In a city as culinarily obsessed as San Antonio, taco trucks are no longer a novelty. Mobile food vendors have become a vehicle for entrepreneurial opportunity and economic growth, satiating a generation of consumers who crave affordable, gourmet food and social media distinction. Wouldn’t it be fun to pit them against one another? This twisted question was posed by the manufacturer of hard iced tea that launched the beverage category, Twisted Tea. Naturally, they enlisted my help to brand the event.
Lesson 1. After seeing their initial concept for a logo developed in-house, it was clear the brand was running on fumes. San Antonio has a rich cultural history with 57% of the population of Mexican descent and a median age of 33. Although the visual identity needed to be as refreshing and smooth as Twisted Tea, it more importantly needed to reflect the bicultural values of its emerging populace.
Lesson 2. Multicultural marketing is ripe with speed bumps. When brands venture into this new territory, they must successfully circumvent roadblocks such as ethnocentrism and pandering. To attract younger, more affluent Hispanic Americans, I incorporated an urban design surrounded by ornate Mexican iconography of the sun. In Hispanic culture the sun is a symbol for renewal (i.e. refreshment), which aligned perfectly with Twisted Tea value propositions and sunburst visuals. I then paired this with a ribbon to symbolize an award and layered a gritty font to emote action.
Lesson 3. Put consumers in the driver’s seat and park your content in style. Live music, art exhibitions, and lucha libre wrestling presented radical opportunities to integrate the brand for savvy social media users to discover and share. The brand was further amplified by limited edition taco shaped hats and live broadcasting on Instagram, which reinforced a fear of missing out.
The 2019 Taco Truck Throwdown presented by Twisted Tea resulted in 31 competitors, 15,000 attendees and over 50,000 social media impressions. Although the ancient healing power of tacos was undeniable, much of the success could be attributed to building a brand identity that was as indulgent and accessible as the menu. In early 2020, the manufacturer of Twisted Tea, Boston Beer Company, secured a trademark of the logo for future commercial use.