Taco Bell Learns Valuable Lesson on ‘Community’
Taco Bell is learning the power of ‘community’ the hard way, and it’s a good lesson for all marketers in the house.
Taco Bell spotted the emerging trend in urban vinyl toys, spawned by KidRobot, and decided to do something similar for their kids meals. The result was a creation called ‘Bellhedz’.
Bellhedz’ bare a strong resemblance to the Dunny that KidRobot popularized, largely led by Tristan Eaton. Eaton now leads an impassioned community of ‘art collectors’ that run rampant at shows like Comicon.
Lesson #1
When there is real community behind something like the Dunny, don’t ever rip them off, especially if you are corporate America
At the same time Taco Bell was launching their copycat toys, the urban vinyl enthusiast flooded the same location with a flash mob of their own. Their rally, aptly named Death to false vinyl rally, drew thousands of people and tons of free press.
If you search for Bell Hedz, 90% of the posts in Google are about Taco Bell ripping off the design community.
Lesson #2
When you’ve made a mistake, acknowledge it quickly, and involve the community in your resolution.
This is not the kind of press Taco Bell wants or needs. If they would have pulled their toys quicker, apologized publicly, and tried to involve the community in the resolution, they could have salvaged the situation.
Instead Taco Bell did the opposite. They called their lawyers, they pressed on with Bell Hedz anyway, and it culminated into a marketing disaster. One that will live with them for a while.
If you are a marketer in 2009, you need to be hyper aware of the marketplace conversations happening around your brand. You need to start marketplace conversations that advance your initiatives, address customer concerns, and build trust in you as a source of information for your industry.
Community matters. It’s an investment. But one that pays off in the most important circumstances.
3 Responses to “Taco Bell Learns Valuable Lesson on ‘Community’”
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[Blog Post] Taco Bell learns valuable lesson involving the power of ‘Community’ http://bit.ly/2K9TBY #fb #bellhedz
Yup. RT @sdmatt: [Blog Post] Taco Bell learns valuable lesson involving the power of ‘Community’ http://bit.ly/2K9TBY #fb #bellhedz
Taco Bell learns valuable lesson involving the power of ‘Community’ http://bit.ly/2K9TBY #fb #bellhedz (rt @dodgrr) (via @sdmatt)