Project Description

Company Description

Taco Cabana is a 149 unit fast-casual restaurant chain that specializes in Tex-Mex offerings. Here is a general overview of Taco Cabana’s business background:

1. Founding and History: Taco Cabana was founded in 1978 by Felix Stehling in San Antonio, Texas. The restaurant was established with the goal of providing a casual and affordable Tex-Mex dining experience. At that time, Taco Cabana was one of the first restaurant concepts that occupied a “Fast Casual” positioning by providing “Casual Dining’ food quality through a drive-thru or dine-in experience.
2. Menu: Taco Cabana is known for its diverse menu, which includes a variety of tacos, fajitas, burritos, and other Tex-Mex staples. The restaurant is credited by its customers for the freshness of its ingredients and the made-from-scratch preparation of its dishes.
3. Atmosphere: Taco Cabana differentiates itself by offering a vibrant and casual atmosphere. Many of its locations feature outdoor patio seating and a festive environment, contributing to its appeal as a social dining destination.
4. Expansion: Over the years, Taco Cabana has expanded its presence beyond its original San Antonio roots. The chain has opened locations in various cities across Texas and New Mexico.
5. Competitive Landscape: In the fast-casual dining industry, Taco Cabana faces competition from other Tex-Mex restaurant chains such as Taco Bueno, Rosa’s Café, Taco Bell, Chipotle, and smaller taco shops such as Velvet Taco, Fuzzy’s Taco and Torchy’s Tacos. In addition, TC competes for visits in the broader Quick Serve competitors such as Whataburger and Chic-fil-a. Staying competitive involves menu innovation, marketing strategies, and maintaining high-quality service.
6. Challenges: One of the largest opportunities facing the business is that TC’s user base is aging, and the chain has an opportunity to attract Gen Z and younger Millennial users.

Project Background

Objective: The primary goal of this project is to increase, traffic, sales and loyalty of Taco Cabana among younger users (ages 18-34).

Target Audience: Young adults aged 18-34 who are seeking an authentic tex-mex meal with an easy-going experience.

Key Challenges:

Competition: There is fierce competition in the fast-food industry, particularly among brands targeting young adults.

Perception: Taco Cabana may not be perceived as trendy or appealing to the younger demographic. However, they may not be aware of TC’s made from scratch menu, Real Tequila Margaritas and late night weekend hours.

Strategies:

• Mobile APP: TC recently launched a new mobile app with features like online ordering, exclusive deals, and a loyalty program. Consider special offers, discounts and rewards for frequent visits, encouraging repeat business among younger users. Downloads are easy to measure and campaigns can be managed similar to other digital platforms such as Google, Facebook and programmatic media.
• Paid and Social Media: Develop other paid media and organic social programs to encourage usage among target customers.

Metrics for Success:

• Rise in app downloads and active users.
• Increased traffic among the target demographic.
• Growth in social media followers and engagement metrics.
• Positive sentiment and increased mentions on social platforms.
• Improvement in customer satisfaction scores.

Timeline:

See UT Dallas timeline

Budget:

Media budget is already planned for the year and can be reallocated if required. Additional budget of $5,000 per month for DFW is available for incremental initiatives.

Project scope and deliverables

Critical success factors

Required student skills

• Develop key marketing strategies and tactics substantiated by reliable data
• Ability to convincingly present their recommendations to Client Sr. Leadership