Restaurant Chain Launches Integrated Social Media, Email Campaign to Reward Loyal Customers

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mexican fast food restaurant chain Taco John’s^® has launched an interactive campaign aimed at taking its email-based fan club messages viral through text messaging, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Powered by Indianapolis-based ExactTarget, the campaign invites customers to text message or visit the company’s Website to become members of the Potato Olés^® Maniacs email club. In return, the company sends registrants an email that includes both a coupon for a free order of its iconic product, Potato Olés^®, Taco John's^® improvement to French fries, and links to the company’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

“Taco John's^® has historically been a very crowd-based social brand – with many of our customers creating their own Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and blogging about their favorite menu item or Taco John's^® experience,” said Renée Middleton, vice president of marketing at Taco John's^®. “We wanted to build off that existing online energy and connect with our most loyal customers so we could thank them with exclusive offers and information.”

Taco John's^® turned to its Minneapolis-based agency partner Preston Kelly to build the multi-channel campaign that leverages the fast food chain’s existing relationship with on-demand email and one-to-one marketing provider ExactTarget. Officially launched online and at Taco John's^® more than 400 franchise locations July 13, the campaign uses ExactTarget’s triggered email and online couponing technology to power welcome messages that offer new fan club members free Potato Olés^® following registration for the Potato Olés^® Maniacs club. To take the message viral, the welcome message also features links to Taco John's^® Facebook page, Twitter account and a custom link that allows recipients to invite their friends to join the fan club. The campaign also incorporates user-submitted YouTube videos on the Potato Olés^® Maniacs site that feature customers showing how high they can stack Potato Olés^®.

“Leveraging the power of social media and text messaging not only boosts the interactivity of an email marketing campaign, but it provides a vehicle for brands to create a dialogue with customers,” said Tim Kopp, ExactTarget’s chief marketing officer. “ExactTarget’s sophisticated one-to-one marketing platform provides the industry’s most flexible solution to power true one-to-one communications – from email to social media.”

The launch of Taco John's^® interactive campaign follows the release of joint research from Ball State University, the Email Marketer’s Club and ExactTarget that found enabling social sharing in email marketing messages is expected to increase nearly 350 percent in 2009 with 46 percent of all email marketers planning to use social media and email in tandem. To meet marketers’ social sharing for email needs, ExactTarget launched Social Forward^TM in April. The flexible metrics-driven social sharing solution gives email marketers the industry’s first social media integration that allows multiple ways to leverage sharing both through a Direct to Social offering and through a partnership with social media syndication powerhouse ShareThis. An overview of the features and functionality of the offering is available online in ExactTarget’s Social Media Kit at http://www.exacttarget.com/socialmediakit.

About Taco John's^®

Taco John's^® operates and franchises over 400 quick-service restaurants in 25 states. Independently owned and operated, the business opened its first restaurant in 1969. Taco John's^® prides itself on serving generous portions, menu items prepared fresh to your order, high quality ingredients, and special West-Mex^® recipes, seasonings and sauces. Through the end of 2008, Taco John's^® achieved 13 consecutive years of same store sales increases. For more information, visit our web site at www.tacojohns.com.

About ExactTarget

ExactTarget, Inc. is a leading provider of on-demand email marketing software solutions. The company’s on-demand one-to-one marketing applications enable clients to send business-critical and event triggered communications to increase sales, optimize marketing investments and strengthen customer relationships. ExactTarget offers four editions of its on-demand software application along with integrated solutions such as ExactTarget for Salesforce.com AppExchange, ExactTarget for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and ExactTarget for Omniture Genesis. ExactTarget offers a range of optimization services including support, implementation and training, integration, deliverability, account management, design and deployment and strategic consulting. ExactTarget’s software powers permission-based email communications for thousands of organizations including CareerBuilder.com, Expedia.com, Florida Power & Light, Gannett Co., Inc/USA TODAY, the Indianapolis Colts, The Home Depot, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Liberty Mutual Group, Papa John’s and Wellpoint, Inc. For more information, please visit www.exacttarget.com or call 1-866-EMAILET.