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Bricks and Clicks

Bricks and Clicks

Auteur(s): Cliff Hudson and Craig Miller
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 What does it really take to lead a legacy brand into the digital era—and keep it thriving? Why do some companies succeed, and others don’t?

Bricks and Clicks is a masterclass in modern business strategy and transformational growth. Hosted by Cliff Hudson, former CEO of Sonic Drive-In, and Craig Miller, veteran strategist and technology leader, this podcast explores how traditional businesses can evolve, innovate, and lead in a fast-changing world.

Each episode features actionable in-depth discussions with visionary executives, digital pioneers, and brand builders who are redefining what it means to serve customers in the age of disruption. From leadership in legacy companies to digital strategy, operational reinvention, and customer-centric innovation, Bricks and Clicks offers candid, practical conversations packed with takeaways you can apply to your own business.

Whether you’re in the boardroom, a member of the c-suite, part of the front-line leadership, or building a business from the ground up, join Cliff and Craig as they talk with the minds shaping the future of business—where physical and digital meet, and transformation becomes reality. Bricks and Clicks is a production of Forbes Books.Forbes Books Développement commercial et entrepreneuriat Entrepreneurship Gestion et leadership Économie
Épisodes
  • Innovation Is Not A Luxury: Rewriting the QSR Playbook

    Innovation Is Not A Luxury: Rewriting the QSR Playbook
    Sep 9 2025
    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 digital ordering catapulted it from stagnation to 80% online sales dominance.

    Hudson reflects on Sonic’s early "pay-at-your-stall" tech gamble inspired by gas pumps, proving that incremental customer-centric shifts — not just flashy tech — build lasting brands.

    The trio argues why convenience now trumps even product quality, and why franchises that ignore the "techno-oval" risk obsolescence.
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    31 min
  • Fortune Favors the Prepared: Sonic’s Billion-Dollar Timing

    Fortune Favors the Prepared: Sonic’s Billion-Dollar Timing
    Aug 26 2025
    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 turned Sonic’s drive-ins into profit engines, with app sales hitting 40% in some markets. Miller and McClain detail the operational drama, billion-dollar timing, and why "fortune favors the prepared." A masterclass in brick-and-mortar digital transformation.
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    35 min
  • Sonic Accelerates Growth in the Digital Age: $1B (1997) to $5.8B (2021)

    Sonic Accelerates Growth in the Digital Age: $1B (1997) to $5.8B (2021)
    Aug 12 2025
    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 post-acquisition sales dips, their tech stack delivered over a 20% pandemic surge, proving brick-and-mortar resilience through operational reinvention—a universal playbook for legacy brands battling digital disruption and ever-changing market conditions.
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    25 min
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