Sonic Drive-In is in the throws of the fourth year of Limeades for Learning, a signature cause marketing campaign that engages customers and ultimately helps public school teachers and students through non-profit partner DonorsChoose.org. Each week for five weeks, top-voted teacher projects are funded by Sonic for a total of half a million dollars.
To add to the excitement during the campaign’s recent kickoff week, surprise school visits were coordinated in 16 Sonic markets across the country. Local principals helped secretly pull the school together for a surprise assembly where local Sonic franchisees and drive-in representatives presented teachers with oversized checks and the funds needed to fulfill the classroom supplies requested.
These visits are a lot of fun for everyone; I mean, who doesn’t love making someone’s day? But, these surprise school visits also serve other key purposes:
- Local connections: Surprise school visits allow local franchisees to connect with schools and build long-term partnerships.
- Media hook: A four-year-old campaign can become stale if you’re not careful. Surprise school visits give Crossroads an additional media hook about a topic that is no longer the new kid on the cause marketing block.
- Vote, vote, vote: Carefully timed with voting kickoff, surprise school visits are used as a messaging vehicle to let teachers, students and parents know it’s time to vote.
- Surprise and delight: A core SONIC value is to surprise and delight customers. Surprise school visits allow Sonic to take this value one step further.
Make a difference in your community by voting for your favorite classroom projects during the month of October at LimeadesforLearning.com.
