How Subarus Became the Car for Lesbians
People often joke about the stereotype that lesbians love Subarus. I, as a Subaru-owning lesbian, am quite familiar and comfortable with this association. What many don’t know, however, is that this association is not a practical coincidence — it’s an association that Subaru marketed hard to cultivate.
Subaru needed a change
During the early 1990s, the executives at Subaru saw a steady decline that needed to be combatted. They hired a young, hip ad agency that failed in its first attempt to fight the larger car corporations for the classic car-buying demographic of white, male 18- to 35-year-olds.
For take two, they changed their strategy by trying to market to the niche groups that were thoroughly-researched and found to be willing to pay a slightly higher price for a car with all-wheel drive that was described as “sturdy, if drab.” They also wanted groups that could be targeted with strategic campaigns geared toward their unique demographics. Here are the groups they found:
- Teachers and educators
- Healthcare professionals
- IT professionals
- Outdoorsy-types
- Lesbians
“When we did the research, we found pockets of the country like Northampton, Massachusetts, and…
