As Taco Bell prepares to open a themed pop-up hotel in Southern California later this month, the chain has announced another brand overlay through a partnership with T-Mobile US Inc.
Earlier this year, the Irvine, Calif.-based chain joined T-Mobile Tuesdays, a weekly giveaway event launched by the wireless carrier in 2016. It includes freebies from various retail and food brands. Taco Bell added a free taco on T-Mobile Tuesdays, leading to more than 14 million tacos given out since the promotion started.
Now, the two brands are turning the digital promotion into a brick-and-mortar reality with the creation of co-branded “T-MoBell” stores in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
The T-MoBell stores, opening later this month, will offer free tacos, an exclusive white cherry T-MoBell Freeze drink and co-branded merchandise such as taco-themed socks and a co-branded stick-on wallets that attach to the back of mobile phones.
“People love tacos. And they love their phones,” said John Legere, T-Mobile CEO, in a statement. “T-MoBell is the ultimate fusion of those two loves, and we can’t wait to show everyone what we’ve cooked up.”
When T-Mobile and Taco Bell partnered earlier this year for the T-Mobile Tuesdays promotion, Marisa Thalberg, Taco Bell’s global chief brand officer, said the two brands pair well. “We were just waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a partnership come to life, in a way that befits what our fans expect from us both,” she said.
The co-branded T-Mobile and Taco Bell stores will be open for three days, July 23-25.
Next month, Taco Bell is taking over a Palm Springs, Calif., hotel to create a brand-themed venue for four nights. The 70-room hotel features a “Freeze Lounge” inspired by the chain’s Mountain Dew Baja Blast frozen beverage drink, live performances from the “Feed the Beat” artists, a salon offering taco-inspired nail art, a poolside menu with exclusive Taco Bell foods and themed hotel amenities.
Reservations for the four-night pop-up experience, which starts Aug. 8, sold out in two minutes.
Taco Bell, a division of Louisville-based Yum Brands Inc., has more than 7,100 locations in the United States and nearly 30 other countries. Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile serves 81.3 million wireless customers.
Contact Nancy Luna at [email protected]
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