Taco Bell Doritos Locos -- the merger of fast food and salty snacks – appears to have boosted consumer perception of both brands, especially with regular patrons of Mexican restaurants in the US.
A week after the campaign broke on March 8th, Mexican restaurant patrons’ perception of Taco Bell broke beyond the average perception for top national QSR chains, where it still remains by a healthy amount.
Although the original combo dish, which debuted along with the brand’s new “Live Mas” tagline, helped Taco Bell with Mexican QSR diners, it has had a milder positive impact with all adults 18+, who still perceive it below the average for top national QSR chains.
Doritos took a substantial and more persistent hike in perception with Mexican restaurant diners for nearly two months since the kickoff, only subsiding back to pre-campaign levels in the last 10 days.
Taco Bell and Doritos were measured with YouGov BrandIndex’s Buzz score, which asks respondents: “If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?” For this research, all respondents were screened in two categories: adults 18+ who have dined at a Mexican restaurant in the past month, and all adults 18+. The top national QSR brand average includes include Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Papa John’s, Arby’s, Burger King, KFC, Domino’s, Popeyes, Long John Silver, Chipotle and others.
YouGov BrandIndex measurement scores range from 100 to -100 and are compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive. A zero score means equal positive and negative feedback.
On March 8th, the day Doritos Locos premiered along with the “Live Mas” tagline,” Taco Bell had a 14 buzz score with Mexican restaurant diners, a few points below the 19 score for the top national QSR average. Over the course of the next two months, the brand twice achieved a score of 32, besting the QSR average by more than 13 points on both occasions. Taco Bell is currently at 29, compared to the top QSR national average of 20.
For all adults 18+, the story was also positive. In this demo on March 8th, Taco Bell had a 9 buzz score, which peaked on two weeks later, but with a 20 score, slightly ahead of the top QSR average of 19. Currently the Taco Bell buzz score is 16, well above where it was when the campaign started, but still a couple of points below the top national QSR buzz score of 19.
Doritos began the campaign with a 27 buzz score with Mexican restaurant diners, peaking at 50 and 49 twice in the next three weeks, before coming back to normal with a 29 score, tied with Taco Bell in the same demo.
