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

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.

Gap "Back to Blue" Great Insights, Questionable Execution

Gap has made a huge investment behind it's back-to-school campaign, which is called "Back to Blue" and focuses on promoting its denim business.

I'm a big supporter of Gap focusing its marketing efforts on core wardrobe categories like denim or khakis because I believe these are the type of items the retailer is famous for and has the most right to win with. I also really love the "Back to Blue" tag-line, not just because it fits with denim theme, but also because Gap = Blue and it signals Gap's resurgence in many consumers' minds driven by a strong turn around strategy over the last several quarters.

However, I do not believe the execution of the Back to Blue campaign is on equity for Gap. Take a look at some of the campaign imagery....

The imagery just does not say Gap to me, it looks much to hipster versus mainstream All-American. It's fine if Gap wants to start evolving its imagery to have a bit more personality, but it cannot just jump there too quickly. Perhaps a more preppy hipster look might work to bridge to Gap's equity but the slightly disheveled, glassy-eyed, slouched over look just does not fit with the Gap of today. I think the brand is reaching too far and risks alienating existing consumers as well as coming off as a poser brand to true hipsters.

Gap CM Seth Farbman explains that "The entire Back to Blue campaign embodies what it means to be comfortable in your own skin".  This might be case, and I can see this attitude come to life in the imagery, but it doesn't mean the execution is done in a way that is consistent with the brand equity. Great campaign insight, great tag-line, poor execution. That's my view at least. We'll see what the consumer says. At the very least, Gap should see a bump from fielding its first TV ads in 4 years.

Chevy no longer 'Runs Deep', but will 'Find New Roads'. At least for the time being...

Chevy recently announced that it was replacing its tag-line "Chevy Runs Deep" with the new tag-line "Find New Roads".

"Chevy Runs Deep"was launched in 2010 and only lasted a few years.  Though switching tag-lines is nothing new for the General Motor's brand.  Past tag-lines include "See the USA in Your Chevrolet," "Heartbeat of America,", and "An American Revolution".  The question is will this new tag-line have more sticking power?  

My guess is no.  My guess is Chevy will be searching for a new tag-line in another few years and they could have better spent the few million dollars they invested on this re-launch effort on something else that better built the brand. 

It's not that I don't like the tag-line from a creative standpoint.  And, I'm confident all the consumer research GM surely did prior to rolling out the new tag-line showed positive consumer sentiment.  After all, "Find New Roads" is very likable.  Its optimistic and it points towards the future not the past.  It grabs hold of the current America sentiment for wanting something new, something better.  The problem is that being popular with consumers in testing, doesn't necessarily make it a successful tag-line.

So what makes a successful tag-line?  There are four elements that have to be true:

1. It has to be unique
2. It has to be ownable (by connecting to the brand heritage or underlining equity)
3. It has to brings to life a consumer benefit (ideally a high order benefit than just the product performance)
4. It has to have the potential to tug at the consumer heartstrings or make an emotional connection

To me the biggest problem with the new Chevy tag-line is it doesn't resonate as an unique, ownable benefit that only Chevy can deliver on.  What about find new roads distinctly connects with the Chevy brand?  For me, the line fails to connect with the brand heritage and brand equity.  While it is clever, I struggle with the brand linkage to Chevy and that makes the tag-line feel empty and somewhat soulless to me.  

Aspirational for sure. A great internal compass to guide the future development.  Just not a great fit from a consumer branding standpoint.