A Rebranding Concept for the Brand Subway


Project Report, 2017

19 Pages, Grade: 1,3


Excerpt


TABLE OF CONTENT

BRAND IMPLEMENTATION REPORT & PLAN TABLE OF CONTENT

1. REFLECTION ON THE FORMATIVE ASSIGNMENT

2. REPORT
2.1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2.2 INTRODUCTION OF SUBWAY
2.3 THE PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF SUBWAY
2.4 MARKET ANALYSIS
2.4.1 CURRENT MARKET TRENDS
2.4.2 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
2.4.3 SUBWAY’S CURRENT AND POTENTIAL TARGET AUDIENCE
2.5 THE SOLUTION - HOW TO MAKE SUBWAY BETTER
2.5.1 SUBWAY’S OPPORTUNITIES AND STRENGTHS
2.5.2 THE RATIONAL
2.5.3 THE RECOMMENDATIONS
2.5.4 THE CONSULTANCY

3. PLAN
3.1 THE BRIEF
3.2 CAMPAIGN TIMING
3.3 CAMPAIGN COST
3.4 CONCEPT BOARD

4. REFERENCES

1. REFLECTION ON THE FORMATIVE ASSIGNMENT

This report is based on the work previously done through a group work as a formative assignment.

As a team we focused on the brands Tesco and Subway to find their problems and challenges, define their competitors and target audience and find specific solutions for each brand to overcome these challenges and help their brands to better their images. We each researched our assigned parts. I researched and came up with the suggestions for the rebranding of the brands. The suggestions for Subway included revamping the restaurants, creating a logo which in the mean time the brand already did, emphasising and communicating the fast food chains strengths tot he customer better and redoing their website to create a coherent brand appearance. For the supermarket brand Tesco the rebranding suggestions included redesigning their stores to create a more modern and up to date look to attract a whole other target market and also creating a new logo as the current on does not stand for a good brand image anymore and it is important that the customers see the change happening by noticing the new logo. Another suggestion for Tesco was emphasising their different in house brands more which are mostly higher quality products to move away from their low price and quality image and through attract a different kind of target audience who would normally not go to Tesco.

For this report I chose Subway as the brand of my focus. The reason why I chose Subway is because even though it has several challenges and problems the brand has a lot of strengths and potential on which they can build to improve their brand.

2. REPORT

2.1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report focuses on the brand Subway which is first introduced before it then moves onto discussing the problems and challenges the brand is facing.

Later a market analysis is conducted in which it describes the current market trends, Subway’s competitors and also the current and potential target audience of the brand and where it stands amongst them.

Further the report goes on to highlight the brand’s opportunities and strengths. Subway’s business idea was explained and analyzed with the help of the theory “The Golden Circle”

BRAND IMPLEMENTATION REPORT & PLAN

Subway

by Simon Sinek (Sinek, 2013) to explain what the company does, how they and why they do it. The report goes on to talk about the brand’s opportunities, challenges, problems and strengths.

After the analysis a plan for the rebranding campaign is presented along with the choosing process of a branding agency, a brief for this agency and a concept board showing the mood for the rebranding concept.

2.2 INTRODUCTION OF SUBWAY

The brand Subway is the world's largest submarine sandwich chain which operates in 100 countries via 44,607 restaurants. (Subway, 2017) This makes the brand the largest single­brand restaurant chain and the largest restaurant operator in the world. Subway’s products include long American submarine sandwiches and salads, along with beverages. It goes by the tag line, “Go Fresh”. (Praveen, 2016)

The first Subway shop was opened in Bridgeport, Connecticut in the United States in 1965 by the founder Fred DeLuca and his partner Dr. Peter Buck. In 1974, with 16 owned and operated sandwich shops in Connecticut. DeLuca and Buck began franchising, launching Subway into a period of growth. (Subway, 2017)

2.3 THE PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF SUBWAY

Subway was once the second biggest fast food contributor in the US after McDonald’s, but since 2016 they are not anymore. Subway’s business and revenue is continually declining. According to a franchise disclosure documentcited by Bloomberg, the sandwich brand's revenue decreased 4.3% to $1.11 billion in 2015, following a 2.6% drop in 2014.

One of the reasons for this decrease might be Subway’s loss of their main and most lucrative spokesman, Jared Fogle. Fogle first became known because he lost 200 pounds of weight just by eating the chain’s food but in 2014 the spokesman was convicted for having sex with minors and distributing child pornography.

These struggles have now affected chain’s unit-count growth. In 2014, Subway had 27,103 locations. In 2016, it declined to 26,744 locations.

Subway also was always big on discounts. Subway’s strong discount policy made it look like a low-quality, unhealthy sandwich distributor in the market. (Maze, 2016)

Subway still has a loyal costumer base who rely on the chain’s cheap prices. Some costumers, especially millennials have become bored and unsatisfied with the offering and prefer food which is healthier and has more diverse options. (Peterson, 2016)

A little later, the competition in this sector of custom-made, healthier fast foods grew and competitors like Chipotle and Panera offered even healthier und fresher alternatives and Subway wasn’t fast enough at going with this health trend. As a result, the public’s perception of Subway and their image regarding the food’s quality and healthiness changed for the worse. (Peterson, 2016)

Another significant problem is that a lot of the franchised restaurants don’t seem to be very clean and sanitary. Also the atmosphere inside the restaurants is not very inviting and comfortable. In the past there have been employees that have came out and told news outlets about have bad the sanitary conditions were in the restaurant they worked in. (Blake, 2017) These kinds of news stories about Subway have been very damaging to the brand image.

Subway is in desperate need of change and rebranding to overcome all this difficulties and damages to their images mentioned above so they can build a stronger brand and separate them from all the negativity surrounding their current brand image.

2.4 MARKET ANALYSIS

2.4.1 CURRENT MARKET TRENDS

The trends that are taking over the fast food industry are the health trend, awareness and of course technology which is taking over most industries.

Technology is a very big factor in the fast food industry in 2017. The new technology surrounds ordering, picking up and delivering food. The public was sceptic about food delivery in the beginning but since then it grew immensely and became normal and convenient to many through apps like Uber Eats and Deliveroo.

Another big focus in the fast food sector is on being more conscious and aware. People started to become more aware of and involved with animal welfare issues in 2016, leading big chains like McDonald’s to switch to cage-free eggs. After animal issues, the focus now lays more on how employees are treated by the fast food chains. (Horovitz, 2017)

The previously mentioned health trend has a big impact on the industry in 2017. The chain Pret A Manger recently made its 40-item Veggie Pret pop-up experiment in London permanent. (Horovitz, 2017)

Another new healthy fast food chains like Salad and Go are realising the opportunity to compete with big brands, creating low-calorie menus for similar cheap prices. Salad and Go sells 48-ounce salads for around $6, as well as other healthy options for around $4. (Garfield, 2017)

2.4.2 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

Examples of some of Subway’s competitors are Chipotle and Tacobell. These two brands specifically are direct competitors to Subway because they sell fast food with a focus on health and cheap pricing. Their target consumers prefer cheap fast food which still Is heathy in a way.

The idea behind Chipotle was originally serving fast food in a way so that it didn't have a “fast-food” feel to it. Later, that vision has evolved to changing the way people think about and eat fast food. (Kibin, 2017) Using high-quality raw ingredients, classic cooking techniques, and distinctive interior design, the chain brought features from the realm of fine dining to the world of quick-service restaurants.

Chipotle offers customers a wide range of salads, burritos, tacos and bowls. Costumers can choose each item put in their order themselves. The price of each item is based on the type of meat or tofu-based and vegetarian options the costumer choses. (Chipotle, 2017) Chipotle holds over 1600 restaurants located primarily in the United States but also has in Germany, England, Canada and France.

Chipotle set their brand up to compete not only with fast food restaurants but also with traditional restaurants by offering fats food but also with a comfortable setting like a traditional restaurant. (Kibin, 2017)

Taco Bell is the leading Mexican-inspired food serving quick fast food restaurant chain in the US. The brand serves made-to-order and customizable tacos and burritos, very similar to the previously mentioned Chipotle. Taco Bell is a franchised company with 350 franchise organizations which operate around 6,500 restaurants in the United States. (Yum, 2016)

This perception map shows where Subway stands compared to their competitors and in the fast food industry when it comes to price and healthiness. (These are two factors Subway news as very importance and have an association with their brand).

illustration not visible in this excerpt

2.4.3 SUBWAY’S CURRENT AND POTENTIAL TARGET AUDIENCE

Subway’s core target costumers are between the age of 16-35. However, the brand has over the last five years been trying to broaden their brand appeal to target families and kids. The chain relaunched their Kids “Pak” which includes toys based on popular kids movies. The company also provided in-store training to their staff for them to learn how to better interact with children. Subway’s head of marketing at the time, Manaaz Akhtar, said: “We strongly believe that we have a huge opportunity for growth with families.” (Shields, 2013)

2.5 THE SOLUTION - HOW TO MAKE SUBWAY BETTER

2.5.1 SUBWAY’S OPPORTUNITIES AND STRENGTHS

STRENGTHS

Even though Subway struggled in the past and still has challenges and problems to overcome, the sandwich chain still has a lot of strengths and opportunities which are the reason they became successful.

One of the brands core strength is that they offer customizating the sandwiches. (Hasseb, 2015) In the beginning, that was something which separated them from a lot of their competitors who offered little to no customization.

Subway has a huge number of restaurant across the world. (Hasseb, 2015) This strengths helps them to receive costumers other competitors may not be able to attract because it makes them available and be easily accessible for most people.

The sandwich brand remains a good partnership with the Heart Association, which is performing in the Great Britain and America. (Hasseb, 2015) The American Heart Association (AHA) initiated a program that encourages people to choose healthy meals rather than unhealthy ones. Subway was the first brand who endorsed the campaign and displayed the AHA logo at they restaurants. (Husten, 2012)

The brand as a franchise company provides their franchisees with great opportunity and offers low startup costs for people who are opening a new restaurant. (Hasseb, 2015)

[...]

Excerpt out of 19 pages

Details

Title
A Rebranding Concept for the Brand Subway
College
European Business School London / Regent's College
Grade
1,3
Author
Year
2017
Pages
19
Catalog Number
V430903
ISBN (eBook)
9783668768178
ISBN (Book)
9783668768185
File size
497 KB
Language
English
Keywords
rebranding, concept, brand, subway
Quote paper
Alexandra S. Wiessner (Author), 2017, A Rebranding Concept for the Brand Subway, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/430903

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