Subway on Monday consolidated its U.S. and Canadian media and creative business with the appointment of Dentsu Aegis Network to handle its North America marketing.
The appointment of a single agency for both countries represents a major shift in the Milford, Conn.-based sandwich giant’s marketing strategy. The company had kicked off an agency review back in July. The Boston-based agency MMB had handled most of the creative business for Subway.
Dentsu is a subsidiary of a Japanese advertising and public relations firm.
The Franchise @ Dentsu Aegis Network North America is a “customized team” that includes Carat NY and mcgarrybowen NY as well as Carat Canada and DentsuBos. The team “will lead a customer-centric, people-based marketing approach to help Subway drive its business transformation across the region,” the company said in a statement.
The appointment comes as Subway looks to get out of a multiyear funk that has been marked by numerous challenges, including the arrest of longtime spokesman Jared Fogle on child porn charges as well as the death of its founder, Fred DeLuca.
Subway is the largest restaurant chain in the U.S. by unit count, with nearly 27,000 locations, according to Technomic data. The company generated $11.3 billion in U.S. system sales last year.
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