Catering Labels

The newest additions to our catering labels! Place these labels in front of the appropriate pans at your caterings. If you need signs to label your meats and sauces, we have those too! Just email cgiudici@tacodelmar.com to get your own.

Get Involved!

Auctions are a great way to get your name out there in your community and to network! Donate a service or meals and provide them with a certificate. This certificate was created for Washington franchisee Jeff Masterjohn.

St. Paddy's Day Catering Email

Get ready for St. Patrick’s Day! Kimo Kai, Larry Elmore’s Marketing Genius, came up with this idea for an email blast! Contact Marketing Support with your ideas!

Creative Archive

Here are some In-Store pieces with our new look! Check out the Creative Archive to see more! http://tacodelmarcreativearchive.shutterfly.com/.

Another School Fundraising Idea

Manish Arora, Del Mar's franchisee in Annandale, VA, created a unique school fundraising program for his community. This postcard will be handed out at 8 private schools to raise funds based on the amount spent at his restaurant with the card. After 2 months, he'll calculate the totals for each school and send the proceeds!

BIG Fundraising Idea

Jazmin and Dan Ruiz of Taco Del Mar in Palm Springs have BIG ideas about school fundraisers. They have a specific program to fundraise for local schools and came to TDM Marketing Support to supplement the program with creative. CHECK out what we came up with...

This check is almost 2ft high and 4ft long! It's a great photo opportunity and can be easily reused for all the fundraisers they do! Another great idea to show the community your compassion is to frame a letter from the fundraiser in your restaurant. Make sure your community knows your efforts before, during and after!

Marketing Calendar Spirit

South Hill Taco Del Mar in Spokane loves to use their marketing calendar! One of their “Wrap Artists” dressed up for Leif Erickson Day! Send us pictures of YOUR Taco Del Mar spirit at cgiudici@tacodelmar.com and you just might be the next post! Keep up to date with your Marketing Calendars and Carlos Chronicles for some great ideas and stories.

Dinner Platter Promotion LSM Ideas

The Dinner Platter Promotion started this past Monday the 8th for all restaurants outside of B.C. You should have received your promotion kit on Friday. If you have any questions about the Dinner Platter Promotion please refer to the roll-out guide posted on the FishNet under Franchisee Info>Marketing.

Here are some LSM ideas to help promote the Dinner Platter Promotion:

•Advertise- Find a company that you are interested in advertising with; such as a coupon book or magazine. Contact the Taco Del Mar Marketing Department to get artwork for your ad and request that we design it with the Dinner Platter Promotion creative.

Check out the ad Joe Mitchell from Omaha, Nebraska put in the Hometown Values Magazine:

•Flyer Cars - Use the handouts in your kit to flyer cars at surrounding businesses at 4:45pm. When employees leave their offices, they’ll know where to head for dinner!

•Door Hangers - Hole-punch handouts and attach rubber bands to them. Distribute these as door hangers in the neighborhood around your restaurant. Put them up during the day to entice residents when they return home.

•Cross Promotion – Ask a store near to your restaurant if they are interested in doing a cross-promotion with you. Have them attach your bounce back coupons to their receipts and in exchange offer to put their coupons in your to-go bags.

• Drive traffic into your restaurant - Get a few employees to enthusiastically display the banner you received in your kit on the street outside your restaurant right before 5 o’clock.

•Local Businesses - Visit the front desk at local businesses and offer the receptionist a free burrito card if she or he will put your Dinner Platter handouts in their employee mailboxes.

• Voicemail - Let your customers know about the promotion by mentioning it on your restaurants voicemail.

Order more handouts and bounce back coupons through the Docstore that have your logo on them.
Del Mar’s Franchisees - Del Mar’s>System-Wide Promotions
Taco Del Mar Franchisees - Taco Del Mar>System-Wide

Labor Day

Labor Day is this weekend and the sales are going to be HUGE! Check out the coupon Henry Ravichander is distributing for his restaurant. It is going to be a busy weekend for stores with lots of hungry shoppers. Make sure to get in on the action! These coupons are now available under Out of Store Advertising on the Docstore!

New Creative

Check out some of the latest LSM Efforts by TDM Franchisees:

Ads!

Jesse Kiefer gave this ad to a local hotel to distribute to their guests-

Morristown, TN put this ad in a local college campus pamphlet -

Boogie Boards!

Several custom boogie board signs that our Werstern Washington Franchisees have put up in their stores-

Email Blasts!

Patt Gustafson from Coon Rapids, MI got involved in a 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk and held silent auctions to raise money for breast cancer awareness -
Cedar Creek sent out these awesome e-mail blasts promting Wild Alaskan Salmon Tacos and Catering -

Posters!
Jun Li from Westminister, BC put up this full length poster in his window to compete with his neighboring Pita Pit -


Great Job all of you for you marketing efforts! If you are interested in getting similar creative for a promotion you are doing make sure to contact your Taco Del Mar Marketing Support Team.

Happy Friday!

Alli

Behind the Burrito Stand

I have received many questions regarding the burrito stand featured in the “baseball” post. So, I thought I’d go to the source and find out what it is all about...

The stand belongs to Dave Martilla from Lake Elsinore, CA. If there was ever someone to take notes from regarding catering in your community, Dave’s your man! He not only caters baseball games, he also sells burritos at local high schools and middle schools in his area, as well as attends many local festivals and sporting events.

The actual stand is owned by Dave’s local baseball stadium. With permission from the stadium, Dave decorated the stand and was able to really bring our baja décor to the baseball stadium. He sells his burritos to the park and they in turn sell them to the public. They offer 16 oz burritos with carne, chicken or bean & cheese and he has even started serving breakfast. The stand has a warmer in the back to hold the burritos and keep them steamin’ all afternoon long.

Décor...

When Dave and his crew attend local sporting events they come equipped with their own stand, usually a 6 foot folding table. They wrap the table with bamboo and use a 10X10’ pop up along with a 3X10’ banner to draw attention. They wrap the table in beach bamboo which looks amazing and is relatively inexpensive! Dave has found a way to brand his outside efforts, catering efforts and let customers know Taco Del Mar is in town and part of the community.

Execution...

Dave and team use multiple warmers to keep the burritos fresh. If they don’t have power they bring a generator to the event. They use three metro warmers for each event; one for the store, one for the event and one for the road. (Dave tells us that you can purchase these easily through EBay and various other auctions)

They create what Dave calls a “mini front line” in the back to make the burritos. The line includes one steamer and two plug in/portable hot water warmers. In an hour he says one person can make on average 75-90 burritos!!! They then wrap the burritos in labeled hot dog bags which included all ingredients and the weight keeping in line with the local health department codes. For larger events Dave advises to get a group health permit and make sure that you keep the burritos at the appropriate temperature.

“The great part about this and catering from our store is that it is all done in the back, all 6' of it, with little interruption to the front. It's all about prep the night before. Depending on the demand we make them early and bring them in the warmer and/or via our delivery bags (used for the schools).”

The real key Dave says is not making too many or better yet not making enough. In a recent event they sold over 500 burritos in 6 hours! One thing’s for sure Dave has thought of everything and he has taken catering to a whole new level! Awesome job and thanks for sharing!


(stadium sign)


(school lunch program sign)

Summer Promotions

June 21st is Summer Solstice! It's time to get outside and market your store in the sunshine. Check out some of the summer promotions other franchisees have done so far:

Roger Watson from Kaneouhe Hawaii sponsored a local volleyball team!

Patt Gustafson took advice from teenagers at the local high school and had this awesome bumper stickers made!



And, Gerry Murphy from Helena Montana hit the parking lots around his restaurant with these sweet coupons!



What are your LSM plans for the summer? It's time to start brainstorming!

Customer Appreciation

Want a great way to show your customers you appreciate their business, drive traffic into your store, and increase your catering business? Hold a Customer Appreciation Day for a local business every month! Queen Anne has been doing this for the past year and they have raised sales on Wednesdays by 8%!

Every month they draw a business card from their fishbowl and choose a lucky winner. They then visit the business with a sign for their backroom, telling employees to come in every Wednesday for a free Mondito or two free tacos. When employees come in for their free meal they usually order a side and a drink!

This is a great way to show regular customers that you appreciate their business, gain new customers from local businesses in your area and increase your sales. Plus you can give catering information to the front desk when you drop of the sign.

Tell them -“You’ve been selected as the business of the month. To show you we appreciate your business we are giving away 2 FREE tacos every Wednesday of the month to your employees and 10% your next office catering order!”

Contact Alli if you are interested in doing this promotion for your Customer Appreciation Sign.

Giveaway Ideas

Are you looking for some creative giveaway ideas?!? Here's a list of fun ideas:

Buttons –Want to push a certain item or ramp up the Mondo Burrito Promotion? Order custom buttons online. There are many online stores that allow you to upload art and print these for cheap. Check out: http://www.purebuttons.com/. For only $30 you can order 100! Have your employees wear them at work and hand them out as giveaways to customers.

Maracas – Want to really get the party started at your grand opening or anniversary party?!? Buy maracas from a party supply store and put TDM stickers on them. Hand them out as party favors and get things shakin’! Check out this site out for cheap prices of 24 packs:
http://www.4funparties.com/PRODUCTS/Noisemakers/Maracas/index.html?gclid=CPOkjuuolZMCFQp2gwodNTFd2g
Some sites will even let you custom print with a logo (contact for pricing info):
http://www.extra-mile.com/wow/noise-maraca-reg.htm

Bullet in a Koozie – Sponsor a summer charity event such as a walk or a concert by donating food. Hand out bullet burritos in TDM koozies, and give guests a sample of our delicious food and a trinket to remember you.

Fortune Burritos– First, find film cases or other cylindrical hollow objects. Next, print out prizes, such as a free burrito, 10% off, and $10 gift certificate. Finally, wrap them in tinfoil and make them look like little burritos. Hand these out at community events in your area. Give guests a fun prize while driving traffic to your store!

Coupon in a Bottle – Are you looking for a great cheap trinket idea? Buy a bunch of small glass (or plastic) corked bottles. You can find these online or at your local craft store. Fill them with a little sand and a coupon. Hand these out at local events or your Grand Opening!

Draw from the Sombrero – Get a sombrero at a local party store and print off prizes on your computer; such as free meal, 10% off, etc. Let every 5th customer on Cinco de May draw out of the sombrero and retrieve a prize! While you’re at it see if you can get some kids sombreros and give these away as kid’s prizes with free kids meal coupons fastened to the side.

Keep checking your e-mail every week for the Marketing Update and more great giveaway ideas!

Banners

If you are interested in doing a banner for your restaurant check out this site: https://www.alwayssign.com/. Click on the link at the top left titled "Full Color Graphic Banner." You can get a 3x10' vinyl banner for only $93!! Other printers have sent me quotes as high as $500! Contact us and we will send you the creative in a PDF which you can easily upload to their site.

Subways $5 footlong banners are everywhere! Lets compete with our Mondo Burrito. Check out the banner we have avaiable for this promotion:

Or, come up with your own idea! Here is a banner we made for Pat Gustafson (Coon Rapids, MN) for a cross-promotion with her local gym:

Baseball

It's baseball season! Take advantage of this and sponsor a team or open a concession stand. Here are a couple example of different promotions Franchisees are doing:
Dave Martilla did in Lake Elsinore, California opened his second burrito stand at his local baseball stadium this year! He contacted us to help him with several signs for his promotion. Here are examples of the creative we made for him:

And, check out his awesome burrito stand!



If you don't have the time to open a concession stand this baseball season sponsor a Little League Baseball Team instead! This is exactly what Roger Watson from Kaneohe, HI is doing. Roger is sponsoring a little league team by donating 10% of his proceeds on two Sundays during the season. Here is the flyer we created for him:



by sponsoring a little league team Roger was able to show his customers that TDM is an active player in the community and drive extra traffic into his restaurant on a few slower days. All for only a few flyers and 10% of sales on two Sundays!

New Catering Program

New catering materials are up on the Docstore!

Bounce Back Coupon

Display Piece

Postcard

Cinco de Mayo POP

Fish Bowl Winner Coupon

Business Card


The catering brochures that you recieved with your Mondo Burrito Promo Package will be available through Henry Wurst and on the Docstore later this week. If you have questions about catering log on to the FishNet and check out the Catering Roll-out Packet (Franchise Info>Operations>2008 Catering Program>Catering Roll-out Packet) or ask me questions on our blog chat located on the right hand side of the screen.

Alli

WELCOME!!!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the first Taco Del Mar Marketing Blog! We have created this blog as a place for Franchisees to come to get Local Store Marketing ideas, bounce ideas off of one another, and ask questions about different promotions. We hope that this blog can act as an archive of ideas and creative for you to use when planning your LSM promotions.

Local Store Marketing can sometimes seem daunting with all of the other work that goes into maintaining and running a great Taco Del Mar. It is our aim to show you that it is easier than you think, you have great resouces right at your finger tips and most importantly it is rewarding! The Taco Del Mar Support Team has a Marketing Department devoted to helping you with your LSM Efforts. We even have an in-house graphic artist who can create and design the print materials for your promotion.

Start checking our blog every week. If you see something you are interested in doing for your store contact us for the creative and any other questions you may have.

Happy LSMing!!!