Subway is a franchise that’s worth $7.1 billion!
How does the brand maintain its popularity in the food industry? In part, by creating various digital marketing campaigns.
“Clean” Started Fresh With a New Logo and Campaign
Subway’s sales took a hit when the brand’s former spokesman, Jared Fogle, was convicted of child pornography.
To recover from the PR disaster, Subway started with a clean slate. The brand announced that they would only use fresh locally grown produce that was free from artificial preservatives.
To commemorate the event, it changed its logo. Here’s a picture of the old logo (top) and the new logo (bottom):
The company said that the new design concept aimed to portray the brand as bold, confident and fresh.
The brand also created an ad titled “Clean Slate” to commemorate their change. It featured a man exercising on the treadmill, a female football player joining the game, a dog rescued from a shelter and the brand’s effort to create fresh and clean sandwiches. It ends with the message, “The best way to stay fresh is to never get stale #SearchforBetter.”
Now, this is how you start over with a clean slate.
Creates Ads With Surprising Twists
Subway attracts the attention of its customers through ads with a good twist.
The brand’s Groundhog Day ad featured a young woman who lived a dull life filled with a cycle of mundane tasks. She woke up, ate a homemade sandwich, went to work every single day. Her routine was broken when she tried a Subway Chicken Teriyaki salad for the first time.
Another ad titled “Festive Feast” by McCann features an office worker who felt humiliated because of the events from the night before. She’s too nervous to face her coworkers, who may have shared her embarrassing photos. But once she tries the Subway’s Festive Feast, she’s able to let go of her worries.
Meanwhile, Subway’s “Favorites” ad features the hilarious struggle of choosing a sandwich filling. The man’s attempt to hide his indecisiveness if funny and very relatable.
Featured Footlong Sandwiches That Go On…And on…in Social Media Ads
How would you feel about a very, very long sandwich? Check out Subway’s social media ads to find out!
The brand created a 360-degree video Facebook ad for a footlong sandwich that was very, very long.
On Instagram, the brand posted a carousel ad that split up a long photo of one sandwich with different flavors per piece. As viewers scrolled along the ad, they saw different footlong sandwiches that were included in Subway’s $5 daily sub deal.
Posts in a Playful Tone to Engage with Customers
Subway has 2.47m followers on Twitter.
What’s the secret to the brand’s success?
It engages with customers in a playful tone. Here are some examples of how they interact and respond to their customers:
“It [Twitter] has definitely changed the landscape of customer service for all of our franchisees by providing a platform for consumers to share their feedback in real time,” said Paul Barmudo, Head of Subway’s Social Media Team, in the Entrepreneur. “This gives us a better opportunity to learn from our customers.”
By adapting to the language of its customers, Subway is able to create content that resonates with its audience.
Here’s a recap of what we’ve learned from Subway’s success
- Engage with customers in their own language
- Create entertaining social media ads
- Start fresh with a new logo and campaign
- Create ads with Surprising Twists
