The Snapchat promotion runs Oct. 6, Oct. 7, Oct. 10 and Oct. 11,
with the free food items ranging from tacos and burritos to
quesadillas and chips and guacamole. A mascot in a taco costume
will be roaming Bryant Park to guide those participating in the
promotion.
"We wanted to use Snapchat in a novel way," said Dos Toros'
co-CEO Leo Kremer, who founded the company with his brother Oliver
in 2009. "We also like the idea of targeting local users. We're all
about reaching potential customers who can take action and come
visit one of our taquerias."
Dos Toros' use of Snapchat geofilters is one way to reach a
younger demographic that is comfortable with technology and active
on social media. "I think there's a strong self-selection effect
whenever you run a campaign exclusively through social media, and
especially Snapchat," said Mr. Kremer.
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Last week, Snapchat
announced that it had 60 million daily users, making it one of
the largest social networks. It began offering branded geofilters
last year and since then,
many companies have signed on, including McDonald's, Starwood
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and KFC.
When KFC
offered special themed geofilters at more than 900 locations in
the U.K. there was over 23% increase in visits within a week of a
user seeing the filter in a friend's Snap, according to Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers' Mary Meeker.
Pernod Ricard's Jameson brand ran
the alcohol category's first sponsored national geofilter for a
St. Patrick's Day campaign this year. A case study using
measurement from Millward Brown found
this promotion drew 42 million views from more than 18 million
Snapchat users and led to a 42% lift in purchase intent.
For some smaller scale companies, Snapchat is one way to carry
out a big marketing push without making a major budgetary
investment. Dos Toros' Snapchat geofilter campaign cost all of
$157.70.
The idea behind the chain's campaign, conceived of by
BigEyedWish, was to put a new spin on traditional marketing
techniques.
"Promotions have always been a massive part of a marketing mix.
I just tried to think about new technologies and new ways to drive
it without a guy standing on the corner barking with a microphone,"
said Ian Wishingrad, founder and creative director of
BigEyedWish.
BigEyedWish was the creative agency behind the taqueria's
first ad
campaign, which launched in June, cheekily calling out other
chains with the line #NoBull and drawing attention to transparency
and pricing. One ad in the out-of-home campaign read "We're crazy
to charge $.92 for guac, You are if you pay $2.30."
The California-style Mexican chain has locations in Manhattan
and Brooklyn, and said in June that it plans to open 15 to 20 new
spots in the next three years, including expansion into Boston and
Chicago.
