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Del Taco taps al Punto Advertising to create its first Hispanic campaign

Laguna Hills-based Del Taco Inc. has tapped al Punto Advertising Inc. of Tustin to launch its first Hispanic advertising campaign.

“We can afford to look at some other media rather than what the al Punto folks call ‘Anglo,'” said Tim Hackbardt, Del Taco’s vice president of marketing.

Del Taco is seeing its 11th straight year of same-store sales growth, said Hackbardt, with restaurants reporting an average of $1 million in sales. The privately held chain, with 380 stores in 12 states, reported annual sales of $319 million in 2000, up 10% from 1999.

Even though Del Taco serves Mexican fast food, the company hasn’t directly pitched Spanish speakers before. The company’s revenue growth means Del Taco has more money to spend on marketing, including on the Hispanic market, which is growing faster than the general U.S. population.

Hackbardt declined to disclose figures but said Del Taco’s Hispanic budget will be “small.”

“We’re going to walk before we run,” he said.

Del Taco spent $6.4 million on traditional advertising in 2000, according to Competitive Media Reporting, a unit of Britain’s Taylor Nelson Sofres PLC. G & M; Plumbing ad shop in Los Angeles handles its general marketing account.

The Del Taco account brings al Punto back into the fast-food business, according to Eduardo Bottger, the ad shop’s creative director and president. The agency had worked for Tricon Global Restaurant Inc.’s KFC Corp., which now is handled by Adelante, the Hispanic marketing division of Costa Mesa-based DGWB.

“The exciting thing about Del Taco is even though sales are doing great, they’re ready to target an important consumer, which is Hispanic,” Bottger said. “Many times clients come to Hispanic because their sales are doing bad and they’re looking for additional revenue.”

Del Taco informally talked with eight other agencies,none reportedly from OC,to handle creative and strategic planning for its broadcast campaign, which is expected to break in the next few months, Hackbardt said. Eugene, Ore.-based Paradise Media, which handles Del Taco’s general market media buying, will help plan the Hispanic portion.

Hackbardt said he was looking for a small agency that could explain to him the basics of Hispanic marketing.

“Not being from Mexico or able to speak Spanish, I need to have someone that I can trust,” Hackbardt said. “I don’t know the market. I’m from Michigan.”

Del Taco is revealing little about the first campaign. Bottger said it will target,at least in part,Hispanic consumers age 18 and older who are bilingual or live in Spanish-speaking households.

The fast-food chain is jumping into the Hispanic market a little late compared to other businesses, including rival Taco Bell Corp., which reportedly spends about $203 million annually on advertising.

Hackbardt insists that Del Taco isn’t at a disadvantage. He and Bottger said the chain is looking for a long-term commitment.

“They want to do things right,” Bottger said. “The continuation of the program is not contingent on how many dollars they get in return the first quarter.” n

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