(creative direction, brand strategy, copywriting, content strategy + more)
Subaru Asia marketed to diverse cultures and purchasing attitudes across seven countries. Given budget constraints, they needed advertising campaigns that would work across many borders and a variety of languages. As their agency of record, we helped them think holistically as well as creatively.
With contrasting priorities from country to country, we had to focus on what was unique to Subaru and yet universally relevant to customer desires in the entire region. For example, while Subaru is great for off-road driving, most customers in Singapore wouldn’t be motived by that capability.
I collaborated with leadership to define long range goals and the customer journey to get there.
We identified the reliability of Subaru’s unique and award-winning core technologies as a stage one selling point.
To introduce these core technologies, we gave them a dedicated section on the website and developed a 360º campaign with print, digital, and website updates. We also produced a variety of fun, informative, no-dialogue, and minimal voiceover television spots.
In the next stage we went to the heart of the emotional selling point for the target audience in every country: safety. Subaru was predominantly a family car or a popular choice for safety-conscious solo drivers.
We covered the entire region in the safety story and highlighted that the core technologies were all designed with safety in mind. We communicated that this focus on safety—from inside out—has created reliable cars that keep generations of drivers safe.
This story was supported on the website, print ads, digital ads, and a series of emotional television ads demonstrating that families can trust Subaru with their lives and their loved ones.
And finally, moving to our final phase, our testing showed that while some visitors to the website would make their way to the core technologies and safety, the first thing nearly everyone did was go to the specific vehicle they were most interested in. We took advantage of this by making the process of getting the product description pages faster and easier.
Then, we created an epic modular library highlighting the safety and the core technologiess—through the specific lens of each individual vehicle. This enabled us to create vehicle pages that captured the spirit and personality of each car while also telling the technology and safety story. It was a rich, dynamic, and interactive way to explore the car of your choice.
Along with the website changes, we supported this celebration of the individual personalities of the cars through fun TV spots in the spirit of each vehicle's "personality".
– Subaru Asia increased brand awareness 35% over 5 years.
By convincing Subaru Asia to focus on the universals first, and zero in on targets, we expanded the brand reach in markets that bought fewer new cars than Western markets.
– Subaru Asia's ads reached over 10 million views on YouTube.
With ads and messages that transcended language and spoke to hearts and minds, Subaru gained access to a wider audience without increasing production spend.
– Subaru Asia more than tripled their digital engagements.
A more thoughtful, entertaining, and effective site improved perception of the brand. Developing new vehicle pages and a virtual showroom also gave dealers access to customers with real interest—who no longer needed to physically go to the dealership to experience the car.
