Subway drafts NBA players for trivia challenge on Instagram

Brief:

Subway is hosting a trivia game show on Instagram Live as part of the sandwich chain's Golden Token sweepstakes for its loyalty program. NBA players Boban Marjanović and Tobias Harris on Thursday hosted the first weekly Golden Token trivia game, which lets fans play along as they quiz each other on sports and Subway trivia, according to a company announcement.
Fans can see the trivia challenge on the players' Instagram accounts. Subway MyWay Reward members have until Nov. 15 to enter a sweepstakes to win one of four trips to the NBA All-Star weekend, Rose Bowl, Daytona 500 and NHL All-Star game next year.
The campaign also includes a Golden Token Instant Win Game that gives loyalty members a chance to win thousands of prizes, such as Subway gift cards and Gatorade-branded gear. Customers can sign up for the chain's loyalty program on the Subway mobile app or website and in restaurants.

Insight:

Subway's trivia game on Instagram Live and its Golden Ticket sweepstakes are the sandwich chain's latest efforts to promote its MyWay Rewards program that launched in March. MyWay, which replaced an older loyalty program that was more limited, has additional features that are only available on its mobile app and website. The company doesn't disclose how many customers belong to the program, saying only membership is in the "multimillions," per Pymnts.com.

While the trivia challenge on Instagram Live doesn't give viewers a chance to win prizes directly, as popular livestreamed trivia games like HQ Trivia do, the game does give a chance for users to respond to questions by sending a message that quickly scrolls up the screen and disappears. The challenge, which looks and sounds like it was shot on a mobile phone, provides some entertainment value for fans of Los Angeles Clippers' odd couple Boban Marjanović and Tobias Harris while showcasing the Subway brand.

Quick-service restaurants like Subway have had to adapt to the mobile era that's elevated consumer expectations of how they experience brands online. About 40% of consumers don't know what they plan to eat within the first hour of lunchtime, and 63% use a smartphone to inform that decision, per data cited by Pymnts.com, making mobile apps a key part of reaching customers. Subway's loyalty program has led to a 16% gain in visitor frequency among its members, Carissa Ganelli, chief digital officer at Subway, told Pymnts.com.

As part of its mobile efforts, Subway this month expanded food delivery to boost convenience and reach more customers. The sandwich chain partnered with Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats on delivery, starting at 9,000 of its nearly 26,000 U.S. locations.