily portable Toshiba, you have to be ready to shoot and shoot well, and edit quickly, too, of course.  

"Bo, stop trying to make fetch happen"

Apparently Lieberman saw a chance, when The White House tweeted the message and photo above, in reference to the 2004 film "Mean Girls," and Taco Bell jumped right in.  I threw in my two cents, too.

If you saw 2004's "Mean Girls," you know the line. High-schooler Gretchen throws out the word "fetch" as a synonym for "cool," and head Mean Girl Regina blows up at her with "Gretchen, stop trying to make fetch happen! It's not going to happen!"

Reference:  'Mean Girls' fan Bo Obama is making 'fetch' happen.

Someone perpetuated a hoax on the remote town of Bethel, Alaska and convinced them that a Taco Bell was opening soon. Then they found out it was all made up. When the story started making headlines and we caught wind of it, our team decided to do something about it. "Do something" like drop a Taco Bell Truck in town by helicopter and serve the whole town Doritos Locos Tacos. 

In a matter of days, the team went from idea, to production, to live on air and on the web. In social media, we live tweeted #OperationAlaska as it was happening and fans began to follow along to see what came next. 30 second TV spots aired just days after shooting, which drove viewers to see the full story online. At the website, viewers could also explore bonus footage, and react through social media. It became the feel good taco story of the year.

Reference:  Operation Alaska.

Of course, this video took more production planning, time and effort.  But I really love it!  Definitely a feel-good story.

But then I wondered, Who perpetuated that hoax?  Hmm.