Sonny's names new agency of recordSonny's names new agency of record

Alan J. Liddle

MAITLAND Fla. Sonny’s Franchise Co., parent of the 129-unit Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q chain, has named Engauge its new agency of record and said that the two will first collaborate on a promotion to run in or around September.

Engauge, with offices in Orlando, Fla., among other cities, succeeds Ad Partners of Tampa. Fla., Sonny’s agency of record for seven years. Officials of Maitland-based Sonny’s said that as of July 1, Engauge will provide the family-dining chain with creative, media planning and buying, interactive and social media, and account management services.

“It was time for a change,” Monique Yeager, Sonny’s director of corporate affairs and marketing, said of why her company engaged in a "lengthy" review that involved 16 ad agencies.

She said Ad Partners “took Sonny's to the next level at the time they were hired,” but Engauge stood out after the recent review “with their creativity, reputation and industry experience.”

Engauge's past clients have included quick-service chain Chick-fil-A, the NGK spark plug company and the state of Georgia.

Yeager indicated that a new advertising and marketing direction is timely, as Sonny’s is poised for growth.

However, the agency change also comes as the 41-year-old company is forced to deal with the challenges confronting the majority of family-dining players in the annual Nation’s Restaurant News Top 200 census of America’s largest foodservice chains ranked by systemwide sales. Those concerns include shrinkage in the number of franchised restaurants and year-over-year erosion in systemwide sales fueled, in large part, by a maturing franchisee base and the general economic downturn exacerbated by discounting among casual-dining operators and the expansion of breakfast menus by quick-service chains.

For the year ended in December, Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q had U.S. systemwide sales of $265.0 million, down 6.69 percent from the preceding year. The chain ended 2008 with129 total units – 15 company-operated and 114 franchisee-run restaurants – down from 139 locations at the end of 2007.

Yeager said a campaign created by Sonny’s with Ad Partners’ help begins July 6 and for five weeks will promote two discounted limited-time offers: the Smokin’ Baby Back Combo, $9.99, and the Classics Basket, $7.99. The combo features a half rack of ribs and pulled chicken, two sides and cornbread or garlic bread. The basket item includes the chain’s signature ribs, barbecued chicken, one side and cornbread.

The LTOs will be pushed in a variety of ways, Yeager said, including broadcast and cable television, newspaper ads, direct mail, local-store initiatives and the chain’s R U Smokin’ E-Club.

Floyd “Sonny” Tillman and his wife, Lucille, founded Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q in Gainesville, Fla., in 1968 and he still lends his image to marketing materials and appears in some television advertising on behalf of the chain. To enhance guest loyalty, Sonny’s pitches its R U Smokin’ program as a source of “juicy perks and delicious deals” for registered members.

Contact Alan J. Liddle at [email protected].