“It’s that magical time of year” says the smooth voice for Mercedes, Audi, Hyundai, Lexus and whatever. See that? No differentiation. Two weeks before Thanksgiving and they’re running those ads (I must be a target because they’re reaching me).
Happily owning a Subaru, I find myself differentiated. No snow can stop me and the car’s super-dependable — and built in Indiana.
I was so gratified to read about Subaru of America’s philanthropic promotion:
“In looking for a way to stand out during the December selling period, one of the pieces of research we see is that our customers are socially involved, very involved with supporting their communities–we see that often,” says Kevin Mayer, director of marketing communications for the company.
Wes Brown, with L.A.-based marketing lab Iceology, agrees. “They are, in general, more altruistic; they don’t like to broadcast it, but they are,” he says. “They volunteer a lot and they give a lot.”
He adds that they are also less likely to respond to overt financing deals. “The Subaru buyer, in general, tends to be more financially savvy; they are not the kind of people who are personally affected by the mortgage crisis. And because a good percentage of them would rather not make payments, there are a lot of them who will walk into dealerships and buy outright. It’s just their mindset.”
Not entirely original, but brilliant just the same.