Subway goes Above+Beyond to TikTok to reach its young audience

You know a brand is chasing the 16-24 age group when it makes use of the quirky nature of TikTok content. That’s what Above+Beyond has done for Subway to promote the chain’s Toasted Bites range.

The aim of the campaign is to appeal to a youth audience that is harder than ever to reach, that engages with media only on its own terms and without any platform loyalty. Above+Beyond needed to spread awareness of the product and cement Subway as a brand for this audience.

The campaign’s fun content “bites” have invaded the internet, appearing across all relevant online spaces. Watch a few then try to get “bites” out of your head.

https://youtu.be/V_ZarS3Ike8

Because the campaign’s audience dislike of overt brand messaging, the weird and wonderful animated content was created in a tone and energy that reflects its internet content consumption habits. Everything from short-form un-skippable Instagram and Snapchat Stories, Spotify partnerships and Snapchat lenses to Bites messages via YouTube influencers, TikTok challenges and Twitch partnerships. Every piece of content is purposefully bite-sized, so it doesn’t pull users away from their regular content, but is disruptive and repetitive to keep Subway top of mind. This approach also allows the campaign to be high-frequency and hyper-targeted, with a wealth of unique assets existing only in environments where the target audience lives.

The campaign is running across the UK and Ireland and Above+Beyond has also created cinema, digital out-of-home and radio executions. On the big screen in cinemas, bite-sized spots lasting only a few seconds will shout “bites” at cinema goers, working alongside 90-second ads made for the movies.

David Billing, chief creative officer at Above+Beyond, commented, “This is advertising, but not as we know it. It’s not about a classic line or refined art direction, it’s about wonky disruptive content that lives on the internet, in the moment, purposefully made to be disposable. In Private Island we have a brilliant creative partner who has helped us bring these nano-episodes to life – we can’t wait to see them take over the web and beyond.”

Angie Gosal, head of marketing at Subway, added, “We’ve spent the last nine months celebrating Subway’s unique customisation offering to our mass market. The targeted launch campaign for this innovative new product range opens up the brand to a youth market that we haven’t yet engaged, and we’re very excited to see how the brand can communicate on this audience’s terms.”