Taco Bell Tells “Taco Tales” in New Branded Content Approach

Taco Bell is rolling out weekly “Taco Tales” videos on YouTube in the first step of its latest effort to connect with its audience well beyond its restaurants. For Taco Bell, which posted its first video to YouTube in 2006, putting more emphasis on YouTube now makes sense. The brand saw the opportunity to start contributing like a fan or YouTube creator would, he said. Taco Bell and Madison & Vine worked to find an idea for each short video and “spin it into a story that really brings that original story to life in an unexpected way,” Mr. Rimsnider said. In the first video, a woman drops her car off with two somewhat baffled mechanics before heading to work. Later the mechanics pull up at the Taco Bell drive-thru in her car, only to see the woman working in the window. After the first run of six “Taco Tales,” Taco Bell plans to show a Taco Bell Clip Show to showcase fan content. Creating its own YouTube content may help Taco Bell stand out from what Mr. Rimsnider called the “sea of sameness” when it comes to brands delivering messages through social channels. Along with delivering somewhat common messages, brands sometimes repurpose content from one channel, such as Facebook, on another, such as Snapchat or Twitter. New forms of original programming are expected to follow.