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Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Awesome brand, terrible email: a California Tortilla story

About six months ago, a friend of mine forwarded me an email from California Tortilla, a Mexican restaurant chain, suggesting that they might need some help with their emails. As I did some investigation into Cal Tort, I was immediately hooked into how they brand themselves and their corporate mantra: have fun and don't take yourself too seriously.

From their YouTube clips to their in-store promotions to the fact they don't have a location in California, Cal Tort has taken the idea of eating and being entertained to a whole new level. We're not talking Applebee's stuff on the wall forced-fun entertainment, but put it this way: I can't imagine walking out of a Cal Tort and not having a smile on your face.

(Did I mention I'm a fan of a restaurant of which the closest location is roughly a 10-hour drive away and that I've never been there before?)

However, they really fall flat when it comes to their email and it breaks my little burrito heart; misaligned, full of waayyyy too much text and not really representative of the atmosphere they try to create in their stores. Take a look and see for yourself. I just don't get how stuff like this can slip through the cracks.

The fixes are obvious: new template that renders correctly across all browsers, less text with more links back to hosted content on the site and more of a push for their monthly promo: fish tacos. You can still have fun using email, but following some basic best practices is a great way to start. 


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Posted on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at 11:36 AM in Best Practices

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