Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. hired the San Francisco office of Digitas as its interactive agency.
Digitas, part of Paris-based Publicis Groupe, will handle the social, mobile and other digital marketing for the Mexican-style fast-food chain. Taco Bell is part of Louisville, Ky.-based fast-food chain operator Yum Brands Inc. Digitas’ San Francisco office will handle the account with help from the agency’s Chicago offices. Taco Bell’s digital work had previously been handled by the Irvine office of Draftfcb, which created Taco Bell’s latest tag line, Live Más.
“Our core consumers are digitally-centric, and social and mobile play a huge role in how they communicate and make purchase decisions,” said Brian Niccol, Taco Bell’s chief marketing and innovation officer. “We were looking for a digital agency that could help us build the right platforms and programs to establish a dynamic, industry-leading digital consumer dialog.”
Draftfcb, part of New York-based Interpublic Group of Companies Inc., will continue to handle creative work for Taco Bell’s broadcast, merchandising and multicultural advertising, along with other duties.
Taco Bell spent $250 million on advertising last year, according to New York-based advertising and marketing research company Kantar Media, part of WPP PLC in Britain. The total does not include digital spend.
—Kari Hamanaka
