Sonic Drive-in: #Squareshakes [image]

Credits & Description:

Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Brand: Sonic Drive-In
Country: USA
Advertising Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco
Entrant Company: Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco
Media Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco
Pr Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco
Production Company: Elevel Films, San Francisco
Director Of Interactive Production: Margaret Brett-Kearns (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Motion Graphics Artist: Nathan Shipley (Elevel Films)
Associate Creative Director: Tristan Graham (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Motion Graphics Artist: Anthony Enos (Elevel Films)
Interactive Producer: Severin Sauliere (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Account Manager: William De Ryk (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Motion Graphics Artist: Alec Cummings (Elevel Films)
Motion Graphics Artist: Chad Ford (Elevel Films)
Producer: Jamie Antonioli (Dwight Eschliman Photography)
Executive Producer; Director Of Graphic Services: Jim King (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Assistant Editor: Lori Arden (Elevel Films)
Motion Graphics Creative Director: Mike Landry (Elevel Films)
Creative Director: Jon Wolanske (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Designer: Todd King (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Associate Technology Director: Andre Cardozo (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Dp: Charley Weston (Dwight Eschliman Photography)
Senior Interactive Producer: Danielle Riccardi (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Food Stylist: Karen Eva (Dwight Eschliman Photography)
Creative: Laura Petruccelli (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Group Account Director: Leslie Barrett (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Executive Creative Director: Margaret Johnson (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Technology Director: Mike Kellogg (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Music: Nic Dematteo (Elevel Films)
Director Of Elevel: Pj Koll (Elevel Films)
Culinary Artist: Christine Flynn (Chef Jacques La Merde)
Photographer/Director: Dwight Eschliman (Dwight Eschliman Photography)
Editor: Erik Johnson (Elevel Films)
Content Producer: Isaak Le (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Content Creative: Quinn Gravier (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Color: Fabio Benedetto (Elevel Films)
Account Director: Jenna Duboe (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Motion Graphics Artist: Ratha Nou (Elevel Films)
Creative: Rohan Cooke (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Post Producer: Jack Whalen (Elevel Films)
Outcome:
78% of shakes served resulted in an Instagram post from customers. Over 650,000,000 impressions were earned. The campaign exceeded benchmark engagement rates on Instagram by 172%. It was so Instagrammable even Instagram Instagrammed it. And despite a media and production spend of just $150,000, our campaign achieved an unprecedented cost per reach for SONIC of just 0.0002 cents. The campaign earned global media coverage in all the places our design-conscious Millennial audience cares about: VICE, BuzzFeed, MSN, Fortune, Bon Appétit, Fast Company, Food & Wine, Adweek, POPSUGAR, Delish, Seventeen and PSFK, to name a few. #SquareShakes became a trending topic on BuzzFeed. The conversation around #SquareShakes has been 100% positive on social media, with SONIC praised by designers, foodies and hipsters alike. But the most delicious part? #SquareShakes helped SONIC achieve one of the most successful product launches through PR and social (Creamery Shakes) in the company’s 57-year history.
Strategy:
We identified that our audience, food-adventure Millennials, turn to Instagram to find food inspiration, where there are over 178 million user photos tagged #food.But barely 1% of those photos were of fast food, and fewer than 0.00001% were of SONIC food—a fact that won’t surprise you if you try to take a good photo of your next takeaway burger or dessert. With this in mind and only 118,000 followers, we knew that we needed a stronger presence on Instagram.So we set ourselves a brief, to hijack Instagram, which informed every aspect of our campaign. We partnered with one of the most famous chefs on Instagram to create #SquareShakes. We recruited six Instagram-famous designers to design the packaging. We hijacked Coachella, the most Instagrammed music festival in the world, by placing geofenced Instagram ads throughout the event area. And we allowed festivalgoers to order #SquareShakes directly through Instagram.
Execution:
#SquareShakes were announced through targeted social to reach our Millennial audience. On Instagram we leveraged influencer channels and light-touch paid media to distribute photographic assets, a campaign video and a PR “process” film starring Chef Jacques La Merde. Each asset teased the #SquareShakes launch at Base Camp in Coachella Valley. On launch day geofenced Instagram ads appeared on the feeds of festivalgoers in the Coachella area, inviting them to order a #SquareShake by pressing a Shop Now button. This linked to a mobile site, where, with the help of GPS, each user shared their location along with their name and a description of their outfit. This allowed us to deliver each shake minutes after receiving an order.
Synopsis:
There are over 178 million photos tagged with #food on Instagram. But fewer than 0.00001% of these photos feature food from SONIC Drive-In—America’s most popular drive-in restaurant.To make matters worse, eight out of the ten brands with the most Instagram followers are SONIC’s competitors—other fast-food restaurants. With a budget of just $150,000 (media and production), our objective was to encourage the millions of Millennials who share food photos on Instagram to share images of SONIC food too. The problem was this: fast food simply wasn’t photogenic.
Campaign Description:
We created the world’s first product designed to be Instagrammed: SONIC #SquareShakes. Everything from the glass each shake was served in to the shake’s ingredients to the cherry on top was square—perfect for Instagram’s iconic square format. The top of each shake was styled by Instagram-famous chef Jacques La Merde to look beautiful when photographed from above. Then, to capture the attention of our Millennial design-conscious audience, we teamed with six Instagram-famous graphic designers to create packaging for each flavor, which they shared on their Instagram feeds.But #SquareShakes weren’t just made for Instagram. They could be ordered through Instagram, too, when viewers pressed a button that we placed on our Instagram ads. We delivered the shakes instantly to people attending the Coachella Music and Arts Festival by using their phones’ geolocations—the first time a brand had turned Instagram into a fast-food restaurant.