Taco Bell Teams Up With T-Mobile for ‘T-MoBell’ Stores, Merch

Wordplay comes with the territory of covering the promotional products industry, as companies are fond of distinguishing themselves via catchy puns and quirky titles in their marketing. Taco Bell and T-Mobile are sating our desire for a smile-inducing bit of wit—and all the accompanying merch—through their T-MoBell pop-up stores set to open next week.

Comment with 📱🌮 or 📱🌮 depending on which hand you hold your taco in. https://t.co/CU4iKigcRT

— T-Mobile (@TMobile) July 16, 2019

At this point, we should not find it surprising that Taco Bell has thought of yet another interesting way to market itself, as the last few months have seen some quite compelling concepts come from the Yum! Brands Inc. subsidiary. As summer brings its customary swelters, the fast food chain’s overseers are not letting their creativity wilt in the sun, as they are continuing a partnership with the telecommunication giant that dates back to the winter. This time, the two are going to be delighting fans of not only free tacos but also of co-branded merch July 23-25, with the initial day endowing Taco Tuesday aficionados with even more cause to celebrate.

*lowers sunglasses*
*winks*
You’re welcome.
Get ready at participating Signature Stores! #TMoBell
More info: https://t.co/RwxImQCTk2 pic.twitter.com/kcX2ZoA5ln

— T-Mobile (@TMobile) July 16, 2019

When we learned that the business bond between Taco Bell and T-Mobile would be catering mainly to people in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, our shoulders slumped a bit, as we would have loved for Philadelphia residents to have the experiential marketing campaign mesh with Dietz & Watson’s fan experience in the City of Brotherly Love. As it is, the fortunate residents of and visitors to those three cities will be able to raise their blood sugar through the food offerings and their spirits thanks to items such as taco-themed socks, foam hats and a stick-on wallet.

Given the increasing prevalence of socks in the promo world, those products inspire the most envy among us with respect to the lucky attendees in the T-MoBell endeavor. However, as Marketing Dive and Android Central have pointed out, nobody needs to yield completely to jealousy, as T-Mobile is inviting end-users to take to Twitter to see how they could score other goods, including a $500 Taco Bell gift card. Maybe, if the taco and technology gods smile upon us, we will go on to possess that card or any of the other merch pieces.

From July 23–25, Taco Bell is bringing special pop-up T-Mobile stores to New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, complete with new items, giveaways, celebrity sightings, and much more. https://t.co/61RljFUnLt

— QSR magazine (@QSRmagazine) July 16, 2019

Taco Bell and T-Mobile are engaging in savvy marketing by continuing their connection in the first place, and while the three-day pop-ups will continue the growing trend among entities to attract fans through limited-edition goods, their decision to offer other products following next week’s gatherings is smart, too. It shows that they realize that geography should not be a hindrance to creating additional brand awareness. Yes, the two will have done well by picking three major U.S. cities, but all consumers deserve that chance to go after a little thank-you from the companies that they have made rich.

Since Taco Bell has done well to expand its identity via merch—and because T-Mobile certainly is not struggling to increase revenue—expect for the rest of the summer to find the merger of fast food and tech products proving a deliciously ingenious match.