What does a Head of Brand Narrative do?I talked to Sara Singh, Head of Global Brand Narrative at Taco Bell, about the role.
Good morning. Over 2,000 of you have signed up for the private call I am hosting with Instagram on October 28th. I’ve spent this week prepping my questions for VP of Product Tessa Lyons. We’ll get into new features, algorithm mechanics, and tactical advice for posting right now. Why Taco Bell has a Head of Global Brand NarrativeI’ve noticed a very specific word showing up in titles across industries: narrative. Mercury is currently hiring for a Creative Director - Brand Narrative. Mishti Sharma is Head of Narratives at Clay, where she leads the brand’s “narrative motion.” The New York Times has a Head of GTM and Narrative Strategy. I know this type of role isn’t totally new. In 2025, The Wall Street Journal covered the rise of “storytellers” in tech. But as marketing channels continue to become more fragmented and chronology-agnostic, it makes sense that brands would want someone in charge of keeping the story coherent. These narrative roles extend beyond the Twitter tech bubble too. In September, Sara Singh moved from Taco Bell’s Head of Creative Brand Strategy into a new role as their Head of Global Brand Narrative. I wanted to know more about what her job looks like. Below you’ll find my conversation with Sara, where we talk about the role truth plays in good marketing, the “7 Whys” framework, and what exactly someone in a brand narrative position does.
Rachel Karten: First, can you tell me about your role? What does it mean to be the Head of Global Brand Narrative? Sara Singh: Taco Bell has a really unique story to tell, and part of my role is making sure we’re cohesively telling that story across the world. My job is to help shape what Taco Bell means to people and connect that meaning to what we are saying and doing as a brand—from the stories and ideas we bring to life, to the experiences we create and how our fans interact with our brand. We have an uncanny ability to bring people together who might otherwise have very little in common. There’s something special about wildly different people finding themselves in the same drive-thru, craving the same thing. My role builds on that connection and is to help show people different sides of what Taco Bell can be. Rachel: If you had to write a logline for your philosophy or approach to marketing, what would it be? Sara: Give people something actually worth caring about. Rachel: I want to zoom in on brand narrative. A recent guest essay in my newsletter asked the question: “Social media platforms no longer show posts in chronological order, so why do we still roll out campaigns as if they do?” In today’s fragmented social media ecosystem, how do you think about building a coherent narrative? Sara: People don’t experience your brand in the order you put it in a deck (as much as we’d all like them to!). They might discover an idea through a fan’s reaction, a creator’s video, or something that happens in our restaurants. So, each of those encounters needs to make sense on its own. For me, coherence comes from having a clear point of view underneath the work. A great idea can be expressed at any touchpoint, without having to build a more traditional linear narrative. If everything “touches the stone” on a really tight idea, you can bring someone into the fold a million different ways. Rachel: Are there any frameworks that have been particularly helpful in your career? Can you share one? Sara: I’ve always loved 7 Whys. Starting with an observation and asking why, then asking why again, until you get somewhere more revealing. For me, it’s always been a challenging framework because it really forces you to think differently. It’s a simple way to push past the first, obvious answer. The goal isn’t to hit seven questions exactly; it’s to get to a truth that makes you see the problem in a new light.
Rachel: You’ve worked on a lot of campaigns with Taco Bell. If you had to name the most important condition for big, smart ideas to happen, what would it be? Sara: Truth. I think it has to start from some type of truth that the consumer understands and relates to. A fan truth, a brand truth, a cultural truth. When you pay attention to those truths, you find things that are more interesting than anything you could manufacture and give fans a reason to pay attention. Rachel: Tell me about the recent partnership with Duolingo. How did that specific idea come about? Sara: We started with the idea that a love of tacos connects people across cultures. They’re inherently shareable, and they’ve claimed their own weekly day of celebration. Then we found this cool proof point: “taco” is the same in 30+ languages and doesn’t need to be translated to be understood. So when we were ideating on what we were going to do for National Taco Day this year, we thought it was the perfect nugget to build a global idea off of and tapped Duolingo to bring their playful approach to language and connection. With them, we created a campaign build around our iconic sauce packets, where we translated our wisdoms into nine different languages for the first time. On Global Taco Day itself, Duo took over the Taco Bell feeds and stores to encourage everyone to grab a taco and take their lessons.
Rachel: Both Duolingo and Taco Bell have done a good job of moving from utilitarian brands to emotional brands. They mean something to someone. How do you think that’s achieved today? Sara: You have to understand the role you already play in people’s lives. Taco Bell can be so much to so many different people, from a ritual after a test to the place you go to grab a Baja Blast and listen to a new album. Those experiences themselves carry emotion. Our job is to pay attention to those cues and create more opportunities for people to feel them. That can look like listening to them when they ask us to bring back their favorite nostalgic item or showing up for their highs and lows through programs like LOCOS, where we can turn that emotional connection into real life experiences. Just like any other relationship, people need to see that you understand them. Rachel: It’s important that campaigns travel online. What makes someone share something? Sara: As marketers, I think we sometimes overestimate how much people want to pass along a brand’s message and underestimate how much they want to connect with each other. A piece of content can give them a laugh, express an obsession, or make them feel understood. That’s really what’s going to get them to share something, a moment where they think “that’s so me” or “you have to see this.”
Rachel: Maybe there’s a marketer reading this wondering if they should have a brand narrative role on their team. What would you say to convince them? Sara: Every team is contributing to what people think of your brand. Your product launches, social posts, partnerships, experiences, and loyalty programs, they all build that perception. Someone needs to help connect those decisions and ask what they add up to. A brand narrative role brings that perspective and helps teams understand the larger ambition, see opportunities across the business, and make choices that build on one another for a long-term relationship with your fans. Over time, people develop a clearer understanding of who you are and why you matter to them. What I’m scrollingUnfortunately “I used an earwax removal tool for a photoshoot” is a very good hook. 1.4M views. The James Beard Media Awards are introducing a new short-form video category. “Food Culture (Short-Form) celebrates short-form video creators who use their unique POV to help audiences discover food, beverages, restaurants, travel, and the traditions and communities behind them.” Colin and Samir are “starting to set up their own EP business, with (still secretive) projects in development with both Lionsgate and A24.” Interesting nugget from The Hollywood Reporter’s Creator A-List drop. Porto’s Bakery & Café posted that they are opening in the Inland Empire and got 120K likes. I love that the video also works as a re-introduction to the family that owns the bakery. Gizmodo says Elizabeth Holmes’s social media feed hits different after watching ‘You Can See Everything’. I couldn’t agree more.
Feed Me shared that investment research firm Citrini poached creator-journalist Eva Roytburg from Fortune to build out their social presence. “On her first day, she launched the Citrini Instagram accounts.” The inaugural video has 2K likes. Mayor Zohran Mamdani quote tweeted his own post from 2014 to build content off of. A good reminder to see what your brand was tweeting over a decade ago. SharkNinja launched two new creator programs: one for fans and one for employees. “SharkNinja First Fans gives team members across roles and regions training, resources and rewards to show the world the products and the company they help shape—and why they love them. Participants can take part in monthly content challenges and, where eligible, earn affiliate commissions.” Speaking of, a certain Love Is Blind star is back in the office… I shared 13 ways to upend expectations on social media. One of the ideas was to use a familiar hook to open up a portal. I would say this recent video from the Minnesota Orchestra is a perfect example of it. “WHO APPROVED THIS GIVE THEM A MILLION DOLLAR RAISE (and match the wage gap if it was a woman)” That’s a comment on Coterie’s very good video with golfer Max Homa about getting more dads involved in the Parental Mental Load Conversation. The Los Angeles Public Library debated how far into a book you need to get to give up on it. I love that they took what could have been a simple talking head video and turned it into a skit. The comment section is obviously as entertaining as the video itself. Crayola got 17K likes on a video showing how the orange crayon is made. 🗣️ Your ordinary is your audience’s extraordinary. Check out the Link in Bio Job Board
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