Subway CMO Tony Pace Stepping Down To Launch Marketing Consulting Firm

Subway Senior VP & CMO TONY PACE "will step down on Sept. 30" to start his own marketing consulting firm, called Cerebral Graffiti, according to Kristina Monllos of ADWEEK. The new firm in a statement said it will focus on "creating enduring brand differentiation" and "maximizing the cross platform deployment of marketing assets." Pace in '06 "joined Subway from McCann Erickson," and in '12, he "was promoted from CMO of Subway's advertising fund to global CMO." It is "unclear how Subway will fill Pace's position once he departs" (ADWEEK.com, 7/20). AD AGE's Maureen Morrison noted the move "comes two weeks after the chain found itself in a situation no marketer wants to find itself in: Subway suspended its relationship with longtime spokesman JARED FOGLE." Much of the chain's marketing "has included Jared and Subway's Famous Fans, many of them athletes." The QSR, a "major sports sponsor, also has long promoted its $5 footlong sandwiches" (ADAGE.com, 7/20).