How Subaru saved itself by marketing to the gay community
Almost everyone who's in the car community, and even people that aren't, have probably heard the stereotype that lesbians drive Subarus. What you may not realize is that stereotype was fostered by Subaru, and it helped make the company relevant again in the '90s.
This is the story told by NPR's Planet Money podcast.
Apparently, as the company was trying to figure out who was buying its
cars, the marketing folks discovered that gay and lesbian people were a
large segment – along with all those outdoorsy types. The discovery led
to subtle advertising
directed specifically at what we now refer to as the LGBT community,
which in turn led to more sales to gay and lesbian consumers. There were
other components to Subaru's sales strategy in the '90s, but this
particular campaign was an important part and quite successful. Thanks
to that success, today we still have Subaru around building reliable,
all-wheel-drive transportation, as well as rally-inspired sport compacts.
(AutoBlog.com)
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