Bricks and Clicks

Former Sonic CEO Cliff Hudson and tech executive Craig Miller (ex-CIO, Planet Fitness & Sonic) distills five critical takeaways from their series on integrating technology with brand strategy. They argue that genuine customer value creation – driving top-line growth  and  operator profit – is non-negotiable in the 21st century. Drawing on Sonic’s transformation (from $1B to $5.5B+ in sales fue...

When legacy brands pivot to digital, the path is rarely linear. In this candid discussion, Sonic Drive-In’s former CEO Cliff Hudson and executives Craig Miller and Eddie Saroch dissect the turbulent rollout of their 21st-century "Integrated Customer Engagement" (ICE) strategy—a web of interdependent tech initiatives from POS systems to mobile apps and data-driven marketing. Hudson reveals how Soni...

Sonic Drive-In’s former CEO Cliff Hudson and tech strategist Craig Miller reveal how they defied restaurant industry norms to build a future-proof digital platform  years  before COVID-19. Joined by ThoughtWorks leaders Brandon Byars and Ryan Murray, they unpack Sonic’s gamble: upgrading legacy systems leveraging emerging technologies, and integrating all data sources to create seamless customer e...

Former Sonic Drive-In CEO Cliff Hudson and cohost Craig Miller get together with key architects John Budd and Christina Vaughan to dissect one of retail’s most ambitious transformations: retrofitting 3,500 drive-ins with integrated POS, digital menu boards, and customer tech following the Great Recession. They reveal how the team navigated franchisee skepticism, change management, overnight instal...

How a fast-food giant rewrote its playbook for the digital media era. Former Sonic CEO Cliff Hudson and co-host Craig Miller reunites with media strategist Rob Jayson (USIM) to dissect Sonic’s landmark 2012 media pivot. Facing a franchise crisis in untapped markets, they shifted most ad dollars from local coops to a controversial national fund—overcoming franchisee resistance that unleashed a run...

When outdated tech throttles growth, what’s the fix? For Sonic Drive-In franchise giant DL Rogers Group – operating 269+ stores – the answer was ripping out legacy systems and installing "new digital plumbing." Host Cliff Hudson and former Sonic tech chief Craig Miller dissect the transformation with James Junkin, whose franchise group pioneered Sonic’s ice cream revolution. Junkin reveals how ove...

Fast-food legend Robert Rosenberg — architect of Dunkin’s global expansion — joins Sonic’s Cliff Hudson and tech leader Craig Miller to dissect the unbreakable link between innovation, convenience, and survival in quick-service restaurants. Rosenberg reveals how Dunkin’ turned doughnut scraps into the billion-dollar Munchkin phenomenon during the 1970s oil crisis, while Domino’s boardroom bets on...

Former CEO Cliff Hudson and franchisee Buddy McClain unpack Sonic’s 20-year tech evolution—from skeptics to industry leaders. They reveal how early credit card readers boosted tickets by 40%, why legacy POS systems nearly crippled growth, and how integrating a proprietary mobile app unlocked a competitive advantage for the brand. The payoff? When COVID hit, Sonic’s pre-pandemic mobile investment t...

Former Sonic CEO Cliff Hudson and tech architect Craig Miller reveal how a digital transformation—sparked by Hudson’s 2004 'techno-oval' customer-engagement vision propelled the drive-in chain to $5.8B. They detail overcoming legacy 'tech debt,' leveraging Sonic’s unique 25-stall drive-in model to dominate app-based convenience and scaling integrated POS/mobile systems across 3,600 stores. Despite...