Guinness released a new TV commercial a few months ago that is outstanding on nearly every front. It catches your attention, keeps you engages, and connects emotionally. Like I said, outstanding on nearly all fronts. Unfortunately, the commercial fails to link back to the brand equity for me. Take a look.
As much as I love the ad, it just doesn't feel like a Guinness commercial to me.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
Subaru Turning Into a Lifestyle Brand
Subaru gets what few other automobile manufacturers understand, the days of marketing specific product features or racing through curvy streets are over. The future is all about understanding your core consumer and marketing your brand around either their actual or aspirational lifestyle.
More and more, specific car features are becoming commodities, with slight design elements and brand image now the primary factors points of difference. Think about it. Volvo use to be all about safety, now all brands have state of the art breaks and airbags all over the place. Toyota was the brand of reliability, but now America cars have joined Japanese cars at the top of the charts and the 100,000 warranty no longer even raises eye brows.
At a time of increased competition, Subaru is making waves by playing a different game. Subaru advertisements focus on using real life scenarios to relate to their consumers vs. closed course riving stunts. The ads are all about demonstrating how Subaru safely gets you through real life.
I've included several advertisements to highlight how well they paint different slivers of people's lives.
Subaru "Stick Shift" TV Commercial
More and more, specific car features are becoming commodities, with slight design elements and brand image now the primary factors points of difference. Think about it. Volvo use to be all about safety, now all brands have state of the art breaks and airbags all over the place. Toyota was the brand of reliability, but now America cars have joined Japanese cars at the top of the charts and the 100,000 warranty no longer even raises eye brows.
At a time of increased competition, Subaru is making waves by playing a different game. Subaru advertisements focus on using real life scenarios to relate to their consumers vs. closed course riving stunts. The ads are all about demonstrating how Subaru safely gets you through real life.
I've included several advertisements to highlight how well they paint different slivers of people's lives.
Subaru "Stick Shift" TV Commercial
Subaru "View from the Child Seat" TV Commercial
Subaru "Best Friend" TV Commercial
Subaru "Teenager Driving Responsibility" TV Commercial
Subaru "New Car Smell" TV Commercial
Subaru "Redressing Room" TV Commercial
Subaru "The Date" TV Commercial
Subaru "Cut the Cord" TV Commercial
Subaru "Nature Painting" TV Commercial
Subaru "Let's Do That" TV Commercial
The results are not just impressive for Subaru, but record breaking. In August, Subaru sold 41,061 cars in the US, a 45% increase versus a year ago, and more importantly its highest ever in one single month.
Even more impressive is that Subaru saw superb sales across its entire line, including its staple models (Outback, Forester, Impreza) as well as some solid traction with the newer XV Crosstrek and BRZ models.
Soon enough other car manufacturers will hopefully realize consumers are looking for more than product attributes, their looking for a brand that enhances their desired lifestyle.
The only thing I don't like is Subaru's tag-line "Confidence in Motion", it does not connect and comes off as artificial. However, the advertisement are very strong so they more than make up for it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)