My Beef With Taco Bell's Crisis Management

Back when my hair was dark, the adage was that you could lose the battle for public opinion in two hours. Today? It’s closer to two minutes given social networks and mobile devices that work as megaphones. So just what took Taco Bell five weeks to fully respond to claims in a lawsuit that Taco Bell is using false advertising when it refers to using "seasoned ground beef" or "seasoned beef" in its products. It has been a failure at the "Moments of Trust". According to the Associated Press http://huff.to/eW2HZ3, Taco Bell is now turning to TV commercials after full-page newspaper ads and Twitter and Facebook efforts reached only about half the population. Imagine that? TV for reach. Television that was in its prime when my hair was, well, you know. Taco Bell initially ran full-page ads last month in national newspapers. They then launched a Twitter campaign, and finally turned to Facebook fans with an offer of a free crunchy beef taco. Missing from Taco Bell’s defense is a mobile strategy. Others in the fast food category have built robust databases and gained customers by providing offers via mobile. Plus, mobile is ideal for immediacy. Maybe Taco Bell will get there with mobile. But that might come at the two-month mark. That’s my beef.