Subaru campaign targets Asian-American consumers

Car company Subaru of America is conducting an integrated marketing campaign targeting Asian-American consumers. The “Sweet Tomorrow” effort is promoting the company's Legacy model through online, TV, print and out-of-home components. The automaker developed the campaign with AdAsia Communications, its Asian-American AOR.

Alan Bethke, director of marketing communication at Subaru, said the company is targeting “specifically the Chinese culture” to capitalize on its existing “strong connection” with the demographic.

“The Asian-American population has been growing,” he said. “There are about 15 million people of Asian-American descent, roughly, in the US, and Chinese-Americans are about 23% of that number.”

Bethke added that Subaru is targeting Chinese-Americans in particular because the demographic represents the largest group of Asian-American Subaru owners.

The campaign is also focused on consumers in their early-to-late 30s who are likely young parents and car shopping with their children in mind.

In addition to a billboard in San Francisco's Chinatown district, the campaign includes a TV ad, produced by video production company Park Productions, which is running on Subaru's Chinese-language site and its YouTube channel. The company is also running print ads in Cantonese and Mandarin in Los Angeles- and San Francisco-based publications, because of their heavy concentration of Asian-Americans, said Bethke.

The effort will run through October 2011.