Rashida
Subaru of America has recently made waves in the world of marketing.
Before the 90s, they didn’t even know who was buying their vehicles. Their marketing lacked direction.
Of course, identifying a target audience can be difficult for a car brand. The truth is that many different people buy cars. However, Subaru faced stagnant sales and knew they had to make a change.
What marketing strategies did they use? How has the brand changed?
Today, we’ll dive into a marketing case study to find out just what this car brand did to turn things around.
Reputation
First thing’s first, quality matters. Before building a relationship with its target audience, Subaru had to prove its worth. They build up a strong brand reputation, known for being safe, durable, and versatile.
Still, their sales lagged behind competitors, like Toyota. Sure, they had quality cars, but not flashy ones. Basically, car buyers weren’t excited about the brand. Without this emotional connection, Subaru didn’t entice buyers.
That’s where their next big change came.
Love Campaign
Subaru knew that it needed to build customer loyalty to have any chance. Using their “love campaign” they created a series of ads to foster an emotional connection with their audience. The essence of the campaign was “Love. It’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru.” They focus on the idea that Subaru puts the same love into its vehicles as people do in their everyday lives. The focus of the ads is not statistics or specs, but life and love.
This campaign was incredibly successful for the car brand. They had their best month of sales up to that point. Compared to the year before, their sales were up 28%, the largest increase of any car brand.
How Subaru Appeals to Its Target Audience
Subaru uses its ads to speak directly to its target audience. They leverage social media and ads to address the obstacles and desires of their target audience. Here’s a look at a few examples:
Safety for Parents
One segment of Subaru’s target audience is parents. A big concern for parents is safety. They have made ads that speak directly to this concern. For example, one ad showed how their DriverFocus Alerts saved one young woman from an accident. This makes Subaru vehicles seem safe, which appeals to parents.
Pet Owners
Another key subset of their target audience is pet owners. In 2018, they released an ad for the Ascent Subaru models. It showed dogs washing the vehicle, and was pretty entertaining. The purpose of the ad was to demonstrate the size of the vehicle and generate a “dog-friendly” vibe overall.
Outdoor Adventurers
They also created ads for the outdoor adventure type, including families. It appeals to those looking to enjoy nature, whether they have a family, pet, etc.
#MeetAnOwner
Subaru vehicles are meant to suit any lifestyle and adventure. One of the best marketing moves the brand made is picking up its social media. In 2017, they ran a “Meet an Owner” influencer campaign.
The brand collaborated with 20 influencers on Instagram and YouTube. Each influencer created user-generated content about Subaru models. The influencers created a myriad of unique, compelling posts.
In correspondence with the campaign, Subaru created the MeetAnOwner.com landing page, sharing stories from the influencers and Subaru owners. The website also connected current and potential Subaru owners.
The campaign was highly successful for Subaru of America. It generated nearly 2 million likes through 58 sponsored Instagram posts. On YouTube, it earned 2.5 million views and 5% engagement. Social media helped Subaru connect with its target audience and boost its brand awareness.
Data-Driven Marketing
Since its initial “love campaign”, Subaru has continued to focus heavily on marketing. They rely on data to understand their target audience and how to best reach them.
Of course, they monitor data on demographics. However, they also seek out data on customer perceptions of their brand and vehicles. They leverage actionable data, like how consumers browse their website, to deliver the most relevant information.
By leveraging actionable insights, Subaru creates the best possible shopping experience for customers. This includes sending you price alerts and new offers.
Subaru’s marketing success starting with a quality product. From there, they focused on building an emotional connection with their target audiences. They leveraged compelling ads to sell the emotional side of their brand. They took advantage of social media marketing and ran a highly successful Instagram campaign. Overall, they have taken on the challenge of marketing head-on and uses data-driven marketing to create a powerful shopping experience.
