Chris Carroll/Subway/Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund TrustLori Baima/Subway/Media Manager The communication goal was to grow awareness of Subway among target consumers and stand out in the highly competitive Quick Serve Restaurant category where Subway is considerably outspent by their main competitors (McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s). The chief tactical goal was to associate Subway with high-profile sporting events while minimizing expenditures and maximizing exposure. The Media team identified two high-profile sports programs, FOX NASCAR and the Super Bowl on FOX, which strongly deliver the target audience and have high consumer visibility. By taking advantage of a soft marketplace and leveraging a multi-program deal, it was possible to negotiate some of the lowest rates in the industry for both components and deliver significant additional free exposure.In addition to the television sports buys, the Media team negotiated a NASCAR entitlement sponsorship for Subway with the Rockingham track during its Winston Cup race. The race was renamed the Subway 400 at Rockingham where Subway received significant signage and pre-race free exposure.Results: In addition to the significant free exposure that Subway received, the commercial in the Super Bowl was recognized as having the second highest persuasiveness by Merwyn Persuasion Research, a study that predicts the probability of an advertisement having tangible impact on consumer behavior and thus actual bottom line sales. The idea was created, negotiated and successfully implemented by the Media team. The Media team anticipated heavy promotional support for the Subway 400 during the Super Bowl, as it would be FOX’s first NASCAR race to air in 2002. The Subway 400 was promoted during FOX primetime programming, FOX cable networks, during the Super Bowl Pre-game and 13 times during the live action of the Super Bowl. The promotional spots, all 10-15 seconds long, showed significant Subway visual identification and audio recognition, and encouraged viewers to tune in to the NASCAR Subway 400 at Rockingham.The Super Bowl is the highest rated television event of the year. With FOX’s promotion, Subway received $2,700,000 of free exposure for their brand in addition to appearing as the major Quick Serve Restaurant sponsor in the Super Bowl.

The idea was created, negotiated and successfully implemented by the Media team.