This summer, SONIC Drive-In sponsored MINDDRIVE’s Coast-to-Coast 2012 event. The non-profit organization works with at-risk urban high school students in Kansas City, Mo. Through hands-on learning techniques and the help of a dedicated group of professional mentors, MINDDRIVE students built an electric car and drove it from San Diego to Jacksonville, Fla. in June.

As part of its sponsorship, SONIC provided pit stops for the traveling party at drive-ins along the route. The stops offered MINDDRIVE the opportunity to refuel with SONIC drinks and food in addition to a place to recharge the electric car.

After coordinating the pit stops with SONIC’s field team and local drive-in franchisees and managers, PR agency Crossroads capitalized on the sponsorship and drive-in pit stops to highlight SONIC and the brand’s long-standing education commitment to local media and connect the drive-ins with their local communities. Through 16 SONIC pit stops along Interstate 10, Crossroads was able to maximize the national sponsorship by localizing the story and driving traffic on-lot.

The campaign resulted in 16 news stories and 2.5 million impressions, engaged SONIC’s social media community through Facebook posts and tweets, and energized local drive-in crewmembers to become more involved in SONIC’s commitment to education.

Visit the Crossroads blog for full post with video and photo gallery.