Customer loyalty programs are nothing new. The challenge is creating one that cuts through the clutter and consistently brings customers back for more.

Taco John’s believes it has the answer.

The company is launching “My Town Mania” this month. The program is different from other customer loyalty programs in that it does not award points for simply eating the restaurant’s food. Instead, My Town Mania incorporates a variety of social media applications to remind customers that Taco John’s is a part of their community.

“Taco John’s customers have deep connections to their communities. This is a fun, natural next step for our ‘My Town. My Taco John’s’ campaign to go digital,” says Renée Middleton, vice president of marketing for Taco John’s. “We want it to be easy for customers to play, so we’ve made My Town Mania available at www.MyTacoJohns.com and on Facebook.”

Customers are rewarded for engaging with Taco John’s online by posting photos and videos of themselves, family members, and friends eating Taco John’s menu items and interacting with the brand through various missions. These missions will feature local settings and community landmarks beyond the Taco John’s restaurants. Customers earn free food, coupons, and merchandise, like retro t-shirts featuring some of Taco John’s historic logos, as they reach higher point levels.

“To keep customers engaged we’re also offering bonus missions,” Middleton says. “These missions will be time sensitive and reward first responders. But most of all, we hope all Taco John’s customers will try My Town Mania and have fun earning free food and rewards.”

Customers will be able to join an online community and see other players from their hometown. A leader board will track who has the most points and how many missions have been completed. And integration with Facebook makes it easy to share the game with friends on the social media super site.

Watch more on My Town Mania below.