Marketing Case Study - Subaru Forester

Subaru Ad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmkUckrk2nA

Dive Brief:

• Subaru is partnering with the CBS show "Life in Pieces" on an in-show integration and a content series with talent from the TBS and TNT show "Miracle Workers," according to a press release.
• The campaign, for the brand's 2019 Forester, will also include premium digital video and integrations with streaming platforms, with the goal of engaging consumers on multiple devices.
• Three new 60-second national TV spots, created by Carmichael Lynch, are also debuting. The commercials highlight the model's safety features and focus on the lives of three different Forester owners, including a couple going on an extended road trip, parents of teenage drivers and all the stuff a young family has carried in their vehicle.
• The commercial highlights that you will seek more adventures after purchasing a Subaru.

Dive Insight:

The new Subaru campaign is the latest example of how automakers are expanding their marketing beyond traditional TV commercials in an effort to reach a new generation of car buyers, millennials Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 23 to 38 in 2019) is considered a Millennial,and Gen Z anyone born after 1996., who haven't shown much interest in auto brands and also spend more time on digital platforms. Subaru's digital video and streaming platform integrations for its new campaign align with the trend that auto marketers are embracing data-driven, interactive and mobile video campaigns more quickly than other industry segments. Auto brands are seeing a 14% growth in interactive video impressions, and mobile interactive impressions grew 78% year-over-year, according to Innovid research.

Subaru is also the latest auto brand to embrace higher-quality product placements and in-show partnerships, with its integration with the CBS, TBS and TNT shows. In another example, Range Rover recently teamed up with Hulu on a futuristic car that appears in the streaming platform’s series "The First."

As the demand for higher-value brand integrations is growing, the product placement market in the U.S. was expected to reach $10 billion in 2018, according to a PQ Media report. The value of product placements increased 13.7% to $8.78 billion in 2017, and the growth is being driven by the rise in over-the-top TV viewership with brands looking for ways to reach viewers on the platforms, which don't always accept traditional advertising. Network TV was expected to account for 70% of product placements.

Focusing on nontraditional marketing tactics has been a successful strategy for Subaru. The brand saw a 17% month-over-month increase in site traffic, with more than 55% coming from mobile devices, after running highly targeted ads on mobile-friendly sites like Amazon, Car Gurus and The Washington Post during NFL games in October 2017, according to Gartner L2.

These interactive, digital-first efforts helped Subaru become one of the top automotive brands in social influence, encompassing a brand's performance in online and offline conversations. Subaru jumped eight spots to the No. 5 spotin Engagement Labs' TotalSocial report released in July

Timeline

1. Video
2. Intro- talk about why it caught our intentions
3. X generation
4. Millennials
5. Talk about what we saw in the video
6. Value proposition
7. Marketing tatic
8. Closure

Listening

TIGER WOODS - Nike Commercial (Click Here)

The brand selected for this blog is ever so popular Nike.  The reputation of this world-wide company is branded to all ages and races.  The brand has marketed themselves as always creating and moving in a forward direction.  The thing that stands out in my mind is they don't care what is going to be popular with the main stream. The love to market a band that will get people talking.  Do you remember the Nike 30th Anniversary Ad?  It had to do with the controversy surrounding NFL Player, Colin Kaepernick.

"Colin Kaepernick, the former N.F.L. quarterback who inspired a player protest movement but who has been out of a job for more than a year, has signed a new, multiyear deal with Nike that makes him a face of the 30th anniversary of the sports apparel company’s “Just Do It” campaign, Nike confirmed on Monday."

This blog isn't to start a debate about if I think kneeling for the National Anthem is the right thing to do.  This blog is dedicated to Nike standing behind their athlete, even when it could be,  not the most popular thing to do with the mainstream.  This is their value proposition.  

This evening Tiger Woods won his 5th Golf Masters.  Just minutes after winning the championship, Nike posted a video of Tiger Woods with a reminder "Never Stop Chasing Your Dreams."  The hashtag of course to follow #justdoit.  It wasn't long ago, the media has a hay-day with Tiger Woods because he was constantly surrounded by scandal.  Turning on Entertainment Tonight, with a gleam in the broadcaster's news they would show his unfortunate events.  Many people even thought he should just call it a day and retire from Golf.  

Tiger has had some extremely high, highs and very low, lows.  In 1997, he was the youngest person to ever win the Masters at the age of 21.  Over the years, he has received 4 surgeries on his back and a surgery on his knee.  Recently, he was arrested for a DUII, and plead guilty to reckless driving.  We have all seen him publicly go through a terrible divorce, which sadly involved two kids.  I can't imagine how awful it would be to constantly judging you as a parent. Since, we're around the same age, I have followed all of these transitions in his life, even thou I'm not a fan of golf.  The sponsorships were not happy with all this drama that surrounded his situation. Most of the sponsorship cut ties with him as soon as it all went down.  There was one brand that stuck by his side and that was Nike.  They decided to ride the Tiger Train and see where this athlete would take them.  They obviously believed in him when everyone else did not.

Social media had a lot to say about his recent green jacket. 

https://twitter.com/BostonSprtsNews/status/1117610698870099968

He lost his wife, lost his profession, lost $500 to $850 million in divorce settlement. Had numerous visits to rehab, several back and knee surgeries. He suffered and gained composure. God Forgives!
Tiger Woods just won the 2019 Masters ______________________________________________________________

He is still a liar and cheat. _______________________________________________________________

Tiger Woods & his father Earl after his first Masters win in 1997. Tiger & his son Charlie after winning his 5th Masters today. https://twitter.com/SpeicherAgency The biggest marketing challenge Nike faced was the criticism facing the sponsorship of Tiger Woods. People kick you when you're down but Nike did not do that to this man. Instead the stuck behind him for the good and the bad. In the end, this was a huge win for Nike. Bad press is still press at the end of the day. You have people talking and that's a marketers dream. The release of this ad only proved they were planning on watching a Tiger Woods comeback. Congrats to Tiger Woods for not throwing in the towel and proving he still has what it takes to win the Masters. Always believe in yourself, no matter what people tell you.

About Me / Marketing in the News

About Me....

Born and raised in our local community.  A alumni member of the South Albany "Rebels" and decided, to marry my high school sweetheart.  Happy to announce we have made it through the past 25-years together.  We have two very talented kids, a daughter who just turned 18 and graduates from Central Linn High School in two months.  My son who is 15 and a Freshman at the same school. Most of my career was dedicated to the medical field.  My previous work experience included Surgery Scheduling, Credentialing and Emergency Room Operations Staff.  Currently, I'm working with a local community bank that encourages me to continue my business education with emphasis in the marketing field.  After much discussion, I decided to take the leap and dual enroll at the eCampus at OSU and Linn-Benton Community College.  Outside of school, I attend many sponsorship events as a representative of the Bank.  I enjoy flying and would love to finish my pilots license one day.  I serve as a Planning Commissioner on the City of Tangent Council. 

I'm interested in Marketing because my brain has always been able to think out-side the box. I really enjoy being creative and getting paid for it.



"Marketing in the News"


Volkswagen: VW Beer

What goes good with partying all night and driving home?

How about a German made beer by your favorite Volkswagen brand vehicle.

Car accidents in Argentina had grown by 25% in 2017, due to intoxicated related driving.  The automobile maker of the German brand, VW wanted to change these stats.  They decided to create a beer, that can be social but responsible if chosen to be the designated driver.  The marketing campaign pitch -a beer with which you can “drive responsibly” and allow you “have fun having a good time with friends”,  After three attempts, they feel they finally created a satisfying beer that contains 0.0% alcohol.  This was an amazing concept to me because even non-alcoholic beers contains a little alcohol content.

The ad begins with a black and white history of Germans love for crafting a good beer.  Then moves to the beautiful German design sketch of an automobiles. It makes you smile a little inside, then BOOM, a car running through an intersection with a car crash.  The commercial then explains "these two things can't be mixed."  So you instantly begin to think this is a Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD) commercial.  We all know that drinking beer and driving home is the dumbest mistake, you could possibly make.  Knowing several people that have made this mistake, it's nothing short of ruining your life.  The thought of putting yourself in the position of possibility hurting yourself or even worse, taking another life because of poor judgement.

The reason this article grabbed my attention is because having personally lost a close friend due to drinking and driving. This beer encourages you drink all night long and still drive home.  Research shows that after 21-days you create a habit.  This commercial sends the wrong message because what if a young person gets in the habit of drinking, VW Beer, all night and driving friends home.  Well, the next time you go to a different city and they don't have your VW Beer.  It's still a habit for you at this point and the thought crosses your mind.  Yes, I understand they're trying to promote drinking socially and driving everyone safe home but it fails short of the right thing to do.  If you have friends that are going to pressure you to drink maybe these are not the friends you should have in your life.

The VW Beer commercial has value propositions because it makes you stop and think.  This beer stands out  because it's promoting safe drinking and driving.  I think you could argue both sides of this commercial.  The consumer could think, wow, what a great idea.  Although, I didn't take away from this commercial it was a responsible thing to do, others might disagree.

The marketing relevance was directed to a younger generation.  Part of this commercial glamourized the "Coolest Clubs" sell VW Beer.  I asked, my 18 year old daughter to watch this ad and give me her opinion.  The conclusion after previewing, "I think, the VW Beer is a good idea.  It allows you to drink with your friends and then go home safe."  This will be the marketing challenge because everyone's perspective about drinking and driving is different.  Due to my personal history with drinking and driving, I have a different outlook, than my 18-year old daughter.  This will be a struggle for the company.

The marketing approach was creative.  It was generated to a certain niche market.  The campaign claims to focus on change and raise awareness instead of showing the dangers of drinking and driving.  There is a reason this is the first automobile company in history, whom ever crafted a beer, the two together are just an oxymoron .