Subway Ups Ante: $67 Million in Prizes in Scrabble Game

<center><b>Window signs show off the big-ticket prizes being offered in the "Subway Scrabble" game.</b></center>

Subway restaurants are once again tapping a popular board game to drive in-store traffic and build sales with its biggest instant- and collect-and-win game.

The popular “Subway Scrabble” uses peel off game pieces from 22-ounce, 32-ounce, or 44-ounce fountain drinks for a chance to win a host of prizes. And this year’s version offers more ways to play and an even larger prize pool.

“We had millions of people on our site last year,” Sonja Tilki, senior brand manager for the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust, said. “This year, we decided to increase access to the game and add more games pieces to more packages in the stores.”

The company significantly ramped up its prize pool, offering $67 million worth of prizes, five times the prize value of last year’s game. It is also making more than 206 million games pieces available, eight times more than last year.

There are three ways to play this year’s game, which runs through Sept. 29. First, players can win instantly when they peel the game pieces off the cups. The game offers a one in four shot of winning a prize, including a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, beach resort vacations, American Airlines travel certificates, iPod Shuffles, Scrabble board games and Subway cards and food and beverages. More than 49 million prizes are available, Subway said.

Second, an online collect-and-win game lets people play by using the game codes found on the cups to collect letters to spell out winning words. Players click their mouse on the letter tiles in their letter tray and drag them on to an game board. Customers who upgrade their drink to the 32- or 44-ounce sizes will receive a bonus game piece.

As for the prizes, up to nine grand prizes of $100,000 each will be distributed to players who spell out the word “Subway.” Two first-prize winners will each receive a Toyota Highlander Hybrid for spelling “Hybrid.” Other prizes include diamond jewelry, American Airlines certificates, Beaches Resorts vacations, Scrabble board games, Subway gift cards and other prizes. In all, more than 131,000 prizes will be available.

The third way to play, which is new this year, is an online, instant-win game. Players register at www.subwayfreshbuzz.com and enter the 12-digit game code. A message will appear telling them if they have won. Players can win nine grand prizes of $100,000, Scrabble and Upwards board games, www.HasbroToyShop.com gift certficiates, Subway gift cards, Club Pogo memberships and MyCoke Rewards points. Each time people enter a game code they will be entered to win an online instant-win prize, the company said.

“We partnered with some even bigger brands this year,” Tilki said. “We were able to latch on to this in a bigger way.”

The game, which kicked off last week, marks the second time Subway www.subway.com has featured Scrabble in a promotion (Promo Xtra, July 17, 2007).

To hype up the game, Subway is sending out free codes for the first week of the promotion via online banners and through e-mail blasts to opt-in subscribers. The company also dropped an FSI Sunday with the codes, Tilki said.

In-store P-O-P, online marketing and TV spots support the promotion, which Catapult Marketing is handling for the second year. Ad agency MMB is in charge of the TV spots.