Cheez-It Crunchwrap: Taco Bell Stunts Drive First Party App Growth
Sonic rebrands, dogs bite delivery workers, USPS overhaul in flux
Today’s edition is all about fast food and the postal service: two great tastes that taste great together. So read on to learn why Taco Bell is up and the mailman is down…
Today:
Marketing-Wrap Supreme: Taco Bell + Cheez-Its
Sonic Drives Towards Rebrand
Chart Time | Dog Bites (Delivery) Man
USPS Overhaul Flounders
LOYALTY | Cheez-It Crunchwrap Drives T-Bell First Party Traffic
The mad food scientists at Taco Bell are at it again, this time teaming up with Kellanova (née Kellogg’s non-cereal division) to introduce the Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme, as well as the Big Cheez-It Tostada for those of a more modest inclination. This Cheez-It based monstrosity (and we say that in the most loving way possible) is 16 times the size of the standard cracker, and its nationwide launch was first announced at T-Bell’s recent Live Más LIVE event in Vegas. The Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme and Big Cheez-It Tostada are available exclusively to Taco Bell Rewards Members in the Taco Bell app from 5/30 to 6/5, after which this LTO will be available to any mere mortal.
The Big Picture: So, why is this food-like product so interesting? Not for its culinary bonafides, but because of how it pushes consumers towards Taco Bell’s first party app and loyalty system. Getting hungry consumers to download the Taco Bell app (currently #4 in the iOS F&B category) means increased mind-share (you’ll see it on your phone’s home screen,) the ability to market directly to consumers with push notifications and email blasts, and something even more important: no third party marketplace fees, as this keeps folks from placing those orders on a brand-agnostic 3PD. While there are obviously plenty of ways to promote a branded app, stunts like this (or that aforementioned live event, which was also just for loyal Bell-heads) is a heck of a lot cheaper than a national ad campaign, or even say a sponsored listing on the app store.
ADVERTISING | Goodbye Two Guys, Sonic Rebrands
Sonic Drive-In, the nation’s 13th largest QSR, thinks it has a worthy replacement for its iconic (and can we say… more annoying than funny?) “Two Guys” ad campaign that it quietly killed off in 2020. Say hello to “LIVE FREE EAT SONIC” (oh boy, all caps…) and its initial ad spots, featuring the Sonic Department of Research and Deliciousment, and its supposed Chief Ingenuity Officer. The meat of the campaign is focused on how adaptable the resto’s menu is, as well as the fact that Sonic has retooled its french fry formula. “We have so much in store that will firmly re-establish what Sonic has already been known for — a brand that brings unexpected joy into people’s lives wherever and however it can,” notes Jed Cohen, Executive Creative Director of Mother Los Angeles, Sonic’s creative agency of record.
The Big Picture: Sonic has been in need of ad overhaul for some time now, although this pitch man feels a bit tired: yet another spokes-dude that’s halfway between Matthew McConaughey and Nick Offerman, zigging and zagging between playing it straight and being loud and outlandish. Sonic’s agency has been handling the account since 2019, survived an agency review last year, and has also cooked up noisy ads for the likes of Postmates, The Honest Company and Propel. As for Sonic, growth has been a tad flat since at least 2022, as it competes with its bigger siblings (Arby’s, Dunkin...) for mommy’s attention (Inspire Brands.) Inspire itself has been quietly looking to go public since the beginning of the year, having gobbled up delivery management startup Vromo to beef up its tech bonafides.
CHART TIME | Dog Bitiest States
The United States Postal Service has data that should make any delivery worker cower with fear: which states see the most canine attacks on mail and package carriers. Unfortunately, nobody seems to have taught the USPS about weighting data by population, so the dog bitiest states seem to mostly be the states with the most population, human or canine. Of the 10 states they break out the data for, Ohio is actually the worst per capita, followed by Missouri and Pennsylvania. The cities where mail carriers taste best are LA, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis and Cleveland, but again when you adjust that for population it really seems like there’s something amiss in the Midwest.
POLICY | USPS Slows Overhaul As Delivery Rates Falter
The postal service is pausing its mail processing operations until at least next January, as lawmakers get big mad at the beleaguered agency due to worsening service in select markets. First-class mail’s on-time delivery rate has fallen from 90.96% a year ago to 84.12% today, a far cry from its 92.5% target. Sadly marketing mail (aka junk mail) has stayed more or less steady, at 93.57%. USPS has recently completed overhauls in AZ, CA, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, NC, NJ OR, SC, TX, and VA.
The Big Picture: Postmaster General Louis Dejoy, a prolific GOP donor appointed in 2020 despite notable conflicts of interests, has been on a warpath to cut costs at the agency. Part of that push includes moving mail processing to fewer centers across the country. Markets that have already seen that change, like in Atlanta, have been treated to mail not just slowing down, but outright disappearing. GA Senator Jon Ossoff recently toured a facility in Palmetto and called it “devastating.”
A Few Good Links
Reliance JioMart plans quick commerce launch in India. Amid a surge of delivery-related double parking, cities turn to cameras to cut down on scofflaw motorists. Rubio’s shuttering 48 stores. Dutch Bros growth exec heads to Swig. Sonic sponsors X Games. Shein brings resale platform to Europe, plans UK IPO. Financial services players get into retail media networks. President Biden quashes wrongheaded effort to strip SEC of crupto regulatory powers. CA lawmakers mull law squeezing self checkout. Amazon talks up Grubhub engagement efforts. Paid truck parking is good (file this under: no parking should be free.) South Korea’s Paik Coffee readies for IPO. UAE-based Growdash raises $1.8M for restaurant marketing / ops software. Revenue falls at Red Robin. Trojan Battery debuts new EV battery pack for low speed vehicles. Domino’s pushes another 50% off week. Parking biggie LAZ enters Canada. Unlimeat kimbap gets slotted onto DashMart. Deliveroo launches initiative to nurture LGBTQIA+ resto talent. Feds looking at nine more Waymo incidents. Serve picks DriveU for AV connectivity.
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