Subaru first car company to advertise to gay community

Subaru was not the first company to create advertisements for gay and lesbian consumers, but it was the first major company in the United States to do it so transparently and consistently. Subaru was one of the first car brands, if not major mainstream labels, to target the LGBT customer, more specifically: the "L". The beginning. How do you advertise a car that journalists describe as “sturdy, if drab”? That was the question faced by Subaru of America executives in the s.

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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. A group of Subaru owners filed into a little room in a shopping mall to answer a few questions, and the researchers noticed something right away.

All of them were women and many identified as. In the s, Subaru identified four groups of people willing to pay premium for the all-wheel-drive cars: teachers and educators, healthcare professionals, IT professionals and "rugged. Subaru is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries, the twenty-second biggest automaker by production worldwide in At the same time, Subaru used actor Judge Reinhold and cycling superstar Lance Armstrong to appeal to other market segments.

Want to write for Priceonomics? Each asks, "What do I know" about performance, control, grip, etc. Emmys and she is now worth half a billion. In a survey of 3, respondents by Gaywheels.

Subaru also realized that if they just put gay terms in their ads, people would see through their intentions in the blink of an eye as pinkwashing. Case study: Subaru Branche: Cars. What worked were winks and jokes. But Subaru had been looking for niche groups like skiers and kayakers—not lesbian couples. Inside Subaru of America, though, not everyone was united on the effort.

The executive, who had worked for Subaru in Canada, already knew about benefits for same-sex couples. Ginch Gonch. For starters, there was a great business case for the marketing campaign. And Stay Out. Click on pictures for larger image. We're just girls. Introducing: Martina Navratilova. For a car company, openly marketing to gay customers still felt new, if not taboo. The car brand also did not shy away from political statements, for example with the introduction of the highly controversial RFRA law in several states, which would legalize discrimination against LGBT people "on the basis of religious freedom".

Subaru | Marketing the Rainbow

Your donations help! What worked were winks and nudges. That's probably because so many straight people were blind to the jokes and puns in the ads. That was of course also a self-reinforcing effect! The ads were also featured on billboards and bus shelters. They had to show that they really cared about the LGBT community - and they did. The carmaker tracked the effectiveness of its niche marketing by partnering with organizations—like outdoor associations and the Rainbow Card—to offer discounts on Subaru cars.