Extensive Marketing Strategy of Subaru – An Overall Analysis

Subaru, renowned for its innovative marketing, has dominated the automotive market for years. Their strategic business decisions and strong marketing campaigns have been key to their success.

In this case study, we will take a deep dive into understanding what Subaru as a company is, the marketing strategies of Subaru and its campaigns, followed by a list of its top competitors. So, let us start by understanding Subaru in the coming section.

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About Subaru – Company Overview

Source: Google

Subaru, a renowned Japanese automaker, was founded in 1953. Known for its boxer engines and all-wheel drive technology, the company is dedicated to delivering safe, reliable, and exciting vehicles. Reflecting the unity and collaboration of the Pleiades star cluster, Subaru’s name embodies these values.

Subaru’s roots trace back to 1915 when Chikuhei Nakajima established Fuji Heavy Industries. The company initially focused on aircraft production but shifted to automobiles after World War II. The Subaru brand was born from the desire to enter the automotive industry, and the Subaru 1500 became their first car.

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What’s New With Subaru?

• Revenue Growth: Subaru reported a revenue of ¥3.5 trillion in 2023, marking a 6% increase from the previous year (Source: Subaru Corporation Annual Report).
• Market Share: Subaru holds a 3.4% share of the global automotive market (Source: Statista).
• Customer Satisfaction: Subaru consistently ranks high in customer satisfaction, with a score of 84 out of 100 in the latest ACSI (American Customer Satisfaction Index) survey (Source: ACSI).

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Business News

Subaru announced a strategic partnership with Toyota to co-develop electric vehicles, aiming to accelerate their presence in the EV market (Source: Reuters, 2023).

Product Launch

In March 2024, Subaru marketing launched the new Solterra, their first all-electric SUV, which boasts advanced safety features and impressive range (Source: Car and Driver).

Marketing News

One Subaru marketing strategy’s latest campaign, the ‘Adventure Awaits,’ highlights the durability and adventure-ready features of their vehicles, resonating well with outdoor enthusiasts (Source: Ad Age).

Celebrity News

The marketing strategy of Subaru enlisted actor Chris Pratt as the face of their new Forester campaign, capitalising on his rugged, adventurous persona to appeal to their target demographic (Source: Hollywood Reporter). Many individuals want to understand the logic of featuring any specific celebrity in a campaign, encouraging them to take up courses on digital marketing online.

Subaru Target Market – Buyer Persona

A buyer persona gives a detailed profile of Subaru’s ideal customer. Subaru’s marketing strategy is based on its customers’ motivations, what they like, their challenges, and how they spend their time online, to tailor its marketing efforts to resonate more effectively.

Based on the detailed breakdown, it’s no surprise that the marketing strategy of Subaru uses social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to execute their marketing campaigns. Here, Subaru’s marketing strategy can feature vehicles that support an adventurous lifestyle to match the requirements of its target audience.

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The Marketing Strategy of Subaru

Analyses the brand with the marketing mix framework covering the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). Several marketing strategies include product innovation, pricing approach, promotion planning, etc. These business strategies, based on the Subaru marketing mix, help the brand succeed.

Segmentation

Subaru’s marketing strategy divides its market based on factors such as age, income, and lifestyle. The brand targets customers with higher purchasing power, a diverse lifestyle, and a strong educational background. Subaru offers a variety of models, from luxury vehicles to performance-oriented cars, to cater to different customer preferences.

Targeting

Subaru’s marketing campaign primarily focuses on younger individuals, both single and coupled, residing in urban areas. They often have an active lifestyle and a desire for outdoor adventures. The brand specifically targets parents who prioritise safety and families seeking vehicles suitable for their adventurous lifestyle.

Positioning

Subaru’s marketing strategy positions itself as a brand that offers safe, reliable, and versatile vehicles. The brand emphasises its commitment to safety through innovative features and highlights its vehicles’ capabilities for handling various driving conditions, including outdoor adventures. By focusing on these core values, Subaru creates a distinct brand image that resonates with its target audience.

Subaru’s marketing strategy effectively connects with consumers by understanding their needs and desires. By offering a range of vehicles and tailoring their messaging to different customer segments, the brand has successfully established a strong presence in the automotive market.

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Digital Marketing Strategy of Subaru

Below is a list of important components utilised in Subaru’s marketing strategy:

Social Media Marketing

The Subaru company can be found easily on social media platforms such as

• Instagram – 787K followers.
• Facebook – 247k followers.

Staying active on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter plays a key role in running Subaru’s marketing campaign. Subaru is the most followed on Instagram. The types of content that are mostly used by the marketing strategy of Subaru are promotional or communicate the launch of new products on social media.

SEO Strategies

According to SEO rankings, the number of keywords: below 500 is bad, above 1500 is good, and 10,000+ is amazing. The organic keywords of Subaru are 15,357, which is pretty amazing.

The website – above 20000 visits a month is good. As the result shows, Subaru has 1,073,500 organic monthly traffic, which is an amazing number. That means that more than a million people visit Subaru’s website every month.

People across the country, especially the ones residing in Mumbai and South Delhi want to explore SEO (an important component of digital marketing). This has led them to search for information using the keywords, ‘digital marketing courses in mumbai’ and ‘digital marketing courses in south delhi’.

Influencer Marketing

#MeetAnOwner

All lifestyles and adventures can be accommodated by a Subaru vehicle. Picking up its social media was one of the brand’s best Subaru advertising campaign decisions. They conducted a ‘Meet an Owner’ influencer campaign in 2017.

Twenty YouTube and Instagram influencers worked with the brand. Regarding Subaru models, each influencer produced user-generated material. The influencers came up with a ton of interesting, appealing posts.
Subaru developed the MeetAnOwner.com landing website in conjunction with the campaign, which features testimonies from Subaru owners and influencers. Additionally, the website linked potential and present Subaru owners.

Subaru of America saw great success with the campaign. It received 58 sponsored Instagram posts, which brought in close to 2 million likes. It received 2.5 million views and 5% engagement on YouTube. Thanks to social media, Subaru’s marketing strategy was able to interact with its target market and increase brand recognition.

Subaru used Devin Graham and Zack King as two key influencers. Since Subaru faces competition from many other automakers, it must engage in emerging markets. Subaru chose Zack King, a professional photographer with 24.2 million followers, to connect with a more sedate and creative consumer who does not have to be a Subaru customer. Subaru discovered that Devin Graham, who has a YouTube follower base of 6.14 million, had significantly increased the sales of all the marketing projects he has previously taken part in.

E-commerce Strategies

Source: Subaru.com

Subaru’s marketing strategy uses online platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook to attract customers. Subaru uses promotional and product launch-related pictures or information.

Subaru has maintained a strong marketing strategy since the start of its inaugural ‘Love campaign.’ They rely on data to know who their target market is and how to best connect with them.

Of course, they keep track of demographic information. However, they also look for information on how their brand and cars are perceived by consumers. They use actionable data, such as customer internet browsing patterns, to give the most pertinent information.

Subaru gives customers the greatest purchasing experience possible by leveraging actionable insights. This also entails emailing you new offers and price alerts.

Mobile Apps

Source: play.google.com

The MySubaru app makes owning your Subaru easy by connecting you to your vehicle with features like remote start, remote unlock/lock, service scheduler, digital service history, vehicle locator, and 24-hour roadside assistance.

The MySubaru app empowers you to control your Subaru from anywhere, whether it’s starting your car from home, booking a service, or finding your vehicle’s location.

Content Marketing Strategies

The content element of Subaru’s marketing strategy can be broken down into 5 effective strategies such as audience personas, brand positioning, owned media value proposition, business case and an action plan. This makes Subaru have the right product, class-leading safety and loyal customers.

In the 1990s, Subaru developed its hugely successful ‘Acceptance Without Limits’ campaign. The campaign’s content marketing was created with a few select, small groups of target customers in mind. Once these groups were identified—teachers and educators, medical professionals; IT specialists, people who enjoy the outdoors, and lesbians—the content was tailored to meet their needs and values.

Ad copy for medical professionals highlighted that they could get to the hospital in all weather; for outdoor enthusiasts, the ads underlined Subaru’s capacity to negotiate challenging dirt roads and pack a surprising amount of gear. The advertisements promote Subaru as a firm that embraces and respects lesbians’ lifestyle choices while also portraying automobiles as fitting into an active, low-key lifestyle for lesbians.

Subaru has positioned itself as an eco-friendly brand by partnering with the Leave No Trace Center and creating content that appeals to environmentally conscious consumers. This marketing strategy of Subaru has solidified the company’s popularity among outdoor enthusiasts and liberals.

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Marketing and Advertising Campaigns Designed By Subaru’s Marketing Strategy

Source: Google

Subaru marketing campaigns are conducted on the following media channels:- Social Media, advertising, and newspapers.

Love Campaign

The theme of the campaign is to show love and respect to all people in every interaction with Subaru. ‘Love is now bigger than ever’.

Subaru understood that to succeed, it needed to cultivate a dedicated client base. Several Subaru advertising campaigns were produced using their ‘love campaign’ to engender an emotional connection with their viewers. The campaign’s slogan was ‘Love.’ It distinguishes a Subaru from a Subaru. They emphasise the notion that Subaru treats its cars with the same care that people do for their daily lives. The advertisements emphasise life and love rather than facts or specifications.

Sabaru’s marketing campaign was tremendously successful. Up to that point, their finest sales month had just passed. Their sales increased by a whopping 28 per cent over the prior year, the most growth of any automaker.

Source: Google

Subaru’s prominence was because of a canny promotion that thought about addressing individuals rather than buyers.

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LGBTQ Marketing Campaign

At a time when few businesses would accept or even acknowledge their LGBT clientele, it did so. People who worked on Subaru’s marketing campaign (1990’s) frequently mention how different the atmosphere was in those days.

It’s no secret that Subaru supports the LGBTQ+ community. Subaru has taken significant action to demonstrate its support, including sponsoring pride parades, joining forces with the Rainbow Card, a credit card that offers donations to gay and lesbian causes instead of cashback, and hiring Martina Navratilova to appear in commercials. These significant actions, while other businesses remained mum about their stance on the community, have helped to build and maintain lesbian support for Subaru.

Source: Google

Marketing Strategy of Subaru That Failed

One marketing strategy of Subaru included the launch of the ‘Experience the Subaru Difference’ campaign, which aims to highlight the unique features and superior performance of their vehicles through a series of emotionally driven advertisements.

Issue: Subaru’s marketing campaign failed to resonate with the target audience as the ads were perceived as overly sentimental and disconnected from the practical aspects that potential buyers were looking for.

Backlash: The campaign was criticised for not communicating the tangible benefits of Subaru cars, leading to confusion among consumers and a decline in showroom visits and test drives.

Response: Subaru quickly pulled the campaign and shifted focus to a new marketing strategy that emphasised the practical benefits and reliability of their vehicles, including real-world testimonials and performance-based advertising.

Top Competitors That Influence the Marketing Strategy of Subaru

Subaru is not the only brand that dominates the skincare industry. Many other players can have a huge impact on Subaru’s marketing strategy:

• Toyota: Known for its reliability and extensive vehicle lineup.
• Honda: Offers a range of affordable, fuel-efficient vehicles.
• Ford: Strong presence in the SUV and truck segments.
• Mazda: Focuses on driving dynamics and stylish designs.
• Nissan: Offers innovative technology and a wide range of vehicles.

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