Last chance to save on Digiday Publishing Summit passes is February 9
Like all marketers, Sonic is grappling with how to utilize technology. For Sonic the challenge is to wow customers and make them continue to return to its fast food restaurants — and to do it in a way that makes sense for a classic burgers and shakes drive-in chain.
The 60-year-old brand has embarked on a project to install touchscreen displays at all of its 3,500-plus restaurants across the country. The drive-in screen tech has allowed Sonic to maximize the 11 minutes on average a customer spends on its property, far longer than most fast-food joints. The idea is the systems will allow for customized messages to consumers — and an opportunity for Sonic to capture e-mails for future marketing. Sonic has said the “point of personalized” feature drives higher order size.
“It’s pretty powerful and I don’t think it will allow any fast-food chain to catch up to in 10 years because it is so incredibly unique to our brand,” Sonic director of national marketing Sarah Beddoe said at the Digiday Content Marketing Summit yesterday in Half Moon Bay, California.
Watch the three-minute clip below for Sonic’s thinking behind the initiative.
More in Marketing
What Amazon’s proposed big-box store could mean for Walmart
Public documents published by the Village of Orland Park described a 225,000-square-foot Amazon store that would sell a range of products.
Future of Marketing Briefing: AI companies are staffing up for a reputation fight
AI has an image problem, which explains why the industry is suddenly investing so much energy in who gets to tell its story.
Albertsons is putting digital screens for ads in more than a third of its stores
The retail giant has seen enough success in its digital screen network to begin a rollout in 800 of its 2,200-plus stores in 2026.