Subway aims to make ordering easier, gets Viswanathan Anand for 'Hotsellers'

Subway has announced the launch of ‘Hotsellers’, a collection of eight Subs through which the brand aims to increase reach in the country.

 

For the Hotsellers, the brand has rolled out a campaign featuring Viswanathan Anand. In the film, Anand is shown walking into a Subway store. He struggles with his order, breaking into a sweat while trying to work out his order. He has several thoughts about the ingredients but eventually decides to run out of the store because he can’t figure out the right combination. The voiceover introduces the Hotsellers and states how the Subs are ready to order and the customers so that the consumers have easy access.

 

In a conversation with Campaign India, Mayur Hola, chief marketing officer, Culinary Brands, explained, the thought behind the campaign.

 

 

 

“For the last six to seven months, we have been quiet. During that time, we have sort of changed the menu. We've retained stuff that people like and let go of what people don’t like. We are also opening a lot of stores across the country. It’s not just the metros, but also across the rest of India too,” said Hola.

 

 

Hola further added that through these efforts Subway wants to become one of the bigger QSR chains in the country.

 

“We want to make Subway more accessible overall. The stores take care of one bit. We want to make more people familiar with Subway. Then there's the challenge that most people don't know how to make their stuff. They randomly look to put things together (the ingredients of the Sub) and hope that things turn out to be fine,” he said.

 

According to Hola, Subway has had to also battle culture in India.

 

“We have a perception of being a cold sandwich brand. But in India, we are raised on warm food. \We are trying to offer a quick and easy option which is made fresh and the customer doesn’t need to make it. Our chefs know our stuff and know what you're getting,” added Hola.

 

Another challenge Subway is trying to address is a memorable product offering.

 

“As a food company, you need to have a product that people remember. Think of the McGrill, or a Bucket, or a water company, they all have great recall. That’s what we are trying to achieve now too,” said Hola.

 

On the reason behind picking Anand to feature in this campaign, “He was the first name we thought of and went with him. He’s the one person who is widely considered to be a genius in India and so we got him.”