Taco Bell Takes On New Concept, Ronald McDonald Takes Selfies

By Hannah Ash, contributing writer

Every generation’s challenges makes their mark. Currently, millennials (loosely defined as the 18-34 age bracket) are changing how the landscape of fast food in America looks. As retailers including H&M and IKEA hit the road to wow consumers, it’s apparent that millennials aren’t easily wowed by traditional marketing tactics. To get noticed, retailers need to create social media phenomena and get included in user-generated social content. Getting included in user-generated social content means giving consumers a reason to do so. Fast food is faced with a foodie-focused younger generation who want greater quality in return for including retailers in their version of grassroots marketing.

Fast food retailers are responding to this sea change by acting fast. In 2009, a report by the Pew Research Center showed that recent college graduates preferred Starbucks to McDonalds. In 2010, McDonald’s launched a massive makeover to transform its interiors into a more upscale, coffee lounge-esque environment. In March, data released by Goldman Sachs confirms that millennials prefer Starbucks’ beans over McDonalds’ burgers.  To appeal to millennial foodies, McDonald’s is marketing its food as ‘premium.’ Last month, McDonald’s began test selling its McCafé bagged coffee in the American market at select stores throughout the country. The fast food chain launched a new marketing campaign last month featuring its lettuce supplier, Farmer Dirk. Dirk Giannini says that the “premium lettuce I grow becomes premium salad.” The chain’s iconic mascot Ronald McDonald is also getting a makeover. This week the retailer unveiled a cargo-pants wearing, selfie-taking version of the mascot who, apparently, tweets.

Taco Bell is edging its way into the fast casual market occupied by Chipotle and Panera. As the flavorful fast food chain has only experimented with new concepts once before (in 1997), Taco Bell’s testing of concept U.S. Taco Co., featuring food prices double that of Taco Bell, is a significant new direction.

Senior brand manager for Taco Bell Jeff Jenkins comments, “everyone in the U.S. has become a foodie. The first thing young people do in a restaurant is take out their camera and take a picture of their food — and post it on Instagram." U.S. Taco Co. concepts will feature a ‘food theater’ or kitchen behind glass in addition to alcohol-spiked milkshakes. McDonald’s and Taco Bell are clearly intent on gaining traction with the 18-34 crowd, but so, too, is Starbucks as it moves to expand its sale of craft beer and other spirits into more stores.