Subway is All Ears for New Promo

In partnership with the Subway restaurants chain, Clear Channel Radio kicked off a new, nationwide campaign and competition, Subway Fresh Artists, which will give one talented unsigned music artist/band the chance to open for the Goo Goo Dolls at an upcoming concert.

The first phase of the competition, promoted on the Subway brand’s consumer-facing digital platforms, opened last week inviting artists to submit new compositions of “wake up” songs. The submissions are designed to cater to morning drive radio listeners to help jump-start their day and complement Subway’s “Build Your Better Breakfast” campaign. The public has the opportunity to vote for their favorite band via the iheartradio.com network, Clear Channel Radio websites, and OurStage.com. Artist and consumer response has been enthusiastic—1,230 “wake up” songs have been uploaded by artists, and consumers have already voted more than 280,000 times for their favorite Subway Fresh Artists.

“Subway is a brand and business that is all about opportunity,” says Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust chief marketing officer, Tony Pace. “With Subway Fresh Artists, we are providing an opportunity for emerging musical artists to perform and be heard by a larger audience. We are pleased to provide that opportunity and glad to give our consumers an early peak at some emerging artists. We also believe in multiplatform programs, and this works well across several media content platforms.”

“Subway Fresh Artists is changing the paradigm for discovering and monetizing musical content,” says John Partilla, president of Global Media Sales and executive vice president of Clear Channel. “This is a win-win for all concerned—for Subway, for fans of new music, for Clear Channel’s media platforms, for the Goo Goo Dolls band, and for the new artists themselves. What we’re doing here is leveraging incredible, fresh content to deliver added value for Subway’s marketers.”

“Over this past year, OurStage.com has been working with an ever growing list of major industry players,” says Ben Campbell, CEO of OurStage.com. “But having the opportunity to partner with Clear Channel, Subway, and Goo Goo Dolls at once is really a revolutionary way for us all to use our respective strengths to achieve something extraordinary; to further change the music industry for the better.”

The competition provides an engaging complement to the significant consumer marketing campaign the Subway brand is airing across Clear Channel stations/Premiere Networks, digital ads on Clear Channel radio station websites, as well as the iheartradio digital platform.

The cross-platform integration behind Subway Fresh Artists was facilitated by Content & Company, which specializes in connecting brands to customers through new media and branded entertainment channels, helping marketers create engaging opportunities around their own original programming, rather than simply sponsor pre-existing properties.