HACIENDA MEXICAN RESTAURANTS.

REAL. GOOD. MEXICAN.

THE WAL-MART OF MEXICAN RESTAURANTS

Brand Truths are two things first and foremost. They are human and they are honest. And that honesty can sometimes come from unexpected places. Hacienda - a small Indiana-based Mexican restaurant chain - had their eyes on expansion. To more cities in Indiana as well as into neighboring states. When their account crossed my desk they were going about this by adding high-end, upscale items to their menu in order to appeal to the more sophisticated palates of people in larger cities. It wasn’t working. Then one night over maybe one too many margaritas, their VP of Marketing said this - “I’m going to be honest. We’re the Wal-Mart of Mexican restaurants. And that’s when the light came on. Hacienda wasn’t fussy, it was casual. Half taqueria, half sports bar, it was the kind of place you could relax, have a beer, whoop it up and eat some tacos (or a Famous Wet Burrito). The campaign that resulted from that insight had a messy, garage band feel that was true to Hacienda’s roots. And the truth set them free. Hacienda expanded from 8 locations to 14. And that first campaign went on to win an OBIE as one of the best out-of-home campaigns in all of North America.