This document discusses the history and branding of the Subway restaurant chain. It outlines key elements of the Subway brand such as its original name and logo, founding vision, and goals of serving quality food and excellent customer service. The document also analyzes Subway's brand portfolio, awareness, positioning, personality, marketing strategies, and crisis management response to a controversial ingredient. It provides recommendations for improving Subway's brand positioning and associations to maintain its image as a healthy fast food option.

1. Kathleen McLaughlin
Cynthia Powers
Ariel Lim
Branding
Bay Path College – 2014

2. BRAND ELEMENTS
From the beginning, founder 17 year old
entrepreneur Fred DeLuca and his business
partner Peter Buck, had a clear vision for the
future of the SUBWAY® brand.
“As we continue to grow, we are guided by his
passion for delighting customers by serving
fresh, delicious, made-to-order sandwiches.”

4. NAME
 Originally called “Pete’s Super Submarines,” in 1965
 The SUBWAY® name is used for the first time in 1968.

5. LOGO
 The original
 Used from 1965-2002
 After 2002
Slogan “eat fresh”

6. • Subway strives to serve quick, nutritious
meals that the whole family can enjoy.
• They opened in Bridgeport, Connecticut in
August of 1965.
• In 1974 they became a franchise.
• In 1977 they introduced the 6 inch sub.
• In 1983 they began introducing fresh baked
bread into their restaurants.
• The company went international in 1984.

7. BRAND GOALS
To empower franchisee owners, treat employees
well and better the surrounding communities
Serve a well-made, high quality product
Providing excellent customer service
Keep operating costs low
Find great restaurant locations

8. BRAND PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS
 Subway is great at cobranding. Many restaurants are inside
of malls or gas stations
 They create new products such as flat bread sandwiches
and breakfast sandwiches to meet consumer demand
 Their marketing/advertising capitalizes on the fact that they
are a healthy alternative to most fast food
 They also cut out a core ingredient (Azodicarbonamide)
from their bread recipe when consumers discovered it and
were upset

9. ADDITIONAL COBRANDING
SUBWAY® is:
 Partnering with the American College of Cardiologists
(ACC) to sponsor the American Heart Association’s
Start! Movement – encourages people to walk and live
more actively
 Also help sponsor the AHA's Jump Rope for Heart and
Hoops for Heart - national, educational programs for
children
 An official sponsor of Little League

10. SUBWAY BRAND AWARENESS
 Subway is Global
 41,785 Restaurants
 106 Countries
 3rd Most Popular Store in
America!!
 http://money.msn.com/inside-
the-ticker/americas-5-most-
popular-stores
 Jared
 Celebrity Endorsed
 Athletes
 Pelé
 Apolo Ohno
 Michael Phelps

11. BRAND ASSOCIATION
 Eat Fresh!
 Healthy Fast Food
 Fresh Fit™ Meals
 $5 Footlong
 American Heart Association

12. IMPROVING AWARENESS AND
ASSOCIATION
Franchises Endorsements
 Continue to open new franchises
to expand awareness and
accessibility
 Continue to encourage
consistency between franchises
(look, menu, promotions)
 Add celebrity endorsement– Not
everyone identifies with athletes
 Healthy /fit Celebrity (To maintain brand
consistency)
 Relatable
 More “Jareds”
 After 15 years, it is time to add new
success stories
 “Don’t create your story as a sales pitch.
Make it a story (Deckers & Lacy, 2013).”
 Associate the brand with healthy people
in the real world
Healthy Eats
Keep freshness and
healthiness at center of
brand association & Limit
unhealthy options

13. TARGET MARKET: ANYONE WHO
WANTS
 Quick, nutritious meals for the whole family
 Economical options: $5 Footlong, $3 Six-Inch Select,
2 for $5 Flatizza, Featured Value
 “Eat Fresh,” fast, made-to-order sandwiches
 Catering menu for business meetings, get-togethers,
church functions, hungry Bay Path students

14. MARKETING PROGRAM
RECOMMENDATIONS
 Use social web to learn about current issues and
opportunities, monitor its reputation
 Enlist the brains and emotions of customers to develop
next-generation products
 Participate in the online conversation, prevent negative
comments from being the sole social voice
 Regularly evaluate its social media program

15. BRAND PERSONALITY
 Great at creating positive vibe, state of happiness
 Uses humor and warmth
 Helps customers make more informed choices by
posting nutrition information
 Consistent message of healthy meals, positive
spokespersons, and fun cross-promotions
 Great at tapping their “evangelists”

16. CRISIS MANAGEMENT:
AZODICARBONAMIDE
 This flour bleaching agent is used to improve oxidation in
the baking process. It’s also used to improve the elasticity
of plastics.
 The Food Babe created buzz and an online petition asking
Subway to remove this dough conditioner from its bread.
 Food Babe: “Let’s eat fresh, not a yoga mat.”
 Franchisees were informed how their employees were to
address the topic.
 Public relations were effective in addressing the topic.
 The chemical has now been removed from Subway’s bread.

19. SUBWAY BRAND POSITIONING/VALUES
 Eat Fresh! – Subway has positioned itself as a healthy fast food chain
 “We’re dedicated to making eating better even better. That’s why
we’re the first fast food restaurant to earn the American Heart
Association Heart Check for healthy meals.”

20. IMPROVING BRAND POSITIONING
 Reason for Improvement: Fuzzy, Blurred Image
 “Sometimes the perception people have of your company or product isn’t clear. It’s
not that it is poor…This is usually caused by unclear positioning…(Temporal,
2010).”
 Heart-Healthy?
 New Promotions:
 Big Hot Pastrami Melt
 Frito’s Chicken Enchilada Melt
 Flatizza

21. IMPROVING BRAND POSITIONING
CONT.
 Evolutionary Positioning
 “developing your image gradually (Temporal, 2010).”
 Offer less unhealthy options
 Nix the Frito sandwiches
 Instead, offer more healthy options
 Ex: Current Avocado Campaign
 New associations (non-athlete celebrities/new “Jareds”)
 Emphasize heart-healthy position with testimonials and endorsements from relatable
people

22. SOURCES
 https://cunyonline.digication.com/VJ_SUBWAY/The_Global_Expa
nsion_of_Subway_Sandwich_Shops
 http://www.franchising.com/howtofranchiseguide/cobranding_offer
s_the_best_of_both_worlds.html#sthash.DoVVOiRA.dpuf
 http://www.subway.com
 Deckers, E., & Lacy, K. (2013). Branding yourself: How to use
social media to invent or reinvent yourself. (2nd ed.). Indianapolis,
Indiana: Pearson Education, Inc.
 Temporal, P. (2010). Advanced brand management: Managing
brands in a changing world. (2nd ed.). Singapore: John Wiley &
Sons (Asia) Pte. Ltd.