The Beefy Crunch Movement Story (as of 6/12/16)
The Beefy Crunch Movement is a social media campaign dedicated to bringing back Taco Bell’s Beefy Crunch Burrito. We are primarily on Facebook (41,500+) and Twitter (5,500+). This is our story…
The very brief summary:
Beefy Crunch Burrito with Flamin’ Hot Fritos (before any of the Doritos Tacos, Fritos Tacos, or Beefy Fritos Burrito) was introduced in December 2010. 6 months later in May 2011 it was discontinued and our movement was born.
December 2011, we are around 9k/10k fans. I’m invited to Taco Bell HQ to help announce the 2nd promotion. This lasts for 3 months and ends at the birth of the first Doritos Locos Taco in March 2012.
March 2013, the second Doritos Locos Taco is released. The next promotion of the Beefy Crunch Burrito would come in May 2013. It would last 3 months to end at the birth of the third Doritos Locos Taco in August 2013.
Jump ahead a year to August 2014, the Beefy Fritos Burrito with regular Fritos arrives as a permanent addition to the menu, no Beefy Crunch Burrito. December 2014, Crunchwrap Sliders (with Frito chips) debut. We are at 16K fans at this point.
April 2015, Taco Bell starts testing Fritos Tacos in 3 different flavors, one of which has Flamin’ Hot shells.
April 2015, Taco Bell asks social media “What would you do to bring back the Beefy Crunch Burrito?” May 2015, Taco Bell does a limited time test promotion in Louisville, KY for several months. October 2015, with testing complete (but unknown status of test results), the Beefy Crunch Movement declares War on Taco Bell, citing a 14 page document listing our grievenaces after the discovery of “Social Media War Room” at Taco Bell HQ. Codename Operation: AnnoyingAF.
17 days later, Taco Bell calls Beefy Crunch Movement, negotiates a ceasefire and conversations begin behind the scenes. In return for a cessation of aggression and a more positive public front, Taco Bell raises Beefy Crunch Movement Flag at their HQ in December 2015.
We end the year at over 32K fans, having doubled in size.
Taco Bell brought back the Beefy Crunch Burrito for its fourth iteration in April 2016! Tagging along was the Cheesy Double Beef Burrito, and both were only $1! Both the BCB and CDBB shared a glorious Fan Favorites themed wrapper and our #BeefyCrunchMovement logo was part of the design. Taco Bell made a concerted effort to show our community that it was back because of US. They flew myself and Phillip from Louisville to HQ to share in the excitement. Best part of all of this? We made the timeline.
As of writing this (6/12/16) we are still enjoying the Beefy Crunch Burrito for a few more weeks before it’s gone again!
A more in depth look at key events over the last 5 years.
October 2012. I write my first letter to Taco Bell. I offer 4 suggestions on how to make the Beefy Crunch more profitable so that it can become a viable candidate for a longer term stay on the menu, preferably permanent! It was returned with a polite rejection as they do not take unsolicited ideas. Funnily enough, two of my suggestions would be used in the Louisville testing in 2015. It’s worth a read. : http://bit.ly/1XhyNoM
May 2013. For the 3rd Beefy Crunch Burrito promotion, Taco Bell asked us “What would [we] do to bring back the Beefy Crunch Burrito?” Many answered, but two were selected to put their words to the test. This 6th Annual ShortyAwards entry video by Taco Bell brilliantly displays the obsessive passion this burrito has generated in thousands of people.
While Justin’s Tattoo raised the bar in regards to lengths people will go to show their dedication for the Beefy Crunch, no one expected others to join him in the ranks of Tattoo-hood. That’s right, 2 more people have made a life-time commitment to this amazing burrito.
April 2015. Taco Bell on Twitter and Facebook asked, once again, “What would [we] do to bring back the Beefy Crunch Burrito?” And if tattoos and jumping out of a plane weren’t enough, people responded with countless ways to prove their dedication! It would turn out that a select few would be featured in local TV commercials in the Louisville area during the testing. Here is that commercial:
June 2015. With Taco Bell doing the test promotion in Louisville, KY, the Beefy Crunch Movement does what it can to spread awareness and make the test run a success. We raised about $300 or so in a GoFundMe campaign to buy Beefy Crunch Burritos with the help of “ambassadors” in the local area. We had over a dozen buy strangers free Beefy Crunch Burritos, which was awesome, but one of the ambassadors went a step further and did a Periscope giveaway at a prominent landmark in the area. The best part is, Taco Bell watched. Take a look here:
July 2015. I ordered 100 3'x5' Flags, sold the majority and gave away the rest to Beefy Crunch Movement fans from coast to coast. While it was an investment and further proof of my commitment to the cause, it also became a symbol of our struggle and our determination to have our voices be heard.
Fun fact: I originally bought a single flag in January of 2015 with the dream of having it raised at Taco Bell HQ.
August 2015. I write another letter to Taco Bell on the 2nd year mark, or day 730 since the end of the last nationwide promotion. I did not offer any suggestions this time, but instead reiterated the accomplishments of the Beefy Crunch Movement during the testing and list grievances that were beginning to mount. Again, a must read: http://bit.ly/1QqCjrz
September 2015. I was invited to do a Podcast with the great people at Hungrydads.com. Phillip from Louisville was on the call, along with a handful of fans to tell their stories, one of which was someone who drove 1,200 miles just to get his hands on a Beefy Crunch Burrito! If you have 30 minutes, you need to listen to this: http://www.hungrydads.com/chewing-the-fat-with-the-beefy-crunch-movement-episode-48/
The War of 2015
October 2015: I enrolled in an online Social Media Marketing Strategy course provided, by Northwestern University, where Tressie Lieberman (former VP Digital Innovation, Taco Bell) was a faculty contributor in a lesson entitled “The Importance of Listening.” You can see why I took the course.
It was in the course that I gained valuable insight into how it works behind the scenes at Taco Bell when it comes to their Social Media strategy. In particular, their own in-house Social Media War Room was a key highlight that would end up being the trigger for one of the most critical turning points in this whole 4 and half year struggle. It gave us the idea and rationale to engage in War over social media.
Codenamed Operation: #AnnoyingAF, the mission was simple: to control the conversation and make our voice impossible to ignore. The strategy was sound and we had 14 pages worth of grievances that justified our actions, at least in our eyes. Read the full declaration of war here: http://bit.ly/1XPp61z
See our Operation: #AnnoyingAF in action to see just how effective we were:
17 days after the first coordinated attack, I received a phone call from Taco Bell in response to our campaign. The conversation I had been wanting for years had finally happened. After I made clear the intent and purpose of the War, we negotiated a ceasefire. In return for an end to the aggression, they would raise our flag at their HQ as a symbol of good faith that come 2016, talks would begin with regards to seeing the Beefy Crunch Burrito on the menu again. On December 21st, right around the 5th anniversary of the birth of the Beefy Crunch Burrito, the flag was raised.
-Richard
