Make your own footlong

Subway needed a breakthrough to claim their space at the head of the pack in the food eCommerce space.

Sector: FoodBrand:Subway

Challenge

During the pandemic, we experienced the delivery economy on steroids. With Subway’s competitors making eCommerce in the food space the norm, Subway needed a breakthrough to claim their space at the head of the pack.

So, we revitalised Subway’s iconic ‘make your own Footlong’ with the world’s first 3D interactive digital OOH billboard. Taking consumers from the digital world to the real world in moments, playfully capturing how Gen Zs view the world and celebrating Subway’s iconic Footlong product with the audience that love it best.

Idea

Footlong’s share of revenue within the Subway business had fallen YoY. Moreover, it is the Footlong product that is emblematic of Subway’s brand proposition. That iconic status allows Subway to compete with its rivals and tempt Gen Z into Subway stores.

We needed to celebrate the Footlong and playfully ignite its relevance amongst a new generation and embrace the virtual world of fast food and delivery.

Moving into Summer 2022, social lives were truly unimpeded for the first time in two years, meaning Gen Zs could have an unrestricted summer of freedom.

To capture the customisable summer big idea, our strategic communications platform led with:

‘Make Your Own (MYO) – making Subway’s iconic ownable footlong synonymous with owning Summer 2022.’

By introducing ‘Make Your Own’ to Gen Z, the Footlong could bridge the digital world of delivery we saw through the pandemic, with delivering in the real world of the Summer of ownership.

Through technological interactive media, we found the means to do this.

Results

The worldwide media went crazy for the first-ever interactive, shoppable 3D billboard.

And crucially, more young people bought Footlongs, with share-of-revenue within the Subway business increasing during the campaign period.

Reversing this all-important Footlong share decline earned Subway franchisees vital incremental revenue following the COVID downturn and made Footlong advocates of the Gen Z audience.

In collaboration with DOOH.com, Kinetic and Above & Beyond.