Sixty percent of Subaru owners have dogs. So in 2008, when the company decided to sponsor Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl, it made a major break from previous advertising campaigns — ones that showed drivers with other cars getting stuck in the snow, for example. Alongside a pledge to donate $250 to charity for every car sold, the company began to understand how to appeal to its core audience through their own interests — and how those tied together in a Subaru.
Since 2008, the company has been running a campaign called “Love,” one that brings together all the attributes that Subaru is known for — including safety and reliability. Instead of talking to customers by telling them all the bad things that will happen if they don’t drive a Subaru (e.g., getting stuck in the snow), the company began speaking in a more positive language — including bringing furry friends along on drives.
For many, the instinctive approach toward marketing is to tell an audience why they have to buy your product. Bad things will happen otherwise, and yours is the best in market. The others won’t help you reach your goal. The problem with that logic is that it doesn’t take into account the impact of brand image on product marketing. Sure, you might skid in the snow without a Subaru, but you need to think positively of the company as a whole if you’re going to be drawn to its products in the first place.
Think of it this way: When you were browsing YouTube back in January, you probably saw Procter & Gamble’s tear-jerking ads about moms following their kids’ athletic journeys from preschool ice-skating lessons all the way through to an Olympic medal. What did you think of the company after that? It wasn’t selling any of its core products, like hand soap or after-school snacks, but you probably have a better opinion of the company now. It sponsors moms, it says, and that makes us feel good. You associate a positive feeling with that company, and now you are more drawn toward the brand.
A similar example is Dove. The brand’s “Real Beauty” campaign…
