Brand Management of Subway: A Comprehensive Analysis

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes Subway's brand management strategies.

Brand management 1
Brand management

Brand management 2
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Background of the company........................................................................................................................4
LO1.Demonstrate an understanding of how a brand is developed and handled over time........................4
P1. Discuss the significance of branding as a marketing tool and why and how it has emerged in
business practice.....................................................................................................................................4
P2.Analyze the key elements of a successful brand strategy for building and handling brand equity.....5
M1.Measure how brands are handled successfully and effectively over time consuming application of
suitable models, theories, and concepts.................................................................................................6
M2.Suitable and validated examples within an organizational context..................................................7
LO2. Evaluate how brands are formulated in portfolios, how brand hierarchies are developed and
handled.......................................................................................................................................................8
P3.Measure different strategies of portfolio management, brand hierarchy and brand equity
management...........................................................................................................................................8
M3.Analyze portfolio management, brand hierarchies and brand equity theories, models and
frameworks.................................................................................................................................................9
LO3.How brands are extended over time locally and internationally........................................................11
P4.How brands are handled effectively and partnership both at a domestic and national level...........11
M4.Use of different techniques or method to extend brands...............................................................12
LO4.Techniuqes for analyzing and managing brand over time..................................................................13
P5 and M5.Different types of techniques and application of techniques..............................................13
D1.Critically evaluate that is supported by justified evidence and facts demonstrating an inclusive
understanding of branding in the organization.....................................................................................16
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................17
References.................................................................................................................................................18

Brand management 3
Introduction
The main motive behind this task is to outline and explain the role and importance of branding in
the context of Subway Company. Subway Company will be selected in the task to discuss the
benefits of branding. The paper will outline how branding is becoming an important part of
marketing to sale the products. Key factors of branding, strategies, methods, framework and
techniques of branding will be highlighted in the paper briefly. Brand hierarchies and brand
equity theories would also be elaborated in the report. Techniques and methods to extend the
brands will also be presented in the task. A brief information about the Subway partnership will
be elucidated in the task.

Brand management 4
Background of the company
Subway is an American fast food company that was incorporated in 1965. The firm primarily
sells several food products including salads, and sandwiches. It is one of the biggest franchises in
the world and it has approximately 42,000 stores situated in more than 100 countries. It is the
biggest and growing single brand restaurant chain across the globe.
LO1.Demonstrate an understanding of how a brand is developed and
handled over time
P1. Discuss the significance of branding as a marketing tool and why and how
it has emerged in business practice
Branding may be defined as a marketing practice in which a firm creates a name, design, symbol
and logo that is easily measurable as belonging to the firm. There are several areas that are
optimized to develop and enhance a brand including customer, advertising, promotional
merchandise, logo and reputation. Branding is significant and vital for businesses of all sizes
because it maximizes their values, provides workers motivation and makes attaining new
customer easier (Jones and Bonevac, 2013). Branding increases employee productivity and
efficiency in the global market. When brand is popular, people would want to work for the
company. This opens company up to the top talent and renders firm with the most skilled and
talented workers for the organization. The most significant and dynamic reason branding is
essential to a company is because it is how a corporation get identification and becomes known
to the customers. The logo is unique and effective factor of branding especially where this
component is concerned, as it is needed the face of the firm. In this way branding is empirical to
attain long term desired goals and targets (Smithson, 2015).
Branding has emerged in business practice because it helps in attaining competitive advantages
in the international market. Strong and effective branding generally means there is a positive and

Brand management 5
dynamic impression of the firm amongst the clients and there are likely to conduct business with
people of the understanding and assumed dependability of optimizing a name they can trust
(Sevin, 2011). Once a brand has been setup, the company can become the best and most efficient
advertising method. To emerge the branding in business practice, the firm focuses on the
demands, expectations and needs of the key target audience in the competitive market. To
develop an effective and unique brand in the business exercise, Subway takes ownership of
brand and maintains a unique communication and collaboration with customers internationally
(Zenker and Martin, 2011).
P2.Analyze the key elements of a successful brand strategy for building and
handling brand equity
The components of an effective and unique brand strategy for building and managing brand
equity include the following:
Have a clear vision for brand: It is main component of branding strategy. The main vision of
branding is to make money. This can be possible by satisfying the needs and requirements of the
customers to a large extent. This component expresses and shows business approach and core
values to target audience(Castronovo and Huang, 2012).
Maintain consistent messaging around platforms: Once of the firm established mission,
vision and aims of the business, Subway needs to structure messages which effectively integrate
that aims and objectives to key target audience in the global marketplace.To support the
consistency, Subway generates style guide and assistance which dynamically defines not only
symbols but further accept tone, schemes and color fonts.
Extend brand throughout the firm: A style guide is an excellent and effective start to ensuring
consistent communications and collaborations, but it is ineffective if workers do not adequately
and dynamically communicate and collaborate. Subway extends the branding in the global

Brand management 6
market. To achieve this objective, an open communication and collaboration is maintained by
Subway with subordinates to extend and explore the brand (Stahl, et al, 2012).
Generate an emotional connection to the brand: One of the unique components of branding
strategy is emotional connection. It would support in making excellent connection with clients in
the competitive market. Therefore, emotional connection is sustained by Subway to augment the
sale of fast food products globally.
Cultivate loyalty and trust: An effective and successful branding approaches and strategies
cultivate trust and loyalty by thinking their clients and telling them they are special and vital with
loyalty rewards such as special gifts and discounts (Skaalsvik and Olsen, 2014).
M1.Measure how brands are handled successfully and effectively over time
consuming application of suitable models, theories, and concepts
A brand concept is a general and dynamic idea or abstract meaning behind a brand. A brand
concept is optimized to provide consistency to a brand’s identity. The brand concepts entail
brand awareness, brand image, loyalty, brand trust, brand attachment and brand satisfaction. The
theories and models of branding are presented below.
Brand equity theory: Brand equity is the added value endowed to good and services. It is noted
that brand equity as a set of brand assets and liabilities interconnected and associated with brand
that adds or detracts the products and service value based on the customer’s perspectives and
effectiveness. This value or worth can be reflected in how customers think, act and feel with
respect to the brand that clients had perceive from marketing campaigns and programs. Brand
equity theory is an important and significant intangible asset that has financial and psychological
value to the company. It is evident that value of brand relies on the number of same and equal
people who purchase constantly. The brand awareness, brand perceived and brand trust are
essential to sustain the brand equity (Davcik, et al, 2015).

Brand management 7
CBBE Model or Keller’s brand equity model: Keller’s brand equity is popular as the CBBE
model that stands for customer based brand equity. As marketing developed, the clients became
the main and unique focus of the firm. Subway knew that if they keep their clients happy and
satisfy, they would profit. By implementing brand equity pyramid, brands understand and
evaluate which strategies and approaches to initiate and how to provide the right experiences and
knowledge to their audience so that they generate the WOW component. For instance, key target
audience like food brand like sandwiches and chicken teriyaki thus, effective brand equity model
is used by Subway to increase sale of food products. The four level of equity brand equity model
include brand meaning, brand identity, resonance and brand response (Chang and Chen, 2014).
The brand equity model or CBBE model for Subway includes the following:
M2.Suitable and validated examples within an organizational context
It has been found that Subway is trying to handle the brand equity and value in an effective
manner. For instance, Subway launches new brand strategy to attract and retain maximum
number of clients globally. Subway is unveiling a new brand led marketing program and

Brand management 8
strapline explaining the way people can customize what they have in their subs in order to suit
any occasion or mood. Apart from this, the firm uses several campaign and programs including
outdoor advertising, PR, television and in-store point of purchase materials and new and
effective promotional staff uniforms. The firm says an average of five stores open in the United
Kingdom and Ireland each and every week with the current and innovative count at 1450, there
are approx 31,000 stores open in more than 91 countries. Another example, Subway is
introducing three new food products and an accompanying marketing program that are “like
nothing currently in the on the go market” as it seems to distinguish its rendering in a growing
competitive market and relocate the brand (King, et al, 2012).
It is studied that Subway’s loyalty and trust scheme are further getting a makeover. This entails
the launch of “sub squad” a member scheme within subcard where clients that enables users to
request and invite their friends to be a part of an effective and unique squad. If the clients or
users of the squad all make a buy within 4 hours of each other they all receive bonus points. It is
worth noted that high street sandwich chain has mainly focused its messaging on its fresh
elements with its universal “eat fresh” positioning. All these are significant examples that are
showing that Subway is using dynamic branding strategies to provide fast food products to the
customers around the globe (Lee, et al, 2011).
LO2. Evaluate how brands are formulated in portfolios, how brand
hierarchies are developed and handled
P3.Measure different strategies of portfolio management, brand hierarchy and
brand equity management
The brand hierarchy, portfolio management ad brand equity management approaches or
strategies are presented below.
Portfolio management strategies: Top down approach is unique strategy that is implemented
by Subway to earn more and more revenue in the marketplace. By implementing this strategy,

Brand management 9
the leaders and managers are able to keep an on entire market. By observing the entire market,
Subway can penetrate the global market and can make innovative decisions in regards of selling
of the fast food products and services (Singh, 2012).
Apart from this strategy or approach, the company uses efficient market theory of portfolio
management. This theory explains that facts and information that affect the entire markets are
dynamically available and controlled by all the suppliers and investors in the competitive market.
Brand hierarchy strategy: This strategy explains that highlighting and outlining the brand
strategy by showing the nature and number of common and unique brand components around the
company’s products displaying the explicit ordering of brand factors. Corporate branding is used
by Subway to introduce new and innovative fast food products internationally. It is a practice of
optimizing an organization’s name as a product brand name (Petersen, et al, 2011).
Brand equity strategies: It is a significant brand equity strategy that could not be achieved
without using a communication approach. It is summarized that subway uses two-way
communication strategy to integrate and communicate with key target audience while selling the
products to them. It has been worth evident that Subway gathers reviews, feedback and opinion
to maintain direct communication with clients while operating and functioning in the
international market. Collaboration is one of the well know strategies that is optimized by
Subway to generate marketing collateral, managing legal matters, holding financial analysis and
reducing technical challenges (Giannopoulos, et al 2011).
M3.Analyze portfolio management, brand hierarchies and brand equity
theories, models and frameworks
The theories, models and frameworks related to portfolio management, brand equity and brand
hierarchies are shown below.

Brand management 10
Aaker brand equity model or theory: In the area of marketing, brand equity means the value
or worth of a brand. The idea of value of a brand is very unique, interesting and effective than
what it looks like. According to Hsu, et al (2012), this theory is dependent on the consumer
awareness and how they associate with an innovative brand. For Aaker, brand management starts
with developing a brand recognition, which is one of the biggest kind arrangements of brand
affiliations speaking and telling to what the brand stands for and renders to clients a desiring
brand image. According to Aaker, the four components of brand equity include brand as product,
brand as organization, brand as symbol and brand as person (Keller, 2016).
Harry Markowitz model portfolio management framework or model: One of the
uniquemodel or theories that used by Subway is Harry Markowitz model portfolio management
framework. This theory is proposed by Harry Markowitz in 1952. This theory measures and
determines various portfolios of a given number of securities and helps in choosing the dynamic
portfolio. This theory creates dynamic and unique portfolio within a reward risk context. It
further helps in generating a strong and powerful brand portfolio in the international market
(Spry, et al, 2011).
Brand hierarchy of Subway: The brand hierarchy framework for Subway is drawn below.

Brand management 11
LO3.How brands are extended over time locally and internationally
P4.How brands are handled effectively and partnership both at a domestic and
national level
CEO of Subway stated that two brands are working with Subway through frustrated franchise.
The partners have a sincere and effective proposal to help Subway appeal to the future
generation of fresh food lovers and franchise partners internationally. To celebrate national
sandwich day, the company has announced that it has created and opened its 38,000 location.
This provides brand a presence in 100 nations, rendering approx 380,000 job opportunities to
Sandwich artists across the globe. The partnership modernized the restaurant and franchising
industries and provided thousands of entrepreneurs the effective opportunity to operate, own, and
succeed in their own business. The franchise owned European independent purchasing company
Ltd(EIPC) is accountable for procuring tasty and delicious products and elements as well as
equipment provides and services used in stores effectively (Nam, et al, 2011).
Together with EIPC, the company is dedicated to promoting and supporting Subway franchises
to conduct and operate in the effective environmentally sustainable and dynamic manner. Apart

Brand management 12
from this, the firm has signed a voluntary agreement with the department of labor’s wage and
hour division to support franchises adhere with laborforce norms, regulations and knowing that it
has the strong power as a franchise to impact labor activities and practices. In 2015, the
browingferris decision widened the reach of joint employment or job. In an effective and
ongoing action or measure against McDonald’s corp., the NLRB has made a case that the
dynamic chain demonstrated and shown control of working situations because of its corporate
mandated scheduling software. Many of the suppliers of Subway are accountable stewards of the
land and share engagement and commitment towards the sustainability and socially
responsibility. They use sustainable agricultural activities and practices like cover cropping and
crop rotation to restore nutrients and support maintain local ecosystems (Panchal, et al, 2012).
M4.Use of different techniques or method to extend brands
There are several techniques or methods are used to leverage and extend the brans that are
outlined below.
Shift the form: According toGershoff et al (2011), shift the form is dynamic technique that can
be used to extend the brands dynamically. Variation in the form of a present food product by
changing or modifying its techniques and tools of delivery, the company can change its product
quality effectively.
Product line extension: It is innovative and dynamic brand extension strategy and technique.
This method may be defined as a process of using already set brand name to introduce innovative
and dynamic items and products with some extra innovation and modification in the similar
category.