Taco Bell, the quick-service restaurant chain based in Irvine, is trying for the first time an overnight, weekend experiential promotion for Taco Bell rewards members over age 21.
The promotion, called “The Cantinas,” will consist of a two-day experience billed as an “early retirement community that promises a weekend getaway like no other. Guests can embrace the laid-back lifestyle of retirees, regardless of age.”
According to Taco Bell, a small group of about 160 Taco Bell superfans will “indulge in a Taco-Bell-fueled, sun-soaked experience filled with senior-inspired recreation and cross-generational activities. From early morning tee times to afternoon aerobics and pickleball matches, attendees will feel rejuvenated and immersed in a community oasis that celebrates the diverse art of living más.”
“There’s a common misconception that retirement unlocks the life you’ve been waiting for. And while that may be true for some, we don’t think you should have to wait until 55 to live the life you’re craving,” said Taylor Montgomery, U.S. chief marketing officer at Taco Bell. “The Cantinas early retirement community, just like our brand, represents a place where all generations can come together, regardless of age, to Live their Más however they want.”
A Taco Bell spokesperson told Times of San Diego the Cantinas experience will be held Aug. 17-18 at La Valle Coastal Club in Rancho Santa Fe. The spokesperson said 45 overnight weekend experiences were sold at $150 for two people, along with 35 one-day passes at $50 for two people.
Rewards members could reserve a spot on a first-come, first-served basis using the Taco Bell app starting at 9 a.m., Pacific time, on July 16. “Taco Bell fandom came out in full force,” said the spokesperson, adding the promotion was sold out in three minutes.
Money Talk News, a finance and consumer news website, reported that some online fans said they refreshed the app after release time and found that tickets were sold out.
The promotion’s name is similar to the name for Taco Bell Cantina restaurants, which are the chain’s outlets that serve alcohol. Fewer than 200 of Taco Bell’s nearly 8,000 restaurants in the U.S. are equipped as a Cantina with an open kitchen, custom menu and specialty alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, sangria and rum, tequila and vodka versions of Taco Bell freezes.
Marketing Dive, an advertising trade publication, said, “With its latest activation, Taco Bell is looking to connect brand obsessives from a variety of age groups with an experience that recalls the chain’s groundbreaking, pop-up hotel.” The restaurant-theme hotel, called The Bell, operated for a short time in 2019 in Palm Springs and reservations reportedly sold out within two minutes of going live.
Another Taco Bell experiential promotion was held earlier this year in February, on the Friday before Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. The chain presented “Live Más Live,” a live-stream show that featured musical performances, celeb cameo appearances, fan recognition and information about upcoming product launches.
San Diego Opera Hires Ed Hofmeister as Director of Marketing
San Diego Opera, ahead of its milestone 60th anniversary season, has appointed Ed Hofmeister as director of marketing and communications.
He was previously in Miami for under one year as chief marketing officer for the Florida Grand Opera, where he saw increases in ticket sales by 49%, subscription package sales by 18% and subscription income by 21%, according to a statement.
Prior to Miami, Hofmeister worked in the San Diego arts industry, including marketing roles for nine years at the Old Globe, nearly two years at Mainly Mozart and two years at Lamb’s Players Theatre.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ed Hofmeister back to San Diego,” said David Bennett, general director, San Diego Opera. “His extensive experience and dedication to bringing performing arts to new audiences, especially in San Diego, aligns perfectly with our mission to reach even more of our community with the power of the human voice through opera.”
San Diego Opera’s 60th anniversary season opens Friday, Nov. 1 with Giacomo Puccini’s beloved “La bohème,” followed by Richard Strauss’s provocative and intriguing “Salome” in March 2025 and Guiseppe Verdi’s romantic “La traviata” in April 2025. For ticket information, visit www.sdopera.org.
LAist Public Radio Taps Alejandra Santamaria as President/CEO
Alejandra “Alex” Santamaria has been named president and CEO for LAist 89.3-FM and Southern California Public Radio, which operates the Pasadena-based, non-commercial, news-talk radio station previously known as KPCC Los Angeles. She also will oversee the LAist.com website and podcast division LAist Studios.
Santamaria, who succeeds the recently retired Herb Scannell, will begin her new job on July 30.
Previously, Santamaria, a resident of Manhattan Beach, was interim president and GM and director of sales for Univision Los Angeles, which includes two TV stations, four radio stations and digital and social media properties. Before Univision Los Angeles, Santamaria served as president and GM of Univision Arizona.
“Alex is the leader LAist needs today and for the future,” said Drew Murphy, SCPR board chair. “Public radio remains a vital, important part of the Los Angeles media ecosystem and we are confident that her experience and talent is ideal to shepherd us forward, helping us to deliver on our mission, while remaining financially sound, in order to continue our role as an essential resource for our community.”
“Los Angeles is my home and I am thrilled to lead one of the premier mission-driven organizations serving my community,” said Santamaria. “My career has been aligned with a media organization that has meant a lot to me because of their mission to empower, educate, and inform Latinos like my own family. I am ready to bring those skills and passion to LAist.”
The first in her family to be born in the U.S., Santamaria was raised in East Los Angeles. Her parents immigrated to Los Angeles from Sonora, Mexico. After graduating from Loyola Marymount University, she began her media career as an intern at Univision Los Angeles in 1992.
She is a founding member of Univision’s Women’s Leadership Council. She also has served on the boards of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and L.A. County Economic Development Corp.
Recent news reports have noted that LAist recently laid off seven employees as part of an initiative to reduce an estimated budget shortfall of $4 million to $5 million over the next two years. Combined with earlier voluntary buyouts, the organization has cut 28 people this year. Last year, 20 staff lost their jobs, an estimated 10% of staff at the time.
Poll: Americans Dissatisfied With Local Political News
Following the news about U.S. presidential politics is no problem for most Americans, according to a new Pew Research Center report. However, getting news about local government and politics is apparently another matter.
The report found that although most Americans are interested in news about elections, fewer than half (45%) say it is very or somewhat easy to find the information they need to make voting decisions in local elections. By comparison, 59% say it is easy to find information for presidential elections.
Other results from Pew’s survey of 5,146 U.S. adults include:
- Most Americans (68%) often or sometimes get news about local government and politics, but only a quarter of those local political news consumers say they are highly satisfied with coverage quality.
- Americans are more interested in national political news than local political news. More Americans say they are at least somewhat interested in presidential elections (81%) than say the same about local elections (70%). The gap is larger when looking at those who are extremely or very interested in presidential (54%) and local (34%) elections.
- Americans get news about local government and politics from a variety of sources. The most common are friends, family and neighbors (70%) and local news outlets (66%). Just over half say they often or sometimes get local political news from social media.
- Americans who feel more attached to their community are more interested in local political news. Among U.S. adults who feel very attached to their community, 91% are at least somewhat interested in news about local laws and policies, compared with 68% of those who are not very or not at all attached.
The survey, conducted Jan. 22-28, 2024, was funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Results were released July 24.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.
