Taco Bell• • Social Media used as a

Crisis Management response, as opposed to a company initiative.

• An Alabama Law Firm filed a class-action suit claiming Taco Bell meat was not real “Beef.”

OBJECTIVES/PURPOSE•Respond to the Alabama firm class action lawsuit filed in January.

•Prevent sales from decreasing due to the lawsuit

•Reassure Taco Bell customers of the quality of the restaurant chain’s products.

Game Plan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah05FEWcJWM

• Taco Bell presented a series of YouTube videos and Facebook/Twitter publications.

• Greg Creed, company president, gave out the “Secret recipe”

• They had the links to the videos and every press release on their official website.

Evaluation• Taco Bell demonstrated confidence by using their

defensive strategy.

• Facebook “Likes” have increased by a 1,000,000 since January.

• The lawsuit was dropped.

• Taco Bell received exposure and media coverage.

Public Relations Role• The PR strategy used

demonstrated an:“I’ve got nothing to hide

approach.”

• The use of Social Media was selected because the initial attention received, came through the Internet.

Public Relations Role• • The PR contact

information through the website went directly to Taco Bell.

• No details on whether the response was created through an agency or the in-house dept.

• Was it efficient?