Raleigh Ad Agency MSA Named "Agency Of The Year" by SUBWAY® at Restaurant Chain's Annual Global Planning Summit in Orlando

Triangle Agency Called the "Best" in Entire SUBWAY® Advertising System that includes U.S., Canada, Australia and Puerto Rico

Raleigh, N.C. (March 17, 2009)
MSA, the Triangle area marketing and communications agency, received the prestigious "Agency of the Year" award by SUBWAY® Restaurants – the chain’s highest honor for Ad Agencies, at SUBWAY® Restaurants’ annual Global Planning Summit held in Orlando.

Presented by SUBWAY® Franchisee Advertising Trust Fund (SFAFT), the award is given each year to the agency that has demonstrated the highest-quality support for their markets, excellent media planning and buying with top tier posting, and innovative marketing and value-added initiatives. The entire SUBWAY® system consists of some 27 U.S. Advertising Agencies as well as agencies representing Canada, Australia and Puerto Rico.

"Many of our agency-partners achieved remarkable things last year and agency performance across the board was exceptional – making this a difficult decision. However, MSA demonstrated the ability to move the Subway business in its markets at an accelerated rate, managed the myriad details of their markets flawlessly, and provided great leadership to our Franchisees," said Jeff Whitney, vice president of field marketing. "SUBWAY® Restaurants' 'Agency of the Year' is our highest honor and I’m delighted to recognize such a terrific partner. They earned this award through smart thinking and focused dedication toward building the Brand, along with exceptional sales and profit results," Whitney said.

"It's a tremendous honor for us," said Lewis Finch, president, MSA. "We set high standards for our work with SUBWAY® and for all of our clients. We greatly appreciate it when our hard work is recognized."

MSA represents SUBWAY® in 27 U.S. markets, making the Triangle firm the second largest advertising agency in the entire SUBWAY® system. In addition to the top agency honor, in November '08, MSA took home five awards – the most of any firm, at the SUBWAY® Agency Summit held in New Orleans. The Summit is an annual series of meetings involving all SUBWAY® system ad agencies in the U.S.

About MSA

Established in 1991, MSA is a full-service, integrated marketing and communications firm providing traditional and interactive advertising, broadcast production, public relations, branding services, research, Web development and mystery shopping. Ranked as the fourth-largest agency in the Triangle by the Triangle Business Journal, MSA's client list includes UNC Health Care and SUBWAY® restaurants, among others. For more information, contact MSA at (919) 463-9680 or visit www.thinkmsa.com

About SUBWAY® Restaurants

Headquartered in Milford, CT., and with more than 30,000 locations in 87 countries, the SUBWAY® restaurant chain is the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise. The SUBWAY® restaurant chain was co-founded by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck in 1965. That partnership, which continues today, marked the beginning of a remarkable journey – one that made it possible for thousands of individuals to build and succeed in their own business. The SUBWAY® brand has been honored as the number one franchise opportunity in Entrepreneur magazine's "Annual Franchise 500®" listing for 15 of the past 21 years, and was ranked as "America's Top Global Franchise" for 2009. For more information, visit www.subway.com. SUBWAY® is a registered trademark of Doctor's Associates Inc.