Subaru Case Study - The Arthur Page Society

"That is not something that came about in the last week or month. It's been evolving a long
time," Moran said. "This was made as a pure business decision, not as a social statement one way
or another. This was not a decision in response to the American Family Association."
Ford's Volvo brand, which has advertised in gay publications for years, will continue to do so,
Moran said. The company's Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands have not marketed directly to
gays and have no plans to do so.
"That's just not part of our marketing plan. We let our brands determine where it makes the most
sense to advertise their products," Moran said, adding that Jaguar and Land Rover are
"streamlining" their advertising in 2006.
"Jaguar faces extreme pressure in its marketing budget and is not going to be able to afford as
many publications as it has in the past."
Ford does not break out financial results for its brands, but Jaguar and Land Rover are believed
to be losing money while Volvo is profitable. All three are part of Ford's Premiere Automotive
Group, which lost $108 million in the third quarter.
Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales are down 5 percent this year, and Jaguar's have plunged 34 percent.
Land Rover's sales are up 31 percent thanks to brisk sales of the LR3, a new sport-utility vehicle.
Land Rover was gaining traction in the gay community because of ads in national gay
publications like the Advocate, Tracy Baim, publisher and editor of the Windy City Times, a
gay-oriented newspaper, said.
"The gay community is extremely loyal to brands that advertise to them and they're very
educated about this," she said.
Subaru is recognized as the first car company to target gays, starting in about 1995, after it
discovered through focus groups that a large number of its owners were lesbians. The gay
community is only one of the niches Subaru targets. Others include skiers through sponsorship of
the National Ski Patrol, nurses and other medical professionals and engineers. One of the
common selling point to those groups is that all Subaru models come with all-wheel drive and
are well-suited to outdoor activities.
Gregg Lieberman, vice president of Moon City Productions, the New York agency Subaru uses
for its gay-oriented ads, says tailoring the message to specific groups builds allegiance.
"It says that we recognize that you exist as human beings and as a group of consumers," he said.
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