This story is the latest in a series exploring how brands craft standout social media strategies. If you’d like to chat about how your brand is approaching social, Katie Hicks wants to hear about it. Reach out to her at hicks@morningbrew.com.

Taco Bell has been going viral for more than a decade—and there’s más where that came from.

The fast-food brand has made its mark on the internet with quippy posts, unexpected collabs, and social-first events like the annual Live Más Live, where new menu items are announced as if they’re the latest tech innovation.

Nicole Weltman, head of social and PR for Taco Bell, told us she was a fan of the brand long before joining the team nearly four years ago. During her tenure, she said, Taco Bell has focused on sharpening its brand voice and its social strategies as it has continued to grow an international presence alongside its online presence. Taco Bell now has 4 million followers on TikTok, 1.9 million on Instagram, and 1.8 million on X.

Earlier this month, Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum Brands, reported that Taco Bell saw same-store sales lift 7% in Q3 at a time when many other fast-food chains are struggling. Yum Brands CEO Christopher Turner said on the earnings call that he attributed the brand’s performance to “innovation, distinctive value offerings, and digital engagement.”

The secret sauce to that digital engagement isn’t diablo or spicy ranch, but rather a sustained commitment to listening to and delivering on what customers want.

“We put the brand in the hands of our fans,” Weltman said.

Continue reading here.—KH

Feeling the inexplicable urge to shout “yeehaw” or rock a pair of cowboy boots? You’re not the only one.

Due perhaps in part to the rise of popular Western-themed shows, from Paramount’s Yellowstone to Netflix’s Ransom Canyon, the Wild, Wild West has had plenty of screentime, and there’s about to be even more. Western sports media and entertainment company Teton Ridge recently rolled out its first-ever slate of original programming after acquiring the Cowboy Channel last year, with the new originals representing the company’s push to modernize and grow Western sports like rodeo, bull riding, barrel racing, and roping ahead of next month’s National Finals Rodeo, according to the company’s former CEO, Deirdre Lester.

“If we are now reaching a broader audience, and we want to bring people into this universe, we need to do that through not just giving them access to live sports, but also storytelling around that,” Lester, who announced she would be stepping down after speaking with Marketing Brew, said; private equity exec Shawn Colo is taking over as executive chairman.

First rodeo: The Cowboy Channel has traditionally been known for airing live or replayed rodeo content, but when Teton Ridge acquired it last November, it was with the goal of pivoting to an omnichannel approach, Lester said. The new slate of originals will roll out on its streaming service, Cowboy Channel+, as well as on free streaming services and social media platforms, with the “intention of reaching a broader audience” that includes younger viewers, she said.

• That content spans documentary-style programming following individual athletes, series spotlighting different disciplines, and lifestyle-oriented content including a show about an iconic ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the family that runs it.

Shoulder programming has become a key marketing tool for sports leagues and organizations, and for Teton Ridge, Lester said the strategy is part of a broader effort to level up its content. The focus, she said, is to become more “on par with other professional sports in terms of the way the viewer experiences it.”

Read more here.—AM

We all know consumers are shopping earlier every year, but are retailers keeping up? According to the latest internal data from Omnisend shared with Retail Brew, not quite.

While many Americans (56.1%) are buying gifts a lot earlier than Black Friday, Omnisend’s data shows that only 24.4% of brands kicked off their holiday marketing campaigns before November 11.

The survey, which analyzed marketing emails sent by 4,500 US-based e-commerce brands between September 1 and November 11, also tracked the precise timeline of campaigns as they were released.

By September 1, just 4.8% of brands had launched holiday promotions. That share rose to 13.1% by October 1 and 21.6% by November 1—when many shoppers had already wrapped up most of their lists, according to Omnisend.

The stretch between October 31 and November 5 marked the “busiest” period, with 19% of all new campaigns going live.

“There’s a clear disconnect between when people start buying and when brands start talking to them,” Marty Bauer, e-commerce expert at Omnisend, said in a statement. “Our data suggests that by the time many brands turn on their holiday campaigns, a big portion of shoppers have already started ticking names off their lists. The winners are the brands that show up early with clear, relevant offers, not just the ones shouting the loudest on Black Friday weekend.”

Read more on Retail Brew.—JS

Executive moves across the industry.

• Fundamentalco, a brand consulting firm catering to private equity, hired DDB Worldwide global CEO Alex Lubar as CEO, per WSJ.
• Sonos hired ad veteran Colleen DeCourcy, formerly of Snap, as CMO beginning in January.
• NBCUniversal has hired former Paramount co-CEO Chris McCarthy, where he will work closely with Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan.
• Saucony CMO Joy Allen-Altimare stepped down from her role.