Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill Creates Powerhouse Creative Team

April 2003

HIRES TWO NEW AGENCIES

Awards Advertising Account to Los Angeles-based Siltanen/Keehn

Merchandising, Branding and Design Services Awarded to San Francisco-based Tesser Inc.

San Diego, California (April 1, 2003) -- Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill today announced it has created one of the finest braintrusts in its category by naming two new agencies to handle its advertising and design work.

To further strengthen its positioning as The Flavor Leader in the quick casual category, Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill awarded its broadcast advertising account to Los Angeles-based Siltanen/Keehn. Additionally, San Francisco-based Tesser was recently engaged to handle the merchandising, branding, graphic and environmental design.

The account awards conclude a three-month review process. Rubio’s has recently embarked on a brand evolution which includes strengthening its marinated grilled chicken and steak product lines, upgrading guest presentation with new packaging and redesigned salsa bars, expanding the HealthMex® menu items, as well as rolling out a new design prototype for its restaurant locations.

“We were looking for an advertising agency with a break-out campaign that would leverage Rubio’s distinct personality in the marketplace,” said Sheri Miksa, president and COO, Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill. She added, “Siltanen/Keehn impressed us with its creative ideas, passion for our brand and strong history of ground breaking work.”

Siltanen/Keehn will be responsible for broadcast advertising creative.

Tesser will head up the branding, graphic and environmental design effort including in-store signage and merchandising, promotional materials and décor elements.

“We were excited about the work Tesser has done for other restaurant companies. Because they understand the competitive landscape in the restaurant business, they will be better able to help us differentiate our brand and leverage Rubio’s “flavor leader” positioning in the quick casual fresh Mexican grill category,” added Miksa.

About Siltanen/Keehn

Founded in January 2000 by TBWA Chiat/Day veterans Rob Siltanen and Pam Keehn, Siltanen/Keehn is widely considered one of the hottest young agencies in the country. Creating famous, talked-about ad campaigns that deliver top sales results for their clients is the agency’s trademark.

Mr. Siltanen and Ms. Keehn have provided their talents for clients such as Nissan, Infiniti, Apple, Levi’s, the International Olympic Committee, Taco Bell, Spectrum Health Clubs, Round Table Pizza, and Gateway. Siltanen’s work has twice won the Grand Effie Award for the most effective advertising in America and it’s received an array of creative honors such as the Emmy Award, Clio Awards, and Commercial of the Year awards from Time magazine, Rolling Stone, Adweek and USA Today. Siltanen/Keehn is credited as one of the world’s first ad agencies to merge advertising with entertainment. The agency’s "Baby Bob" character led to the highly-rated “Baby Bob” primetime television show on CBS.

About Tesser

With offices in San Francisco and Boulder, Colorado, Tesser is a decade-old, award-winning Big Picture Branding and Design Agency. The company provides strategic brand consultants and designers, partnering with clients to create and evolve their brands across corporate identity, packaging, advertising, web sites, and retail environments.

A historical sampling of Tesser’s clients includes: Quiznos, Clorox, Chevys Restaurants, The Gap, Rock Bottom Restaurants, Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill, Malibu Rum, Musco Family Olive Company, Noah's Bagels, Stuart Anderson's, Gymboree, Fox Shox, Denver Art Museum, and Gates Rubber Company.

About Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill

Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill is a leader in the high quality quick casual fresh Mexican grill segment. Bold, distinctive and delicious Baja-style flavor is the hallmark of Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill. The “Flavor Leader” within the quick casual fresh Mexican grill category, Rubio’s serves a range of flavorful, Baja-style foods including the now “World Famous Fish Taco”, great chargrilled chicken and steak products like burritos, salads, bowls and quesadillas. Also featured is delicious seafood including lobster, shrimp and grilled mahi mahi—all served in a relaxed, warm and inviting atmosphere reminiscent of Baja. Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill., is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ:RUBO) headquartered in Carlsbad, California. Rubio’s operates, licenses or franchises 144 restaurants in California, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. For more information, visit the website at www.rubios.com.

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About Tesser

Since 1993, Tesser has been building powerful brands by focusing on the big picture: 360 degrees of uncompromised thinking on branding and integrated design. As strategic consultants, designers, and branding experts, Tesser helps clients create both long-term brand value and highly effective design programs. Tesser provides a unique mix of strategy, naming and verbal branding, corporate identity, retail design, merchandising, packaging design, and web site design.

Based in San Francisco, Tesser's clients include Quiznos Sub, Musco Family Olive Company, Clorox, Chevys Restaurants, Noah's Bagels, Dairy Queen, Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill, Figaro's Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Harkins Theatres, Rock Bottom Restaurants, Pat and Oscar's Restaurants, Gap, Gymboree, and Fox Shox.

For more information, please contact Tesser at:
info@tesser.com
1-800-310-4400
Copyright ©2003, Tesser Inc.