Taco Bell invited Instagram influencers to try its
Naked Chicken Chalupa to build buzz for the item before it was
released for a limited time in January 2017.
Hollis Johnson
Fast-food chains are launching products that seem
specifically designed to be shared on Instagram.
Some, like Starbucks and
Taco
Bell, use their Instagram pages to create a lifestyle
around their brands.
It's a strategy that's often been used by social-media
influencers who get paid thousands of dollars a
post.
The appeal of Instagram is simple: it allows you to create an
idealized version of yourself and make people believe it's your
real self.
Fast-food chains understand that, so they've been trying to
convince you that their inexpensive, often unhealthy food is
something your ideal self would proudly share to your followers.
The most Instagram-savvy brands, like Starbucks and Taco Bell, have
introduced photogenic products that stand out from their other
offerings.
In doing so, fast-food chains have become a lot like the
Instagram influencers who get paid thousands of dollars a post to
sell a certain kind of lifestyle via social media.
Fast-food chains are making items designed for Instagram
While Starbucks' Unicorn Frappuccino was
too sweet for our reviewers' tastes, its vibrant colors made
it an instant hit on Instagram. Its neon blue, pink, and purple
syrups immediately stood out on Instagram feeds, just as
Starbucks probably intended.
"Even if everybody's not ordering that item, that buzz is getting
people in the door to buy other food and drinks. And that's
worthwhile; that's important in today's world," Ronn Torossian,
who runs the public relations agency 5WPR, said to Business
Insider.
Taco Bell tried to build a
similar level of buzz with its
Naked Chicken Chalupa, which the chain launched for a limited
time in January 2017. While it was not as colorful as Starbucks'
Unicorn Frappuccino, it too was built on a clever gimmick.
Instead of using a traditional taco shell, the Naked Chicken
Chalupa wrapped cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado ranch in a
piece of fried chicken.
The chain invited Instagram
influencers to a speakeasy-themed pop-up to try the item before
it was released to the public.
The goal? To make the influencers
excited about their special access to the item so they would
share it with their followers. And, once the Naked Chicken
Chalupa was available to the general public, those followers
would emulate their heroes and post photos of the item
themselves.
They're copying the strategies used by Instagram influencers
But fast-food chains are doing
more than advertising new and existing items on Instagram.
They're trying to build a lifestyle around their products by
copying the strategies of Instagram influencers.
"What they're really doing is,
they're bringing their personality and humanity and warmth to
life on Instagram ... There's kind of a realness to it that it
has to feel that advertising doesn't necessarily have, and also
an intimacy where it's like you're really talking to a person,"
Aaron Shapiro, CEO of the marketing firm Huge, told Business
Insider in a phone interview.
Through carefully calibrated
lighting, angles, poses, and color schemes, Starbucks' and Taco
Bell's Instagram pages want to make you think that its customers
are more fashionable, sociable, and attractive than every other
chain’s customers.
Taco Bell's posts are full of
bold, monochrome backgrounds and models who wear sunglasses and
stylish haircuts while laughing with their friends. Some of the
posts may not immediately stand out as advertisements on your
feed, which is the whole point.
"If you look at Taco Bell's
channels, they look fun, they feel good," Torossian said. "I feel
like there's a story there and it's not just about 'come in and
buy our taco.'"
As fast-food chains get a better
grasp on Instagram, the line between posts from your friends and
those from brands may continue to blur.
"The reality is that this thing
isn't going away," Torossian said. "It's only going to grow, and
food is something everybody loves to talk about."
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