OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a first-of-its-kind partnership, SONIC® Drive-In (NASDAQ: SONC) is collaborating with Instagram celebrity chef, @ChefJacquesLaMerde, and a group of renowned Instagram design influencers to create the SONIC Square Shake inspired by SONIC’s new line of Creamery Shakes. The Square Shake is made for Instagram, designed by Instagram influencers and only available for order through Instagram.
The SONIC Square Shake will be entirely square, perfect for photographing and sharing, complete with a square cup and a square straw. To top things off, the Shakes will be served on a square tray featuring square versions of the inventive and opulent Creamery Shake ingredients, highlighting the brand’s newest shake addition to its frozen beverage lineup.
Inspired by SONIC’s new Creamery Shakes line, flavor profiles such as Vanilla Bean, Buttered Toffee, Dark Chocolate, Bourbon Brown Sugar, Dulce De Leche and Wildberry & Lavender will be available exclusively through “Shop Now” sponsored ads on Instagram to Coachella festival goers at the Base Camp festival grounds only on April 16. Through Instagram’s “Shop Now” geo-targeted sponsored ads, attendees will be able to order the shakes and sample them on the spot – a first-of-its-kind program for Instagram. Samplers are then encouraged to share their Square Shakes on Instagram with the hashtag #SquareShake, thus completing the Insta-circle.
“We’ve refocused our visual strategy and presence on Instagram, transforming popular SONIC menu items into digital artwork, which has resonated with our followers and resulted in enormous engagement,” said Todd Smith, president and chief marketing officer for SONIC. “We’ve seen a 72 percent growth in Instagram since last September, and partnering with the social platform and @ChefJacquesLaMerde to develop the world’s first shake designed for Instagram is another innovative step forward in our social presence and strategy.”
The SONIC Square Shake is the brainchild of SONIC’s advertising agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, and will be a meta-homage to the platform that launched #beautiful food imagery into the mainstream, with more than 56 million photos tagged with the topical hashtag and more than 178 million tagged #food. To play with this cultural phenomenon, SONIC brought in @ChefJacquesLaMerde, aka Christine Flynn, Executive Chef at Toronto’s IQ Food Co., a well-known food Instagrammer who pokes fun at fine dining by styling and photographing approachable foods in sophisticated ways, to re-create and design SONIC’s new Creamery Shakes into the one-of-a-kind Square Shakes. To further enhance these creations, SONIC recruited a select group of Instagram graphic design influencers @DSchwen, @TimothyGoodman, @VelvetSpectrum, @VPavlovVisuals, @WillBryantPLZ, @MikeyBurton and @JoshuaNom to create colorful backdrops inspired by the unique ingredients and used for all campaign photography.
"People are obsessed with capturing the world on Instagram so we thought ‘What if we manipulated the real world to fit on Instagram?’ instead,” said Margaret Johnson, ECD & Partner, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, SONIC’s creative agency. “We are excited to partner with @ChefJacquesLaMerde, who is famous for turning simple ingredients into works of art on Instagram every day.”
For those unable to attend the festival and try a Square Shake first hand, SONIC’s famous Shakes – including the new line of Creamery Shakes – are available for half-price after 8 p.m. now and all summer long.
About SONIC, America’s Drive-In
SONIC, America’s Drive-In is the nation's largest drive-in restaurant chain serving more than 3 million customers every day. Nearly 90 percent of SONIC’s 3,500 drive-in locations are owned and operated by local business men and women. Over more than 60 years, SONIC has delighted guests with signature menu items, more than 1.3 million drink combinations and friendly service by iconic Carhops. Since the 2009 launch of SONIC’s Limeades for Learning philanthropic campaign in partnership with DonorsChoose.org, SONIC has donated more than $5 million to public school teachers nationwide to fund essential learning materials and innovative teaching resources to inspire creativity and learning in today's youth. To learn more about Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ/NM: SONC), please visit sonicdrivein.com and please visit or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. To learn more about SONIC’s Limeades for Learning initiative, please visit Limeadesforlearning.com.
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