Dieste joins forces with Taco Bell Foundation for Teen Education.

On April 23, 2009, participating Taco Bell restaurants around the nation will be serving up the chance to support teen education and Dieste is helping the company generate awareness for the effort.

The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, the charitable arm of Taco Bell, was created in 1992 and is dedicated to inspiring teens to graduate from high school. Despite its 17-year history, the Foundation has had limited awareness-building efforts, leaving the majority of Taco Bell consumers-many in the teen age bracket– unfamiliar with the non-profit. But Dieste is about to help change that.

On April 23, participating Taco Bell restaurants around the country will donate 15% of their gross sales to help support the Foundation’s mission to stem high school dropout rates. The national problem affects more than one million teens annually: national statistics show that every 26 seconds someone drops out of high school.

To help Taco Bell promote the effort, Dieste has created the first-ever campaign for the Foundation. In one spot, a beautiful, promising, young singer lets the audience in on her prospects as a star. Scheduled to air on major networks including ABC, CBS and NBC, in addition to MTV and Hispanic media, the campaign is aimed at capturing the attention of Taco Bell fans to give back.
Last year, Dieste started a process to help the Taco Bell Foundation For Teens get ready for the spotlight with the development of a new logo, identity and concepts. The agency has been the sole partner in helping support the entity’s branding.

“Our charitable arm has a very important mission that impacts the lives of many teens in our nation. Dieste has been a critical partner in helping us communicate what the Foundation is all about, and helping it resonate with the highly multicultural teen demographic and their parents,” said Bob Fulmer, executive director of the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens.

In developing the campaign, Dieste considered insights and research that connected with the target audience and move them to participate. The campaign will break with national TV spots, radio, interactive and in-store materials.

Dieste also created a Facebook application -“The World’s Largest Yearbook”– that is challenging social media users to join. The goal is to build a Facebook Yearbook with one million “friends”, representing the current number of teens who drop out of high school each year. The site launched April 16.

“The challenge of helping communicate the great work of the Foundation was very exciting because the work and the mission are exceptional. Helping consumers know the work done for teens is very rewarding, “said Aldo Quevedo, president of Dieste.

Nearly one-third of all public high school students—and nearly one half of all African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans—fail to graduate from public high school with their class. National drop out rte 30%, Hispanic drop out rate 48%. (Source: Bridgeland, John; DiIulio, John, Jr.; Morison, Karen Burke (2006). The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts. Washington DC: Civic Enterprises).

Taco Bell raises funds through coin canisters located in Taco Bell restaurants across the country, donations from franchise owners and employee and volunteer support. To date, the Foundation has raised more than $23 million to support teen education.

The national fundraising day at Taco Bell restaurants will be celebrated on April 23.