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BUSINESS CASE:

Subway: Make It What You Want

When 17-year old Fred DeLuca enrolled in university in 1965, he needed a way to pay for his education. A family friend, Dr. Peter Buck, suggested he open a submarine sandwich shop and invested $1000. They opened their first location in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and by 1974, the partners had 16 Subway sandwich shops in that state. Their goal was to have 32 shops open by 1974. In order to fulfill this goal, the partners started franchising. Today, Subway has more than 44 000 shops in over 100 countries, including more than 3000 locations in Canada. The company is still privately owned and has stayed true to its core values and principles. These values include

always providing exceptional service to its valued guests,

providing the highest-quality menu items at a price everyone can afford and enjoy, and

keeping operating costs low and ensuring it has great systems in place and never stops improving.

The menu in all Subway shops, no matter where they are in the world, are basically the same. The only variations occur in countries like India, where a high proportion of the population is either Hindu or Muslim. In these areas, beef and pork are substituted with chicken, lamb, or pork. The menu is designed to provide affordable sandwiches made of fresh ingredients. The ordering process is also standard: pick your bread, meat or vegetable, toppings and sauce. Customers can come into the shops to order, order by phone, or order on the website. Customers also have several ways to get their sandwiches. They can pick up their order in the shop or have it delivered by a service such as Uber Eats.

Subway uses a more focused approach to its promotional campaigns. The company started the "Make it What You Want" campaign in 2018 and has built on the theme since. Each installment of the campaign may focus on a different new product, such as a new type of bread like Harvest or a new topping such as guacamole, but the campaign is aimed at the millennial market. The television segments are more "playful and slightly rebellious," emphasizing the fact the menu can be customized to anyone's taste. A representative from the company describes millennials as the demographic core of their customer base, and the new promotional campaigns emphasis their lifestyles and life experiences. Another television spot in the same series features millennials in a rural setting, enjoying outdoor sports. In this spot, the company wants to emphasis real people enjoying their lives.

When Subway introduced meatless options to its menu, it took a slightly different approach to get their message out. In this case they brought Martha Stewart on board. In the television promotion Martha demonstrates her meatball tree. Subway was later than other companies in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) market to introduce a plant-based menu item so they wanted to stand out from the other companies promoting similar products.

Lifestyle ads, plant-based new products and television ads aimed at the millennials, Subway seems to be on track to hit their goal to be ranked number one in the Quick Service Restaurant market.

1)When subway describes millennials as the demographic core of their customer base, what individual influence on the consumer buying decision does this represent?

a. life-cycle stage

b. age

c. personality

d. self-concept

e. lifestyle

2)

When Subway uses Martha Stewart to promote their new meatless sandwich, what role is Martha performing?

a. opinion leader

b. reference group member

c. aspirational group member

d. lifestyle expert

e. extensive information provider

3)

When Subway alters their menu slightly in countries such as India that have large Hindu and Muslim populations, what factor influencing the consumer buying decision are they catering to?

a. social class

b. values

c. lifestyle

d. opinion leader

e. culture

4)

When a customer buys a Subway sandwich because they enjoyed one the week before, what type of information search is this customer performing?

a. marketing- controlled

b. external

c. customer-to-customer

d. internal

e. evoked

5)

A customer goes to a Subway restaurant every Tuesday with her friends. What type consumer buying decision is this?

a. extensive

b. involvement

c. routine

d. primary

e. limited