Subway CMO Jeff Klein on Core Customer Marketing: 'The Math Isn't Mathing' If You Lose Your Best Guests

Subway's 2025 was rough: total revenue fell more than 6% and the chain closed 729 restaurants, per franchise disclosure documents. Jeff Klein, who joined in March and became U.S. CMO soon after, says incremental fixes won't reverse that. His answer is a return to core customer marketing.

'Feed Your SUBconscious'

The new brand platform casts Will Arnett as consumers' inner desires, grumbling about other food options and reminding his doppelgängers why fresh, made-to-order Subway sandwiches are worth it. Value and quality sit at the center.

• Agency Martin won the pitch by bringing a single idea with conviction.
• Arnett wasn't in the pitch. Subway wanted an idea that worked without a celebrity, then added him for instant recognition.
• The team let Arnett improvise; much of that material will run on social.

Who Subway actually competes with

Klein says Subway's core guest isn't choosing between Subway and Sweetgreen — they're choosing between Subway and traditional QSR. The creative had become "a little disparate," distracted by brands entering on either side.

"The math isn't mathing if you're losing core guests and gaining new ones at the same time — the frequency is tough to overcome."

Creative, media, innovation, partnerships and value offers all now run through a core-guest lens. Subway's strengths: close to 19,000 locations, convenience in nearly every small town, and value for guests who won't pay $20 for a sub or stomach delivery fees.

Modular creative by design

Each vignette in the anthem spot is its own commercial — for a limited-time offer, the core menu or value. Subway shoots another batch with Arnett in the spring, but the idea is built to refresh without depending on any one celebrity. Omnicom's integrated team handles media (UM), CRM (Omnicom Precision Marketing) and PR (FleishmanHillard).

Partnerships get the same filter

A summer tie-in with live-action "Moana" worked, Klein says, but wasn't focused on the core target: the blue-collar guest looking for lunch on a break. Expect partnerships to change shape.

Lessons for brands in a turnaround

1. Identify who drives most of your revenue — and what they really compare you with.
2. Test every partnership and launch against that guest, not just against buzz.
3. Build campaigns from modular scenes you can reuse for different objectives.

For more on QSR media strategy, read McDonald's Media Network Launches. For another approach to restaurant value marketing, see Applebee's CMO on Restaurant Value Marketing.