Mad TacoA Taco Evolution

03 Overview04 Key Research Findings06 Brand Resonance & Equity08 Target Market & Competition10 Brand Audit14 “Mad About” Campaign16 Creative Brief18 Big Idea & Execution Plan22 Final Thoughts24 Appendix

Key Problem & ObjectiveOverviewKey ProblemMad Taco is a gourmet, fast-casual restaurant specializing in tacos, Latin American pizzas, and chef-in-spired margaritas. The restaurant opened May 1, 2015. Given the recent opening of the business, brand awareness is Mad Taco’s biggest challenge in extending the brand to Texas A&M students.

Key ObjectiveIncrease patronage of Texas A&M students.

Research Objectives & MethodsResearch ObjectivesWe studied the 18-24 year old Texas A&M student population to measure Mad Taco’s current brand awareness, brand perceptions, and the effectiveness of Mad Taco’s pricing strategy when compared to students’ purchasing behavior.

Research Methods• 10 Observations• 9 in-person interviews• 208 survey respondents

Key ResearchFindings

ObservationsObservations• Students presented the Hooked App on their phone when ordering• Students and nonstudent adults enjoyed specialty margaritas• Mad Taco employees generously handed out gift cards to customers• We experienced exceptional customer service during every visit. Mad Taco’s employees exemplify Peter Madden’s goal of amazing customers and creating loyalty through great customer service.

InterviewsPerception of PriceAll of the Interviewees expressed that Mad Taco offers great quality, taste, and a favorable atmosphere. However, they mentioned Mad Taco as “Expensive.” After further analysis, we concluded that in their eyes Mad Taco is not expensive but “Overpriced.” Students believe the prices are reasonable, but not for the portion sizes. Portion size does not match price. Students would purchase more and visit more often if prices were lower or portion sizes were larger.

“Ferrari of Tacos”The “Ferrari of tacos” slogan has a price perception attached to it. Students assume Mad Taco is “Pricey” or “Expensive,” thus preventing some students from trialing the brand.

Risky MAD ‘RitasInterviewees would like to try Mad Taco’s MAD ‘Ritas but are apprehensive to do so. MAD ‘Ritas are so unique that they are perceived as a risky purchase. Students are fearful they will pay around $5 and not enjoy their order.

Choosing a Taco EstablishmentWhen choosing a taco establishment, most students choose between a set of restaurants. Fuego Tortilla Grill and Torchy’s Tacos are the most popular. If Fuego Tortilla Grill and Torchy’s Tacos were not listed as a student’s favorites, the restaurants were at least listed in the student’s consideration set.

SurveySurvey• 208 students enrolled in MKTG 321/409 were surveyed• The majority of students eat tacos 1-2 times per week• Taste and quality of food are the main drivers for students when choosing a taco establishment• Word-of-mouth through friends has been the primary source of Mad Taco’s awareness • The Hooked App reaches more students than any other marketing effort

Brand Resonance& Equity

Sources of LoyaltyExisting Customer BaseLoyal Maddens Casual Gourmet customers provided an already established customer base.

GiveawaysGiveaways will continue to build brand resonance • Free t-shirt giveaways• Employees each always have 5-6 gift cards on hand to pass out to the public and in-store• $500 Starbucks promotional giveaway• 150 free drinks at Cedar Lane when students connected with Mad Taco on social media• Feeding local business employees (apartment turns, Aggieland Outfitters)

Radio AdsMad Taco aired radio ads on AM 1150 during the summer in order to generate brand awareness in its opening months.

Loyalty ProgramMad Taco has a free sign-up loyalty program in place. The program offers a $10 gift card for every $100 spent.

Print AdsPeter Madden paid to have an advertisement featured in the December 2015 ‘Taco’ Issue of Texas Monthly Magazine.

Target Market& Competition

Target Market

Total PopulationTexas A&M enrollment as of 2015: 58, 577

Age DistributionPopulation between the ages of 18-21: 48.2%Population between the ages of 22-25: 36.5%

Gender DistributionFemales: 47.6%Male: 52.4%

Distribution of Students by CollegeAgriculture: 14.6%Architecture: 4.2%Business: 10.9%Education: 12.3%Engineering: 23.3%George Bush School of Government: 0.7%Geosciences: 2.4%Liberal Arts: 14.7%Science: 6.6%Veterinary Medicine: 4.8%General Studies: 5.1%Other: 0.2%

Competition

Tagline: “Grab Life by the Taco”Locations: 4Mission: Extreme combinations and authentic Mexican food in outrageous portions with mouth watering flavors.

Tagline: “Living the Damn Good Taco Dream”Locations: 12Mission: Constantly trying to improve our operations and our relationship with the environment. With your understanding, we’re aimed at more responsible products and processes. In the meantime, take what you need, reuse what you can.

Tagline: “Fresh. Fast. Fun.”Locations: 99Mission: To focus full attention on promptly and efficiently pro-viding guests with generous helpings of uniquely flavorful foods at a fair price, in a fun atmosphere.

BrandAudit

Brand InventoryLogoThe Mad Taco skull logo is colorful and edgy, playing into the Latin culture. The logo includes fun, unusual elements such as an avocado in the design. The logo is consistently used on menus, interior decorations, merchandise, and other branded material.

SloganMad Taco’s current slogan is “Ferrari of tacos.” While the slogan can be found on the website, it is not heavily pushed or communicated to consumers.

T-shirtsMad Taco has 8 different colors of t-shirts all with the same design: the logo on the front with “MAD taco” on the back. They also have an “Aggie” football inspired maroon t-shirt with the logo on the front with a football that has “MAD taco” printed on the football, and “Taco up, Ags!” on the back. In addition to these T-shirts, Mad Taco sells a three-quarter sleeved shirt, which is grey with maroon sleeves.

Tanks & KooziesTank tops are available in a variety of colors. 500 Koozies were also given away in the Fall 2015 Semester.

CharacterPeter Madden is the founder and owner of Mad Taco. He is active in the Bryan/College Station community and also owns an upscale restaurant in the historic district of downtown Bryan, Maddens Casual Gourmet. Peter is the culinary inspiration behind all of Mad Taco’s special and unique menu items.

Brand Inventory ContinuedWebsiteThe Mad Taco website is located at www.madtaco.com. The main page of the website features the business’s tagline: “The Next Evolu-tion of the Taco Meal.” Tabs on the left allow the viewer to read about Mad Taco’s story, view the menu, location, and contact the business. The website is well designed and allows the visitors to easily connect with Mad Taco on Twitter, Instagram, and Yelp.

FacebookMad Taco’s Facebook page is located at www.facebook.com/Mad-TacoTX. Mad Taco consistently meets their goal of one social media post per day. Each day they select a different color t-shirt and post about it on social media for their “t-shirt color of the day” campaign. They also post other news related to Mad Taco. Currently, 3,086 people “like” Mad Taco’s Facebook page. The business is highly inter-active with customers on Facebook, making it easy to “like” and comment on their posts and share the brand with their friends.

TwitterMad Taco’s Twitter page is located at https://twitter.com/MadTacoTX. The business currently has 1,503 followers. The Twitter posts are fully integrated with Facebook posts. Mad Taco stays active on Twit-ter, responding to and “favoriting” consumers’ tweets.

InstagramMad Taco’s Instagram is located at www.instagram.com/MadTacoTX. Mad Taco posts daily images that are integrated with their other social media accounts.

Brand Exploratory

Survey Details• 208 survey respondents from Texas A&M’s Behavioral Research Lab• Students enrolled in MKTG 321/409 were surveyed• Questions focused on brand recognition, behavioral loyalty, and brand imagery• 5 questions addressed awareness of the Mad Taco brand• 3 questions asked respondents to rank Mad Taco relative to main competitors• 2 questions captured respondent’s feelings toward the prices of Mad Taco• Captured demographic information

Observation DetailsBetween all group members, we visited Mad Taco on ten occasions. We visited during peak and non-peak times, weekdays and weekends for lunch and dinner. The quality of food was consistently excellent, and customer service was always exceptional.

Interview DetailsThe purpose of the interviews rather than conducting a focus group was to gather deeper, unbiased responses. We chose individuals who have and have not visited Mad Taco, obtaining a diverse group of respondents.

Interviewee Demographics• Texas A&M students• 3 males, 6 females• Age range: 20-23• Have not heard of: 4• Have heard of but not visited: 1• Visited: 4

CreativeBrief

Who are we targeting?Since opening, Mad Taco has had difficulties building brand awareness among students. Mad Taco’s goal is to increase the patronage of Texas A&M students.

Created By:Kody Burden, Abbe Emerson, Matt Gallaway, Courtney Greenblum, Jack Grimes, Grant Wimberley

Mad Taco

Creative Brief

What is the most persuasive idea we can convey?We want to show Texas A&M students that Mad Taco is evo-lutionizing the taco meal with creative and specialty offerings. Chef inspired creations such as tamale bread, latin pizzas and unique margaritas bring urban cuisine to College Station.

What do we want customers to think? We want college students to know Mad Taco has competitive pricing, but offers supreme quality and specialty products.

What are current perceptions?College students are either unaware of Mad Taco, or they assume the prices are too expen-sive given the “Ferrari of tacos” slogan.

“Mad About” Campaign

Driving FactorsDriving Factors• Students are unaware of the Mad Taco brand. Moreover, students are unaware of their special and unique menu items and how Mad Taco differs from competitors.• Mad Taco is not as familiar of a brand as competitors.• Interacting with students directly on social media channels through contests, rewards, and incentives will induce trial and awareness of Mad Taco.

GoalsGoals• Introduce students to Peter Madden’s culinary background and his creativity in creating urban cuisine.• Allow students to interact with Mad Taco through weekly/monthly incentives for students to trial the brand and build loyalty.

BudgetBudgetConsidering a monthly marketing budget of $1000, we have allotted $600 per month to continue Mad Taco’s current marketing efforts. Per our conversations with owner Peter Madden, giveaways and guer-rilla marketing efforts have been successful in the past. We are proposing the remaining $400 be dedicated to the “Mad About” Campaign.

Example Monthly Budget

Mad About Campaign $400Print: $100Digital: $0 Event Sampling: $300

Giveaways: $200T-Shirts: $100Gift Cards: $100

Guerrilla Marketing Events: $400 Starbucks Free Coffee on Mad TacoRent out Movie TheatreFree Drinks at Cedar Lane on Mad Taco

Mad About Campaign: PrintMad About Campaign: Event SamplingGiveawaysGuerrilla Marketing Events

Big Idea &Execution Plan

“Experience the Madness. Savor the Greatness”Big IdeaTexas A&M students want to feel they are getting a good value for every dollar. Mad Taco has high quality offerings at competitive prices. Mad Taco’s current slogan, “Ferrari of tacos,” registers an expensive price perception in the minds of students. Replacing the current slogan with, “Experience the Madness. Savor the Greatness.,” will instill a positive association of Mad Taco’s quality and taste without the negative price perception of an expensive, luxury racing car. The suggested slogan also strikes curiosity which will help lead to trial.

Mad Taco’s current tagline is “The Next Evolution of the Taco Meal.” We recommend shortening the tag-line to one consistent variation, “A Taco Evolution” and push the consistency of this message in all of the brand’s messages. The simplicity of a shorter tagline will have a higher recall with consumers.

Tying Research Insights Into Big IdeasStudents feel the “Ferrari of tacos” signifies a higher price. However from the survey, taste and qual-ity are the main drivers of choosing a taco shop. The slogan, “Experience the Madness. Savor the Greatness.,” ties into the “Mad” brand and the “Mad About” Campaign. The slogan strikes curiosity among students, which leads to trial of the brand. “Savor the Greatness” addresses the quality and taste of Mad Taco, which are the top two priorities students expressed as important in choosing a taco estab-lishment. It also negates negative price perceptions without sacrificing quality.

Execution PlanExecution PlanMad Taco has an unconventional style of marketing. To add to their nontraditional marketing efforts, we have created a sample of “Mad About” campaign ads, involving a mixture of both digital and print ads.

The “Mad About” campaign will tie into the brand’s current “Mad” theme, eliciting positive feelings from consumers and would last for one school year. The campaign will tie into our suggested tagline of “A Taco Evolution.” The “Mad About” campaign will introduce Peter Madden as the “Chef Behind the Madness” in order to connect Peter directly to the brand. Students will be introduced to Peter, learn about his culinary background, and understand the “Taco Evolution” story. Each week, Peter or Mad Taco can roll out a new “Mad About”, which can be an ingredient featured in a new menu item, a current event, or a seasonal promotion that contributes to the idea of “A Taco Evolution.”

Together, all of the “Mad About” posts will explain to students why Mad Taco is unlike any other taco establishment and is truly “A Taco Evolution.” Each “Mad About” post will be followed by a question mark, making it personable, interactive, and actionable. Phrasing the posts this way asks the viewer if they are mad about that week’s ingredient, menu item, current event, or seasonal promotion. “Mad” is used posi-tively and signifies enthusiasm, not negativity.

Digital Print“Meet the Chef Behind the Madness”To kick start the “Mad About” campaign, we recommend Peter Madden creating a You Tube video show-casing his background and skills as a culinary genius and innovator.

“Mad About Margaritas?”An example of a “Mad About” that can be introduced one week is a margarita challenge contest. The contest will generate buzz, and interactivity with students while cultivating customer loyalty. Students will submit creative and unique margarita flavors that challenge Peter’s culinary ability. Peter will then choose his top five flavors and open a poll on social media platforms for students to vote. Peter will use his culi-nary experience to develop the margarita flavor students voted on and offer it at a discount for students to try the new flavor.

Event SamplingEvent sampling will continue to tie into the “Mad About” campaign. There are many on-campus events that would offer Mad Taco an opportunity to reach hundreds of students. An example of a student event Mad Taco can attend is MaysFest on West Campus for business students. The week of MaysFest, Mad Taco can ask “Mad About MaysFest?” and bring samples of tacos for students to trial. Mad Taco could also provide a certain number of tacos for the event and wrap them with coupons to increase awareness and trial.

Student Discount HandbookStudent discount handbooks are distributed to many local businesses for Texas A&M students at the be-ginning of each semester. These booklets contain coupons for local restaurants. Mad Taco can continue the “Mad About” campaign theme and offer a “Mad About Tacos?” discount in the handbook. With thou-sands of students viewing the handbook, the awareness of Mad Taco would significantly increase as well as trial when students are provided a discount.

FinalThoughts

Additional RecommendationsFlight of MargaritasStudents would be interested in trying the unique margaritas for the novelty, but do not want to pay the higher prices because they believe they run a high risk of not liking the flavor. Mad Taco should minimize the perceived risk to increase trial. One method of doing this is of-fering a flight of margaritas, but also by having specials on featured MAD ‘Ritas and rotating through the flavors.

Reward Shared ContentThis would be used to increase Mad Taco’s awareness by word-of-mouth advertising via social media. Students are more likely to share Facebook posts, re tweet the brand, and “like” social media channels when there are incentives for doing so.

Drink DestinationMad Taco should push their Happy Hour at a consistent time and advertise the specials on the website, in-store and social media outlets.

LocationTo help students easily find Mad Taco, feather flags can be inexpen-sively placed outside of the establishment closer to Texas Avenue and University.

Appendix

Interview OutlineQualitative Interview Procedures - Mad TacoSupplies: Laptop to take notes on, and exhibits prepared for projective techniques.

Part 1: Ice Breaker: Introduce yourself and ask their name and major.

1. Where in Bryan/College Station do you go out to eat tacos? 2. Do you have a favorite taco place? Why? a. What do you like most about that place? b. What are the main factors you take into account when choosing to eat at a taco place?

Part 2: Projective Technique: For all respondents, we will use guided projective techniques to describe the typical customer of Mad Taco, Torchy’s Tacos, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, and Fuego Tortilla Grill, and the reasoning behind their answers.

The following exercise cues will guide discussion. Using company logos as recall aids, ask the following projective exercise questions.

Now consider what the typical customer at (Company Name) is like. - What kind of clothes are they wearing? - What do they do in their free time? - What kind of activities are they interested in? - How old are they?

I want you to picture an imaginary trip to (Company Name) in your mind. - When you go to (Company Name), what time is it? - Are you there by yourself or with others? - What has brought you there; ie, where are you coming from/where are you going? - Look around the restaurant, what things really stick out to you? - What is the atmosphere of the restaurant like? (Looking for single word associations)

Part 3: Research Objectives:

Part 3a: Awareness of Mad TacoHave you heard of Mad Taco? If so... - How did you hear of Mad Taco? - When did you hear of Mad Taco? - Do you know where Mad Taco is located? - Have you been exposed to Mad Taco on social media? - Have you seen Mad Taco’s promotional or marketing efforts? - If so, what was it and where did you see it?

Interview Outline ContinuedPart 3a: Awareness of Mad Taco ContinuedAre you aware of Mad Taco’s specialty items? (Margaritas and homemade tortilla) - Have you tried any of Mad Taco’s margaritas (Mad ‘Rita’s)? - If so, which one? - If not, would you be willing to try a non-traditional margarita such as beet, smoked jala peno, sage or pineapple basil? - Did you know that Mad Taco invented the homemade tamale bread tortilla?

Are you aware that the owner of Mad Taco also owns another establishment in Bryan/College Station? - If so, what is it?

Part 3b: Perceptions of Mad Taco Have you been to Mad Taco before? (if yes is answered, proceed to question set 1, if no, proceed to question set 2)

1. Respondents who have been to Mad Taco - What did you think of it? - What did you like the best? The least? - When someone mentions Mad Taco, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? - Would you recommend it to a friend? - Why or Why not?2. Respondents who have not been to Mad Taco. (Provide brief description as Ferrari of Tacos and a logo as a recall aid.) - After hearing that description, would you visit Mad Taco? - What type of person would you expect to see at Mad Taco? - In three words, what do you anticipate Mad Taco to be like?

3c: Pricing of Mad Taco - What would make you choose a place like Mad Taco or Torchy’s Tacos over Fuzzy’s Taco Shop? - Price? Quality? Distance? - What normally takes you to a place like Fuego Tortilla Grill or Torchy’s Tacos? - Why do you think these places are popular with students? - What makes each of these places unique? - Do you think the price is worth the value of the food you are receiving? - If not, do you think the value of Torchy’s Tacos food is worth the price you pay? - Mad Taco advertises themselves as “The Ferrari of tacos” and prides themselves on fresh, high quality ingredients for their gourmet tacos. - What would you expect to pay per taco? - What would the ordering process look like, and how would the food look when it is deliv ered to you?

Interview Outline Continued - How do daily specials influence where you go to buy tacos? - Are there any taco specials that you frequently take advantage of? What and where?

Additional Probes: - Do you go eat tacos with friends? Alone? - Where are you coming from and where are you going when you decide to eat tacos? - Do you already know where you will go when you decide to eat tacos? - What time of day/meal do you prefer to eat tacos? - Are other Mexican food restaurants in your consideration set when you decide to get tacos? - Do you prefer to sit down or pick up a to-go order when you eat tacos?

Conclusion: Do you have any questions about the research? Thank you for your time!

Survey QuestionsQ1. How many times a week do you go out to eat for:

Never 1-2 3-4 5 or moreBreakfast Lunch Dinner

Q2. How many times a week do you go out to eat tacos? - Never - 1-2 - 3-4 - 5 or more

Q3. Which of the following places have you been to in Bryan/ College Station? Please check all that apply. - Torchy’s Tacos - Fuego Tortilla Grill - Fuzzy’s Taco Shop - Mad Taco - None of these

Survey Questions ContinuedQ4. To what extent do these factors influence your choice of a taco establishment? Does not influence Somewhat does not influence Undecided Somewhat influences Strongly InfluencesPrice Location Alcohol offered Daily specials Quality of food Taste of food

Atmosphere

Q5. On average, what is the most you would be willing to pay per taco? - Less than $2 - $2.00 - $2.50 - $3.00 - $3.50 - $4.00 - $4.50 - $5.00 - More than $5

Q6. What is your favorite taco place in Bryan/College Station? - Mad Taco - Fuzzy’s Taco Shop - Fuego Tortilla Grill - Torchy’s Tacos - Other ____________________

Q7. Have you heard of Mad Taco? - Yes - NoIf No is selected, skip to Q10

Q8. How did you hear of Mad Taco? (only display for those who said “Yes” to Q7) - Friend - Social Media - Drove past the store - Hooked App - Professor - Other ____________________

Survey Questions ContinuedQ9. Which of the following of Mad Taco’s social media outlets have you been exposed to? Please check all that apply. - Facebook - Instagram - Twitter - None Q10. Have you seen Mad Taco’s promotional or marketing efforts? - Yes - NoIf no is selected, skip to Q12.

Q11. Where did you see Mad Taco’s promotional or marketing efforts? (only display for those who said “Yes” to Q10) Q12. With 1 being not at all likely, and 5 being very likely, please rate your likeliness to visit Mad Taco for the following specialty items: 1 2 3 4 5Mad ‘Ritas Homemade Tamale Bread

Q13. What type of customer do you associate Mad Taco with? Please check all that apply. - College Students - Families - Business Professionals - Corporate catering event - Other ____________________

Q14. in your opinion, rank Torchy’s Tacos, Mad Taco, Fuego Tortilla Grill, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop according to their quality of service. ______ Torchy’s Tacos ______ Mad Taco ______ Fuego Tortilla Grill ______ Fuzzy’s Taco Shop

Survey Questions ContinuedQ15. In your opinion, rank Torchy’s Tacos, Mad Taco, Fuego Tortilla Grill, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop based on food presentation. ______ Torchy’s Tacos ______ Mad Taco ______ Fuego Tortilla Grill ______ Fuzzy’s

Q16. In your opinion, rank Torchy’s Tacos, Mad Taco, Fuego Tortilla Grill, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop based on flavor. ______ Torchy’s Tacos ______ Mad Taco ______ Fuego Tortilla Grill ______ Fuzzy’s

Q17. If you’ve eaten at Mad Taco before, how likely are you to recommend it to a friend? Very Unlikely Unlikely Undecided Likely Very Likely

Q18. In regards to price, Mad Taco is: - Overpriced - Fair - Underpriced - Not sure

Q19. Relative to price, Mad Taco’s portion sizes are: - Too small - Just right - Too big - Not sure

Q20. What is your gender? - Male - Female

Q21. What is your age?

__________________

Survey StatisticsEffectiveness of current marketing approach

Marketing Effectiveness Have Seen Marketing Have Not Seen MarketingSample Size 28 95

Sample Proportion .607 .453

The above table represents the number of customers who have been to Mad Taco, and whether they have or have not seen any of Mad Taco’s current marketing or promotional activities. After running a z-test for the difference of two proportions, we have obtained a p-value of .15. Therefore, we can be confi-dent within an 85% interval that Mad Taco’s current marketing and promotional activities are effective at getting customers to visit the restaurant.

Meal time that is most popular for Mad TacoDinner Statistics Mean Median Count Confidence Interval

Mad Taco 2.678 3 59 .196Fuzzy’s Taco Shop 2.585 3 82 .154

Torchy’s Tacos 2.575 2 160 .110Fuego Tortilla Grill 2.596 2 183 .106

We can interpret that of the individuals who have eaten at Mad Taco previously, they are more likely to go out for dinner 1-2 times per week. However, when we run an ANOVA analysis to determine whether there is any significance in this information, we obtain a p-value of .820, which suggest there is no significant difference between competitors in terms of choice of taco shop. Therefore, we can make the conclusion that there is no single preferred taco shop in the Bryan/College Station area.

Margaritas as compared to other offerings to drive future visitationBy performing a paired two sample t-test, we have determined that more of the respondents who have not been to Mad Taco before rated Mad ‘Ritas as a larger driver for future visitation than the homemade tamale bread. The Mad ‘Ritas were rated as an average of 3.302 out of 5, compared to the tamale bread, which was rated at 2.698. We also determined that these values are significant at a 99.998% confidence level.

What is the dollar valuation of fair pricing, and how does that compare to portion size?The average prices of Mad Taco’s taco menu items are $4.05. However, respondents valued fair pric-ing at a 95% confidence interval of 4.556 and 5.610, which suggests that a fair price would be around $3.50.

Mad Taco Marketing TeamKody Burden, Abbe Emerson, Matthew Gallaway

Courtney Greenblum, Jack Grimes, Grant Wimberley