In Canada, Subaru is a niche player with only 1.5% of overall automotive share, anaemic brand familiarity, and low purchase intent. In fact, Subaru has seen only marginal sales increases since it brought the famed WRX STI model to the market in 2002. Faced with the biggest launch in the history of the brand in the form of the 2008 Impreza, we needed to give consumers a compelling reason to consider purchase. How could we create a new Subaru voice in the marketplace while getting on the shopping list for consumers who had never considered buying a Subaru before?

We called our solution ‘Japanese Plus’. Not only did we leverage the inherent benefits consumers usually associate with Japanese cars – quality, reliability and durability, we also included a key attribute normally associated with European offerings, driving performance. Tapping into this Japanese heritage, we launched a multi-media campaign featuring cinema, online, print ads, radio, and direct marketing, all with an overall goal of re-educating consumers and creating a fresh, younger personality for the brand. Built to make other engineers mutter, ‘Verdammt, why didn’t we think of that?’ the ‘Subaru Impreza is the Japanese car the Germans wish they’d made.’

Sales increased by 78% over the same period last year. Campaign also led to traffic increases at the showrooms with a 20% increase compared to last year. Website traffic rose by 65% versus a year ago. There were more than 64,000 visits to imprezaenvy.com. Unit sales rose by 11% (vs. quarter target).PLUS:Over 130,000 views on YouTube4-star consumer rating‘Rock me Amadeus’ hits #73 on Canadian iTunes 8,589,542 PR Impressions TBS Funniest Commercials of 2007 Consumers trade in their Japanese cars for the new Impreza, an unprecedented occurrence for Subaru.