Tim Hackbardt’s professional journey includes ventures into consulting, advertising and even broadcasting, but his path repeatedly brought him back to Del Taco, where he is now chief marketing officer. Del Taco is one of many restaurant chains Tim’s worked at, but he says it’s his favorite because the business model offers countless opportunities to increase sales.

In this episode, Tim and I discuss how he’s working to take a new brand promise and make it the essence of the company’s culture. Listen in to learn how to foster “brand love,” an idea all the most successful organizations can boast.


In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

  • How to apply brand promises internally as well as externally.
  • Sometimes, you must push past a failure and wait until the time is right to try a bold idea again.
  • Find opportunities to break out of day-to-day demands and take time to build emotional connections with your customers.

Key Highlights:

  • [02:21] Becoming an accidental marketing genius
  • [11:04] The importance of brand versatility
  • [14:11] The evolution of the QSR marketplace  
  • [16:47] How the CMO role is defined at Del Taco
  • [18:52] Applying brand promises internally and externally
  • [24:09] Pushing past prior failures
  • [29:27] The experience that defines Tim
  • [32:50] Advice Tim would give his younger self
  • [34:47] What marketers should be learning more about
  • [36:14] Brands and companies to take notice of
  • [38:53] The biggest opportunity or threat for marketers today

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Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on brand, customer experience, innovation and growth opportunities. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine companies.