EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
 Marketing and Advertising Objectives
 Sonic Drive-In would like to expand franchises into the upper Mid
West and North West regions of the United States. The Sonic
franchise is well known in the American South East and we feel there
is an opportunity to expand to these states.
 We plan on having Sonic capture at least 20% of the market in these
regions and raise between 15 – 40% brand awareness with the target
market.
 Target Audience
 Men between the ages of 18 – 50 that are up late at night looking for
a quick meal or a snack are an ideal target for Sonic’s menu and
drive-in style.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
 Scheduling Strategy and Media Mix
 We want to begin priming with increased advertising in the spring
season which will eventually lead to peak advertising in the summer
months (June, July, August). The advertising will be a mixture of
Television, Outdoor (Billboard), Online (Social Media), and Radio
SITUATION ANALYSIS
 Background Information
 - Sonic Corp. operates and franchises the largest chain of
drive-in restaurants (“Sonic Drive -Ins”) in the United States.
 The Sonic Drive-In restaurant chain was begun in the early
1950’s. Sonic Corp. was incorporated in the State of Delaware
in 1990 in connection with its 1991 public of fering of
common stock.
SONIC BRAND
 At a standard Sonic Drive -In restaurant, a customer drives into
one of 20 to 36 covered drive -in spaces, orders through an
intercom speaker system, and has the food delivered by a
carhop. Many Sonic Drive -Ins also include a drive-thru lane
and patio seating.
 Sonic Drive-Ins feature Sonic signature items, such as
specialty drinks including cherry limeades, slushes, frozen
desserts, made-to-order sandwiches, hamburgers, extra -long
cheese coneys, hand-battered onion rings, tater tots, salads,
and wraps. Sonic Drive-Ins also of fer breakfast items and
Drive-Ins serve the full menu all day.
COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
 Sonic competes in the restaurant “quick serve” industry, a highly
competitive industry in terms of price, service, location, and food
quality. The restaurant industry is often affected by changes in
consumer trends, economic conditions, demographics, traffic
patterns, and concerns about the nutritional content of quick service foods. Sonic competes on the basis of speed and quality
of service, method of food preparation (made -to-order), food
quality and variety, signature food items, and monthly
promotions.
 The quality of service, featuring Sonic carhops, constitutes one
of our primary marketable points of difference from the
competition. There are many well -established competitors with
substantially greater financial and other resources. These
competitors include a large number of national, regional, and
local food services, including quick -service restaurants and
casual dining restaurants.
TOP 10 FAST FOOD CHAINS IN US
 Competitive Store Counts
1 . McDonalds 14,000
2. Burger King 7,760
3. Wendy’s 6,576
4. Dairy Queen 5,050
5. Sonic 3,572
6. Jack in the Box 2,100
7. Hardees 1 ,687
8. Carl’s Jr. 1 ,104
9. Checkers 800
10. Five Guys 735
http://eaters.com/authors/raphael -byron
ADVERTISING AND MEDIA ANALYSIS
 Qualitative:
- Sonics' current market plan includes promotions throughout
the Sonic chain, through T V, radio, and interactive media
promotions, generally center on new limited time products
and signature items.
Competitors
McDonalds- image and slogans (I’m Lovin It), products, dollar
menu
Burger King- Image, mascot, slogan (Have it Your Way), product
SOV
 S o n i c to t a l s p e n d i n g i n 2 01 1 - $ 1 3 6 , 5 8 4 ,8 0 0
 N et w o rk T V - $ 1 4 , 016 ,10 0 , S OV = 1 . 3 %
 S p o t T V - $ 6 3 , 6 3 9 , 3 0 0 , S OV = 5 . 9 %
 S L N T V - $ 1 3 , 2 6 9 , 2 0 0 , S OV = 6 .1 %
 C a b l e T V - $ 3 4 ,1 8 0 ,7 0 0 , S OV = 3 . 7 %
 N ew s p a p e r - $ 3 8 ,1 0 0 , S OV = 0 . 4 %
 L o c a l R a d i o - $ 4 , 0 2 3 , 9 0 0 , S OV = 2 . 0 %
 O u t d o o r - $ 3 , 8 21 ,8 0 0 , S OV = 2 . 3 %
Kantar Media Copyright 2011
KEY CONSUMERS
 D e m o g r a p h i cs
-Age 18-54
- Wo r k i n g m e n a n d w o m e n
- c o l le g e e d u c a te d
 L i f e s t yl e s
-HHI $45,000 or more
-1-4 children in family
- h o m e ow n e r s
 Media Usage
- l i g h te r T V v i ew e r s
- h e av y m a g a z i n e r e a d e r s
- l i g h t n ew s p a p e r r e a d e r s
- h e av y i n te r n et u s e r s
SEASONAL FACTORS
 Seasonal- Results show during Sonics' second fiscal quarter
(the months of December, January and February) sales
generally are lower than other quarters because of the lower
temperatures in the locations of a number of Partner Drive -Ins
and Franchise Drive -Ins, which tends to reduce customer visits
to our drive-ins.
GEOGRAPHIC FACTORS
 Geography
In terms of geographical factors, Sonic’s growth appeared to be
determined by the economy, and due to recent troubles with the
economy Sonic’s growth has started to slow. Choosing the right
place would first have to be looking at the overall income of the
area.
It is shown that Sonic has higher index numbers in places where
people are making at least $45,000 dollars a year, so when
picking a place there should be a focus on areas with an income
near or higher than that. It also seems that index numbers for
Sonic are higher in areas with families with anywhere to 1 -4
children, after that the numbers start to drop. By focusing more
on areas with families who have at least 1 -4 children and are
living in the middle class or higher would be more beneficial
when deciding where to spend advertising dollars and place new
stores in the North.
STORE LOCATIONS
SWOT ANALYSIS
 Strengths
 Sonic Corporation operates and franchises the largest chain of drive -in
restaurants in the United States.
 One of the only drive -ins to feature “car hops” which generally deliver
food to car s on roller skates.
 Large and wide ranging menu, anything from burgers to breakfast and
desser ts.
 The full menu is available all day long.
 Customer loyalty is among the strongest in the food industr y.
 One of the fastest growing and most successful franchises in the
nation.
 Operations running from coast to coast, totaling in 3,572 locations.
 Franchisees are a vital par t of the continued growth of the company.
 Quality of Ser vice separates Sonic from the competition.
 Sonic is number 5 in the total of competitive store counts in the United
States.
SWOT ANALYSIS
 Weaknesses
 Sonic experiences difficulty with sales in the winter months,
especially in Northern locations. Other fast food locations that
do not have drive-in style service generally experience a better
turn out for obvious reasons relating to the weather.
 Sonic is a “burger and dog” restaurant which puts them against
traditionally stronger competitors such as McDonald’s, Burger
King, and Wendy’s.
 Sonic does not boast nearly as many store locations as the above
mentioned fast food giants and must drive its profits by playing
up their distinct method of drive -in service.
 Sonic faces competition against other fast -food establishments
that provide more diverse menu choices, such as pizza and
health food options.
SWOT ANALYSIS
 Opportunities
 Health food menu options are something that Sonic has yet to
fully exploit and it may help raise brand awareness.
 Due to low sales during the winter months, Sonic can attempt
to position itself with more winter friendly products such as
hot beverages.
 The South is already a strong region for Sonic, we can
continue to build on this.
 Many Northern regions are not familiar with the Sonic
franchise but there are many opportunities to expand and
promote drive-in style fast food.
SWOT ANALYSIS
 Threats
 Lack of brand awareness compared to competition such as
Wendy’s, McDonalds, Burger King.
 People looking for healthier food options may not want to
purchase from Sonic.
 Seasonal factors af fect the point of having a drive -in style
restaurant.
 Low entry barriers.
MARKETING OBJECTIVE
 Capture 20% market share in new regions of North -Northwest.
 States include; Washington, Oregon, Northern Idaho,
Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan.
ADVERTISING OBJECTIVE
 Distinguish Sonic from competition, primarily drive in, fast
food chains and to increase brand awareness from 15% to
40% among adults 18-52.
TARGET AUDIENCE
 Target audience is fast food eaters looking for a change of
pace from the traditional drive -thru. The Sonic Drive -in
experience is for consumers who want a more comfortable
pace and a diverse menu ranging from snacks to meals to
desserts.
TARGET AUDIENCE
 Target audience will be in the age range from 18 -52
 Focusing on audience with income range of $40,000 and
higher (2011 Gfk MRI Doublebase)
MRI BY AGE
Heavy Fast
Food/
Drive-In
Rest
Any Burger Rest
Sonic Drive-in
(000)
Vert%
Horz%
Index
(000)
Vert%
Horz%
Index
(000)
Vert%
Horz%
Index
AGE 18-24
13858
15.3
48.0
121
24169
13.6
83.6
107
4339
15.9
15.0
126
AGE 25-34
18925
20.9
46.4
117
33701
18.9
82.7
106
5898
21.7
14.5
121
AGE 35-44
18462
20.4
44.5
112
34068
19.1
82.0
105
5491
20.2
13.2
111
MRI BY INCOME
Heavy Fast Food/ Drive-In Rest
Any Burger Rest
Sonic Drive-in
(000)
Vert%
Horz%
Index
(000)
Vert%
Horz%
Index
(000)
Vert%
Horz%
Index
HHI $40000-$49999
7950
8.8
39.5
99
16041
9.0
79.6
102
2309
8.5
11.5
96
HHI $50000-$74999
18284
20.2
41.8
105
34986
19.7
80.0
102
5781
21.2
13.2
111
HHI $75000-$99999
13892
15.3
44.2
111
25667
14.4
81.7
105
4574
16.8
14.6
122
HHI $100000+
24578
27.1
42.7
107
45368
25.5
78.9
101
7313
26.9
12.7
107
CREATIVE POSITIONING
 Sonic Drive-In wants to give it’s customers a convenient,
personalized experience that has the feel of a classic
American drive-in while of fering a diverse menu of snacks and
other delicious treats.
 Sonic is, “America’s Drive-In”
POSITION STATEMENT
 Sonic Drive-In provides a one of a kind fast food experience to
the consumer. We are the largest chain of drive -in restaurants
in the United States and we take pride in providing a unique
menu with intimate car -hop service.
CONNECTION OPPORTUNIT Y
 Style of service
 Restaurant treatment for fast food prices
 Convenience
MEDIA OBJECTIVES
 Achieve 40% reach of target audience of adults 18 -52 and
frequency of 4.2.
OSTROW MODEL PART 1:MARKETING
FACTORS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Established brand? Yes +.1
High Market Share? +.1
Dominant Brand? -.1
High Brand Loyalty? +.1
Long Purchase Cycle? -.1
Product Used Occasionally? +.1
Need To Beat Competition? +.2
Advertising To Older Consumers/Children? +.2
Total= .6
OSTROW MODEL PART 2: COPY FACTORS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Simple Copy? -.1
Copy More Unique? +.1
New Campaign? +.2
Product Sell Copy? +.1
Single Message? -.1
New Or Old Messages? +.1
Larger Ad Units? -.1
Total=.2
OSTROW MODEL PART 3:MEDIA FACTORS







Low Ad Clutter? +.2
Compatible Editorial? +.1
Attentiveness? +.1
Continuous Advertising? -.1
Few Media Used? +.2
Opportunities For Media Repetition? -.1
Total=+.4
GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE
 Spot advertising (regional)
 Washington, Oregon, Northern Idaho, Wisconsin, North and
South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan.
REGIONS
 Map shows locations of individual markets involved and to
increase brand awareness in these states
SeattleTacoma, WA
Helena, MT
Missoula, MT
Glendive, MT
Great Falls, MT
Spokane, WA
Billings, MT
Portland, OR
Eugene, OR
MedfordKlamath Falls
ButteBozeman, MT
Yakima,
Bend, OR et al, WA
Minot et. al, ND FargoValley CIty, ND
Marquette, MI
Green Bay, Appleton
Marquette, MI
Traverse City, MI
Great Falls, MN
Alpena, MI
Flint, et. al, MI
Rapid CIty, SD
Sioux Falls, SD
La Crosse,
Mankato, MNEau Claire, WI
Wausau- Milwaukee, WI
Detroit, MI
Rhinelander
Madison, WI
Lansing, MI
Grand
Rapids,
et. al, MI
GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE
 Table shows number of stores in market area.
Market
Current
New
Alpena, MI
0
1
Bend, OR
2
0
Billings, MT
0
5
Detroit, MI
8
0
Duluth-Supierior, MN-WI
0
4
Eugene, OR
2
0
Madison, WI
1
1
Milwaukee, WI
3
0
Minot et al, ND
0
1
Rapid City, SD
1
4
Spokane, WA
2
3
(Sonic.com)
SCHEDULING
Ad Spending in 2008 and 2009 by Market Leaders.
SONIC’S AD CONTENT VS.
COMPETITION
 Food was featured most prominently (i.e. appearing
on screen for more than 50% of the time) in
approximately one quarter of general audience ads,
including 35% of Sonic Ads and almost one -third of
Pizza Hut, Dunkin Donuts, KFC, Dairy Queen, and
Taco Bell ads. Food was shown being consumed in
nearly half of ads.
Data from Nielsen Co.
CURRENT AD CONTENT
 The Majority of Sonic ads (54%) showed customers eating in
their cars. Wendys (28%) and Pizza Hut (24%) showed eating
at the table more than any other restaurants. Taco Bell (28%)
Sonic (11%) and Burger King (9%) promoted late night menus
and eating late at night in their ads.
RATIONALE FOR TARGETING TEEN TO
ADULT MALES.
SCHEDULING RATIONALE- CATEGORY &
COMPETITOR SPENDING
 Primar y competition is McDonalds, the Market leader.
 McDonald's Deliver s A Januar y Comparable Sales Increase Of 6.7%
in Februar y 201 2, McDonalds does well in winter months, we plan to
heavy up our adver tising expenditures during summer months
Sonic cannot afford to try to compete with
McDonalds, Subway and Burger King in
focusing advertising to children.
MEDIA MIX

1.
2.
3.
4.
We have chosen four media classes.
T V-Regional Spot ads
Radio
Internet-Social Media
Outdoor-Billboards
TV-SPOT ADS
Strengths
 T V i s t h e m o st i m po r t a nt m e di um
to a dve r t iser s a n d c o n s umer s.
 2 0 0 8 , wa t c h i ng T V ra n ke d t h i rd
a m o ng a l l o f l i fe’ s a c t i v ities,
Ave rage pe r s o n=2. 6 h o ur s a day.
 T V ra n k s s e c o n d i n c o n s umer
pe rc e pt i o n o f i n fl uenc e o n
purc h a s e de c i s ions.
 B uy i n g t i m e s pot s fo r i n dividual
pro g ra m s o r c a bl e c h a n n els w i l l
be s t re a c h t h e t a rg et a udi e n ce .
 Se l e ctive Re a c h - ta rg eti ng po s s ible
w i t h c o rre c t pro g ra m s e lec t ion, fo r
So n i c , Spo r t s a n d N ew s n et wo rk s
w i l l m o s t l i kely re a c h t a rg et .
 Fl ex i bilit y - Spot s ava i lable fro m : 10
to : 9 0 + t h a t a l low us to re m i nd
q ui c kly o r pe r s ua de e a s ily.
Disadvantages
 H i g h C o s t - to a c h i e v e e f f e c t i v e r e a c h ,
r e q u i r e s l a r g e a m o u n t s o f o u t o f p o c ke t
i nv e s t m e n t .
 Intrusiveness
 “ Z a p p i n g ” - D V R s h av e m a d e i t p o s s i b l e
to s k i p r i g h t p a s t c o m m e r c i a l s .
RADIO
 Strengths
 Radio is excellent for local
businesses
 80% of total radio spending is
local businesses
 Targeting- cer tain
demographics and lifestyles,
from teens to older adults,
more precisely than most
other media.
 Cost Ef ficient, less than 50%
of T Vs CPP.
 Tighter Geographic Targeting
 Af fordable
 Creative Impact
 Disadvantages
 Ad Exposure- has a lot of
clutter, audience may not be
paying full attention
 Non Visual
 Older Medium
RADIO SELECTION
 We have Chosen 2 Radio Stations to advertise on:
 KCLK- 1430AM- ESPN Sports Radio
 Our target listens to spor ts radio, this is a regional station.
 KAVZ-LP- 102.5 FM Community Radio
 L o c a l R a d i o S t a t i o n , d i r e c t ly t a r g et i n g c o n s um e r s w i t h i n a r e a s , t h a t h av e a s o n i c
restaurant.
SOCIAL MEDIA
 Strengths
 Engagement: Customer
Engagement
 Direct Consumer
Communication: Quick
information about consumer
and customer preferences and
issues in real time and
regularly.
 Low Cost: It can almost be free,
except for it is labor intensive.
 Brand Building: Engaging
consumers and building long
term relationships contributes
to brand equity and brand
loyalty.
Disadvantages
 Out of Pocket expenses are
minimal, but time spent
managing social media
campaigns can be extensive.
 It is hard to assess value
received side of social media
marketing.
SOCIAL MEDIA
SOCIAL MEDIA
BILLBOARD
 Strengths : Large format gives them tremendous impact in




outdoor marketplace.
Locating on major highways and expressways, placed in areas
of high density vehicle traf fic.
Excellent visibility, they allow for creative customizing via
extensions and embellishments.
Directional: along the highway that tell passerby where to exit
for Sonic.
Can include Digital components, to be managed from a
central location.
NON-TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING
Social Media
Billboard
 Promotions
 “Drive-In Sonic”
 Foster customer interaction
via Facebook and Twitter
 Garner attention in North
West region through updates
and customer interaction
 “Late Night Adventures with
Sonic” where consumers post
and/or tweet experiences
 Billboard advertisement with
rotary visuals
 Over the road to create the
effect of “driving-in”
 Will be eye-catching and
exciting
 This is a bold medium that
cannot be missed on the
highway
MEDIA MIX ANALYSIS
 T V: Index of 105. Sonic= 5,756,000/18,908,000 (fast food
customers in region) x 100= 30.4% of target views spot T V
adver tisements.
 Radio: Index 105. Sonic=5,697,000/19,544,000(fast food
customers in region, using radio) x 100= 29.1% of target.
 Outdoor-Billboard: Index 1 22. Sonic=6,637,000/20,878,000(100)=
31 .7%
 Internet-Social Media: Index 111 .
Sonic=6,062,000/19,993,000(100)= 30.3%
BUDGET ALLOCATION-$28 MILLION
COST