Over the course of 13 years, SONIC Drive-In's Limeades for Learning program had raised more than $20 million USD and helped tens of thousands of teachers across the United States. Public schools in the U.S. are underfunded by nearly $150 billion each year, and teachers spend an average of $750 of their own money each year to improve their classrooms. However, Limeades for Learning had flatlined in recent years, losing impact at a time when public schools needed support the most. Furthermore, guests weren’t connecting SONIC to the initiative – nor did they understand they could help teachers just by purchasing a drink at SONIC. Other QSR brands with no major education initiatives continued to outperform SONIC in consumer perception of support for local schools. We needed to reinvigorate Limeades for Learning to raise awareness, drive donations through drink sales and close the gap with competitors.

Simplify, simplify, simplify. Creative right? Truly – it was.

We simplified the program’s call to action, distilling it down to its most basic elements: buy a drink at SONIC and help local public education. Beautifully designed assets and simplified branding in ads and other QSR collateral ensured the CTA was one consumers couldn’t miss. This simple, yet impactful, effort made it easy for consumers to understand how an effortless act they already love doing – ordering their favorite drink at SONIC – could help their local community, thereby driving more participation and building brand reputation and value.

Primary research revealed Limeades for Learning delivered in ways SONIC guests cared about most, but they didn’t know about or understand how it worked. Many preferred a program that focused on local public schools, and less the national focus on teachers that SONIC presented in marketing materials. Most importantly, how the money for SONIC’s donations was raised and where it went was opaque and disconnected from what consumers actually value.

So, we shifted the focus from a national campaign to helping fund local schools and communities, reimagined and implemented simplified messaging and branding, increased the prominence of the Limeades for Learning branding at the drive-ins and on the SONIC App AND connected the purchase of SONIC beverages with direct support for local education. The simple message cascaded through all earned media outreach, engaging content from parent and teacher influencers and new digital content on SONIC’s owned and paid channels.

Teacher Appreciation Day (May 3, 2022) brought the new Limeades to Learning to life. SONIC’s social feeds and digital communications lit up with the new branding and content highlighting the simple message plus the simplified CTA for teachers to sign up for Teachers’ Circle rewards program. Messaging appeared in SONIC’s App and on signage at the drive-in to engage guests at point of purchase. We tapped influencers to drive authenticity and underscore SONIC’s commitment to public education in TikTok, Facebook and Instagram posts, while new videos and static ads appeared on Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.

Outreach to food, lifestyle, CSR, nonprofit and education writers announced SONIC would match $1.5 million in donations on DonorsChoose.org, and teachers enrolled in Teachers’ Circle would get a free cheeseburger with purchase on Teacher Appreciation Day. We then shared hyperlocal donation results with media in communities across the U.S. highlighting the program’s local impact.

The relaunch had an immediate impact – awareness of Limeades for Learning skyrocketed, nearly doubling in SONIC markets (from 25% to 43%) year over year.

Moreover, the relaunch clearly connected SONIC’s donations to the simple act of buying a drink and drove business impact: 74% of the consumers surveyed in SONIC markets were motivated to visit SONIC more often and/or purchase more drinks. This increase in awareness and motivation helped SONIC donate a total of $3.4 million USD in 2022, a $900,000 increase (from the $2.5 million level the campaign had stalled at for years).

SONIC was able to fund 9,000 classroom projects.

SONIC garnered 3 billion earned media impressions, a 520% increase year over year. It captured 422 stories in local markets, reinforcing SONIC’s connection with local communities and support for local schools. In addition to donations, SONIC grew its Teachers’ Circle rewards program, which saw a 900% increase in sign-ups compared to the daily average, and 26,705 Teachers’ Circle members redeemed the free cheeseburger with purchase offer, driving additional sales.

New influencer content and digital content on SONIC’s owned channels that underscored the simple call to action garnered over 100 million paid media impressions with a cost per thousand impressions 18% more efficient than projected ($2.76 vs $3.37).