Deutsch LA

Deutsch agency was founded in 1969 and grew to national fame in the late 80s under the leadership of Donny Deutsch. They opened their LA office in 1995 and were acquired by IPG shortly thereafter.

Best known in recent years for their award-winning work with Volkswagen, they have consistently been voted one of the Best Places to Work by AdAge and are one of the most respected names in the advertising industry. One of their most innovative clients to-date has been is Yum Brands’ Taco Bell.

To support the launch of their new Breakfast menu in 2015, Taco Bell tapped Deutsch to lead a bold advertising campaign, strategically aimed at taking down the current leader in fast food breakfast. I was brought in to help the team bring this strategy to life and extend the conversation on Digital.

Over the course of my partnership with Deutsch, my role grew to include more traditional brand planning work and the research I led supported positioning work, audience definition, and thought leadership on youth culture. I had the opportunity to lead strategy efforts for multiple Taco Bell campaigns & products (including the re-launch of the Doritos Locos Taco), support experience planning for Taco Bell’s new mobile app, and write the brief for Super Bowl 2015.

The result of Deutsch’s work with Taco Bell is nowhere more clear than in the brand’s continued growth. On an earnings call in Q3 2014, CEO David Novak shared that the brand had seen same store sales increase 3% and noted, in particular, that breakfast sales had sustained a 6% day part mix without an increase in media spend. In his own words: “I would go so far as to say we are one of the very few companies in the history of the QSR industry to launch breakfast successfully and profitably in year one.”

Press

AdAge: Study Finds Consumer Perception Rises at Taco Bell
Mashable: Why Taco Bell Went Loco for Snapchat
Time: Taco Bell is Going Thermo-Nuclear in Its Breakfast War

Testimonial

“Kaitlin came on board to work on one of our largest and smartest clients, and was able to quickly assimilate, understanding the needs of both client and team, and expertly juggle multiple campaigns across disciplines. This means she not only assisted in guiding digital work to be as successful as possible, but also was responsible for developing briefings for the Superbowl. Kaitlin’s greatest strengths lie in her understanding of digital culture, how brands position themselves in that space, her previous management experience in social, and her ability to bring together teams. Anyone her in to freelance will not be disappointed.”

-Rachel Mercer, Former Strategy lead at DeutschLA

Thank you to Rachel Mercer for bringing me on board and to Jill Burgeson for your support & mentorship. Many thank yous as well to the amazing team at Taco Bell both agency & client-side.