Marketing Strategies
Subway's PR person has got to prospering. Not only do they have the only "proven" fast food restaurant with a weight loss campaign, but they also make a customer yearning for weight loss believe they will end up like Jared...
I got this quote from Subway's marketing plan.
"We expect the healthy aspect of the restaurant to give us a competitive edge due to the fact that teens and young adults are very self-conscious about their appearance, and therefore, when away from home like to have a healthy alternative in food choices. The emphasis on eating healthy is not to overshadow the fact that no matter whether you want to eat healthy, or eat something that is maybe not so healthy, Subway has something for every type of consumer that tastes great...When the consumer is looking for a fast, nutritious, and satisfying meal Subway hopes to be the only logical choice."
Only logical choice?
I went to Subway the other day and looked at their napkin printed with various sandwiches' nutritional facts. It was quite brilliant actually, how the company makes a customer THINK he/she is consuming less calories than he/she actually is. Observe the picture.
Another napkin fact I thought was interesting: The added calories don't even include cheese or a condiment. Now tell me, who doesn't get a cheese or a condiment on their sandwich? That adds another 40 calories for cheese, and about 5 just for mustard.
Ok- here's the real kicker.
They compare their awesomely healthy Subway choice to a Burger King or McDonald's Value Meal. The Value Meal on the napkin has a diet cola for comparison, but then Subway compares fries to the healthy alternative of apples! Now, McDonalds has upped the ante and currently has the option for healthy people out there to order apples with their meal instead of fries. If Subway really wanted an accurate comparision, they would need to compare the McDonald's meal (with apples), with the Subway meal (with apples) And that my friends, is why this marketing scheme is outstanding. Subway is only second to McDonalds in size, so I'm sure they are trying to make their competitors look like horrible choices for the health conscious people we are all becoming.
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3 comments:
Hi, I'm in your Intro to PR class and just was browsing through the blogs on the class blog page and I just wanted to comment on this post. It's so funny to me the things in the fine print and how skewed numbers can be. Very interesting post keep it up!
Amanda,
Honestly, I was surprised by this post. I also live in Utah and I suppose we have been introduced to much of the same Subway messaging. You made some very good points about Subway's marketing plan, however, I think you are missing the bigger picture. First I would like to comment on the napkin that displays nutritional facts. Subway, unlike many other fast food joints displays their nutrition facts, which is a bonus to those of us watching our weight. And as for your comment about who reads the red print, well if they are taking the time to read the nutrition information, then they are taking the time to read the "red" print too. I agree that many AMericans think that any sandwich they eat at Subway is healthy, but that is due to the stupidity of the Amercian people who think what they want to think. In all of the Subway messaging I have seen, they mention which sandwiches are the healthy ones to chooses. And finally, you must not know anything about Jared Fogle. He blatently states that he lost weight eating a six inch Subway sandwich for lunch and a footlong sandwich for dinner, both of which did not contain any mayo, or cheese,(which he states over and over in his messaging) so yes you are supposed to leave that off, and if its not more obvious Subway tells you to leave it off too (hense the napkin and red print). The way I see it, is that it's great to have a fast food restaurant out there that offers a "true" healthy alternative, unlike McDonald's that offers salads that have more fat than their Big Macs do.
Hannadam-
So, I got to say I completely disagree with what you said. First off, other fast food restaurants DO in fact display their nutritional information. You can find the information at Burger King next to the Cola machines, sometimes it's closer to the register. Wendys also has theirs displayed at various places around the store. This is in part due to the efforts of the AMA and all the pressure they put on fast food chains recently. I do agree that the "American stupidity" is reason why so many people believe ALL of Subways sandwiches are healthy. But this blog, I believe (and Amanda can correct me if she wishes), was explaining the reason WHY they think that. It's not like Subway popped up one day and the world thought "Now that's a healthy restaurant". It's because of the advertising and public relations work done. Because of Jared people associate loosing weight with Subway. While Jared and Subway may have explained that cheese and mayo were not on his subs, I argue that most Americans don't remember that fact. I'm a fan of T.V., I know the Subway commercials, and am very familiar with Jared, yet all I remember from his commercials is that he walked to and from Subway for dinner and lunch. If anything Subway was advocating exercise more than not getting cheese and mayo. (The napkin wasn't Subway's way of telling you to leave off mayo and cheese, you don't even see the napkin until after you have ordered. Also, they put it separately on the napkin so that people don't notice that it's not as healthy as they want it to be). The fact is that most people aren't going to read the napkin at all, and those that do are interested in what THEY ordered. Thus, for the most part, they will not read everything on the napkin, including the fine print. They will simply look at what they ordered. Also, Amanda, BRILLIANT point about the apple being compared to the fries. If Subway wanted to be completely honest with the world then they would definitely compare apples and apples. But that's obviously not what they want, they want to have their restaurant look better. Hence the comparison with fries. This, in combination with the extensive advertising to assure America thinks they are amazingly healthy, has duped the American population into believing that all of their food is healthy. While that may not have been their primary objective, it is obvious that it has happened. The advertising and public relations at Subway has been phenomenal in doing its job so that America believes what it does.
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