• Ad Age, Thursday, February 16, 2006 11:32 AM

Subaru of America is shifting gears in its marketing strategy. Not only will the company's message now focus on performance and safety rather than weather-related, four-wheel-drive stamina, but the media mix the ads will appear in is also changing. A new campaign highlights safety awards the automaker has won from third parties in much the same way that rival Volvo has done for years. The ads will be backed by the song "Every Day Is a Winding Road," by Sheryl Crow, who cut a deal with the carmaker to use the song in all TV and radio spots. The new campaign will include out-of-home ads with provocative statements aimed at sending passers-by to Subaru.com. "Air bags save lives. All wheel drive saves air bags," one billboard will say. In terms of media, Subaru plans to increase online spending 15 percent compared to last year; beef up its radio buy by 10 percent (including Sirius satellite radio); and have a much lighter presence on weekend TV, when its active owners and target buyers are presumably tooling around in their all-wheel-drive models.

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