Sonic, with 3,400 restaurants, plans to increase ad spending to more than $200 million for the next fiscal year (ending 8/31/09)—up 5%. Reportedly, about half of that would be in national cable. Sonic also is a big fan of national network sports broadcasts. CEO Clifford Hudson said creative in the coming year will revolve around new products and less expensive menu choices. He said in his Q4 conference call that they “continued to expand the reach of our brand, opening in several new markets and new states — including New Jersey, Michigan and Minnesota — with very strong sales results.”
