Building a Healthy Relationship with Mom:  An Interview with Michelle Cordial of Subway

“…a brand needs to be where she is and needs to provide value – whether it’s information or something tangible – with so many choices out there – give her something she needs and she doesn’t have to spend her limited time looking for it.”

Moms are looking for healthy, nutritional food offerings when it comes to their children. However, kids still want things that are considered fun and cool. No one better than Subway has learned how to ride that fine line between pleasing mom and enticing kids and with their continued commitment to helping families maintain healthy lifestyles, Subway has become a leader in the marketing to mom space.

In an interview with Patti Minglin, M2Moms® E-ssentials editor, Michelle Cordial, director of brand management for Subway, gives insight into the brand’s current strategies for helping mom keep the family fit.

Minglin: Keeping kids healthy is a priority for moms, but how do you still make food enticing for children while satisfying mom’s need for nutrition?
Cordial: You’ll see Subway’s approach to making healthy food enticing to kids in our ‘tween television advertising. It’s all about empowerment. Kids get to give the orders to our sandwich artists and get their sandwich made their way right in front of them. This generation is all about customization. That’s what Subway is all about. We’re kind of a coming of age brand.

Minglin: Is there a point in your marketing where kids overrule moms? When does that happen?
Cordial: We’re approaching this market from multiple directions. We’re talking to moms about being a healthy alternative to fast food. We’re talking to kids about empowerment in an effort to drive nag factor. Quite honestly, many parents are introduced to Subway through their teenagers. So, at some point there is an intercept.

Minglin: Besides having nutritious offerings, what other things is Subway doing to connect with moms and their families?
Cordial: Our point of difference is the fact that Fresh Fit was designed to meet the American Heart Association’s guidelines for a healthy lifestyle. We are increasing our footprint in schools through our sponsorship of Jump Rope for Heart, efforts with Scholastic and www.randomactsoffitness.com which provides materials for teachers to help them teach nutrition and healthy lifestyle. We reach out to “gatekeepers” through our sponsorship of Little League Baseball. We continue to strive to have competitive licenses for our kids’ meal toys. Right now we have a program in store tied to The Disney Channel. And, we continue to try to introduce a new group of users to the brand by advertising to ‘tweens on network.

Minglin: What trends do you see happening in the mom space that affects the way brands connect with their consumers?
Cordial: More and more moms are online. Through social networks and content sites, moms are staying connected, influencing and/or giving and getting “help”, which could be anything from recipes, to relationships, to jobs and money management. So a brand needs to be where she is and needs to provide value – whether it’s information or something tangible – with so many choices out there – give her something she needs and she doesn’t have to spend her limited time looking for it.

Minglin: Any new and exciting projects you are working on right now that you would like to share with our audience?
Cordial: Subway continues to be a proud national sponsor of American Heart Association’s Jump Rope For Heart. This upcoming school year we hope to work in partnership with the AHA to further expand in-school curriculum and at-home material that educators and parents can use to teach kids about healthy active living. We’ve also established a relationship with Scholastic and have partnered with them on fun and creative essay contests, where the winner will receive athletic equipment for either their school or local community venue. All our efforts with kids and family is geared toward having fun and staying active: Play Hard Eat Fresh

Minglin: And, just for fun….what are the top 5 songs on your iPod?
Cordial: “Come Away With Me” by Norah Jones; “Like A Star” by Corinne Bailey Rae; “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen; “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield; and, anything by Diana Krall.