Subaru Crosses Over With WRX

The auto industry has been abuzz with the word crossover.  The crossover market after all is the hottest segment today.  Fusing the flexibility of a large SUV with car-like attributes such as handling, suspension and fuel efficiency makes crossovers popular among auto buyers in the country.  But for Subaru, crossover means using a Japanese concept in marketing a Japanese vehicle to American car buyers.

The “crossover” marketing strategy by Subaru will be used to promote the latest installment of the Subaru Impreza WRX, the turbocharged version of the popular Impreza.  For the 2008 model year, the redesigned WRX known as Rex or Scooby will be promoted using Japanese pop culture.

According to the Japanese automaker, the 2008 Impreza WRX will be promoted by using concepts from the company’s home country of Japan hoping that it will attract the attention of younger car buyers.  Subaru is reported to have earmarked $10 million in the marketing strategy. 

According to sources, the ad campaign for the Impreza WRX will include aspects of Japanese anime movies and comics known as manga. Themes from movies with Japanese pop culture will be included like premises from movies like “The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift”, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, and “Blade Runner”.

The automaker announced that they will run three advertisements on their website which will promote the Impreza WRX with the use of characters used in Japanese pop culture.  According to the teaser from the Japanese auto manufacturer, the ads will tell the story of a man from the future “in a land of forbidden secrets”. The said man is destined to become the master of a powerful jungle creator which of course will be the WRX.  Aside from running the ads on their site, Subaru will also allow consumers to view the Japanese-themed ads on their mobile phones and on television as well.

The use of different media in promoting the WRX will ensure that they can reach more consumers.  With the television reaching many consumers, they can attract more car buyers. With the ads running on their site, they can reach those who are more internet-based who are spending more time online than watching television.

Some of the Japanese themes used in the ads are the way the plot is unraveled. Printed ads for the WRX reads “Somewhere in the jungle, the legend is born”.  And then, the ad continues saying “From the East it comes, conceived in thunder, born in lightning.”  This may be a risk for Subaru since the tag lines may alienate those who are not aware of Japanese pop culture.

The target market by Subaru for the WRX hence the ads are male aged 20 to 34.  According to a study conducted by Subaru, this demographic is receptive of vehicles coming from Asia.  This is of course the result of the trailblazing effort of Japanese car manufacturers which have shown that their vehicles are more reliable than domestic vehicles.  Until now, American carmakers are still battling with the perception that American cars are inferior to Japanese in terms of reliability.

Another reason for the ad is that the target market for the Subaru CV boot-equipped Impreza WRX grew up playing video games made by Japanese companies.  Subaru is hoping that this fact will make them more receptive to the WRX.