Sonic Drive-in
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- Duration: 0:33
- Published: 2008-04-23
- Uploaded: 2011-01-20
- Author: OneShowTV
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Originally, Top Hat customers would park their automobiles anywhere on the gravel parking lot and walk up to place their orders. However, on a trip to Louisiana, Smith saw a drive-in that used speakers for ordering. He realized that he could increase his sales if he could control the parking and have the customers order from speakers at their cars. Carhops would then deliver the food to the customers. Smith borrowed several automobiles from a friend who owned a used-car lot to establish a layout for controlled parking. He also had some so-called "jukebox boys" come in and wire an intercom system in the parking lot. Sales tripled immediately and his little root-beer stand was a huge success.
Charles Woodrow Pappe, an entrepreneur, stopped — by chance — at the Shawnee drive-in and was very impressed. He got out of his car and began to take measurements of the stalls, trying to determine why they were not all the same size, assuming that it was an essential ingredient of the business plan. Smith came out and introduced himself and explained that the stalls were different sizes simply because different-sized automobiles had been used when he laid out everything. The two men hit it off and, in 1956, negotiated the first franchise location in Woodward, Oklahoma. By 1958, two more drive-ins were built in Enid and Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Upon learning that the Top Hat name was already trademarked, Smith and Pappe changed the name to Sonic. The new name worked with their existing slogan "Service with the Speed of Sound". After the name change, the first Sonic sign was installed at the former Top-Hat Drive-In located in Shawnee. Because the first Sonic sign was installed there, the Shawnee location has been considered to be the first Sonic Drive-In; the original sign can still be seen in Shawnee.
Although Smith and Pappe were being asked to help open new franchise locations, there was, however, no royalty plan in place. The pair decided to have their paper company charge an extra penny for each Sonic-label hamburger bag it sold. The proceeds were to split fifty-fifty between Smith and Pappe. The first franchise contracts under this plan were drawn up by Smith's landlord, O.K. Winterringer, who was also a lawyer. At the time, there was no joint marketing plan or standardized menu and few operating requirements.
In 1973, Sonic Supply was restructured as a franchise company that was briefly named Sonic Systems of America which sold franchisees equipment, building plans and provided some basic operational instruction.
As the company grew into a regionally known operation during the 1960s and 1970s, the drive-ins were located mainly in small towns in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Missouri and Arkansas. In 1967, the year Pappe died, there were forty-one drive-in locations.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Sonic had no strict standardized procedures or recipes for their franchisees. Franchisees or franchise groups often developed their own recipes for different menu items or regional specialties. These variations hampered Sonic's growth during this period, which sometimes led to disagreements between franchise groups over menus, pricing, coupons and advertising. As a franchiser, Sonic did not inspect or monitor its franchisees' operations. Customers never knew what to expect in terms of menu, quality or service. Sonic's future growth was in doubt, and by the 1980s the company was losing money.
Joint advertising brought significant sales growth, and this growth helped franchisees see the benefits of cooperation. Sonic Industries developed a new franchise agreement that required higher royalties and marketing expenditures. There was reluctance to accept these changes by some franchisees, however, the leadership and support of major franchisees had a major impact.
In 1985, the Sonic Management School was re-established with classes taught, for the next ten years, by Doyle Paden, Dona Grigsby and Carl Rose. The school stressed the importance of standardized procedures, sanitation and employee training. Drive-ins were inspected and "mystery-shopped".
New franchises began to expand the company into new areas and redevelop markets that had been unsuccessful in the past. Wallace Hite developed a speed-of-service system which reduced the standard order time from seven minutes to under three minutes. These developments, combined with the advertising campaign featuring Frankie Avalon, the singer and actor, led to significant growth and a new image that would make Sonic a nationally recognized name. The exterior of a fairly typical Sonic from this period (the one located in Marfa, Texas), can be seen briefly in the film Fandango (1985) starring Kevin Costner.
In 1986, Lynn, with a group of investors, completed a $10-million leveraged buyout and took the company private.
In 1987, Sonic moved its offices to leased space at 120 Robert S. Kerr Avenue in downtown Oklahoma City and began to assume a higher profile in the community.
Sonic moved again to better facilities at 101 Park Avenue in a project led by Ray Fain, Sonic's chief financial officer.
Pattye Moore became the new vice president of marketing.
In 1995 Hudson became president and chief executive officer, and Sonic Industries became Sonic Corporation.
During the mid-1990s, Sonic opened 100-150 new restaurants a year. Beginning in 1998, Sonic began a retrofit program, called "Sonic 2000", to redesign and update all 1,750 stores in its chain with, what was called, a "retro-future" look. Expansion into Pennsylvania, upstate New York, Michigan, and Massachusetts followed in 2009 with an October opening on Route 1 in Peabody and an April 2010 opening in Wilmington.
During its early years, some Sonic franchise locations also featured regional items on their menu. Other notable menu items include Ched 'R' Peppers (a form of jalapeño popper) and Tater Tots. The company features a mix-in frozen dessert called "Sonic Blasts", with the prefix being the item blended into the product. The drive-ins also offer add-ons like chili, cheese, and/or jalapeños, on guest's Tater Tots or French Fries as an option for a side with a combination meal. The signature item is the Super Sonic Cheese Burger.
In May 1999, the company began a new advertising campaign featuring the character, Katie the Carhop.
The company is also involved with the event National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The company contracted with Richard Childress Racing in late 2000 to be an associate sponsor for Dale Earnhardt, Sr. during the 2001 NASCAR race season. Earnhardt was killed in the first race of the 2001 season, the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company continued its sponsorship for Kevin Harvick, Childress's new driver of Earnhardt's car, through the end of the 2003 season.
In 2004, the company became more widely known by advertising on TV nationally, in markets hundreds of miles from its nearest franchise. It has also used the slogan "Sonic's got it... others don't", as well as "It's not just good... it's Sonic good", implying a higher standard of quality than normal fast-food fare.
Improvisational actors T. J. Jagodowski and Peter Grosz are known to American television viewers from their series of "Two Guys" advertisements for the drive-ins. Similar series of commercials have also run featuring other duos of improvisational performers (Molly Erdman and Brian Huskey, Katie Rich and Sayjal Joshi, and Emily Wilson and Tim Baltz).
In 2010, the company started national auditions for the new Sonic commercials. The company wanted a new face for the Sonic commercials, but still having "Two Guys". One of which is already airing featuring Lonna, a carhop from Wisconsin. Also Sonic recently changed their slogan to simply "It's Sonic". Sonic launched a commercial in late July to promote its new Coney hot dog that was filmed near Austin, Texas. Katie Ratkiewicz was cast to be the rollerskating carhop after serving several of the commercial producers at Hyde Park Bar & Grill in Austin who convinced her to audition.
Category:Companies based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Category:Companies established in 1945 Category:Drive-in restaurants Category:Fast-food chains of the United States Category:Fast-food franchises Category:Fast-food hamburger restaurants Category:Hot dog restaurants Category:Multinational food companies Category:Restaurants in Oklahoma
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