Barracuda Taco Stand Opens First Location Outside Louisiana
REED worked with Barracuda Taco Stand, a New Orleans-born taco stand and margarita garden, on media, influencer and community relations for the highly anticipated grand opening of its new location in Huntsville, the first outside of its home state. Brett Jones, founder of Barracuda Taco Stand, engaged REED to announce the grand opening and coordinate the ribbon-cutting of its first Alabama location through media, influencer relations and community relations, with a goal of 2-10 media placements and 2-10 influencer partnerships throughout the partnership.
INSIGHT:
Our strategy centered on the intrigue of a year-round, outdoor dining experience and an event centered on community, emphasizing that this was the first location not only in Huntsville but in the entire state of Alabama, making it a must-visit foodie destination. By highlighting Barracuda Taco Stand’s appreciation and eagerness to join the community and coordinating a donation to a local nonprofit, we aimed to ignite a sense of “local pride” in this transplant restaurant.
STRATEGY:
To ensure all those in the local community were aware of Barracuda Taco Stand’s new presence in Huntsville, REED worked with founder Brett Jones to coordinate the official grand opening and expansion of the taco stand and margarita garden into Alabama. This entailed an official ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce and local city officials, as well as the presentation of a donation to Manna House in recognition of Barracuda Taco Stand’s efforts to be a strong community advocate.
REED and Barracuda Taco Stand worked together to create a media-worthy ribbon-cutting and grand opening celebration, offering complimentary food and drinks to guests (including media and influencers), remarks by founder Brett Jones and other involved parties, exclusive merch and a first look at the highly anticipated restaurant.
ACTIVATION:
For media relations, REED conducted outreach to local media about the official grand opening, the expansion of Barracuda Taco Stand into Huntsville and the team behind the restaurant. These efforts included developing a targeted media strategy and media list, inviting media to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, tracking RSVPs and coordinating media visits on the day of. Furthermore, REED secured and coordinated two local lifestyle segments with Payton Walker, host of WAFF 48’s Tennessee Valley Living, in which the team staffed one and created an interview prep document for both to ensure founder Brett Jones was prepared.
For influencer relations, REED conducted outreach to relevant influencers and tastemakers, focusing on the grand opening, extending invitations to attend and greeting influencers on the day of. For influencers who could not attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony, REED continued to coordinate and host them on-site to sustain social media coverage of the grand opening beyond the date.
Lastly, REED secured branded ribbon, grand-opening scissors and a large check for the donation to Manna House, the nonprofit that REED fostered the relationship with on behalf of Barracuda Taco Stand. Furthermore, REED worked directly with the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce and local city officials for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and ensured everything went smoothly on the day of by staffing the event and managing front of house.
RESULTS:
The REED team surpassed deliverables by securing 81 pieces of coverage, resulting in a reach of more than 929 million, including over 40 media placements across online, broadcast and social media and 38 pieces of influencer social media coverage, reaching over 1.3 million followers.