The Safety Play No One Wanted—Until It Won Everything
How Subaru ignored the agency, trusted the data, and found its true voice.
Subaru had a message:
“Once a Subaru, always a Subaru.”
It was heartfelt. Loyal. Rooted in truth.
It also didn’t work.
That was the problem. Subaru’s market share was low. And while their owners were indeed devoted, nearly 99% of potential buyers had never driven one. So telling them they’d love it again didn’t land—because they hadn’t loved it yet.
But this wasn’t just a story about a lukewarm campaign. It was a story about how Factive helped Subaru change course—and how hard it was to get there.
When SCOUT Said “Safety,” the Room Rolled Its Eyes
Subaru ran their early creative inputs through SCOUT, Factive’s idea generation tool. The safety angle started showing up right away. Over and over. It wasn’t just showing up—it was dominating in early rounds of exploratory messaging.
But the agency wasn’t buying it.
“That’s not a space we can touch. Volvo owns safety,” said one of the strategists, dismissing it outright.
“It’s on page 2 of the universal marketing rulebook.”
Subaru pressed. The agency resisted. So Subaru fired the agency.
A Different Kind of Test Drive
Instead of shelving the idea, Subaru put it to the test with RESONANCE, Factive’s response modeling tool. They compared dozens of messages—including the legacy ones, the new ones, and yes, the safety ones.
The results were stark:
- The old message (“Once a Subaru…”) connected with just 5–6% of the broader market.
- The top safety-led message resonated with over 35%.
It wasn’t even close. The data was clear:
Safety wasn’t Volvo’s forever.
Consumers were open to hearing it from Subaru—if they said it in the right way.
From Insight to Impact
Subaru greenlit the new message and teamed up with an independent filmmaker to bring it to life. The concept?
“The most important part of the journey is coming home.”
No big-budget agency campaign. Just a smart idea, shaped by data and executed with clarity. The creative work was beautiful—and it hit hard.
When the new campaign launched:
- 30% increase in booked test drives.
- No increase in spend.
- And for the first time in years, the Subaru team felt like they had a message the market actually wanted to hear.
Signal Wins. Always.
The story of Subaru isn’t about a cool new platform. It’s about listening to the signal—even when it contradicts your assumptions, your instincts, or your agency.
That’s the shift Factive is enabling:
Less guesswork. More growth.
Less ego. More evidence.
More clarity, faster.
It starts by asking the right questions.
And sometimes, it means trusting the answer no one wanted to hear.
around the ones that will work best. The way to get the most out of it? Use the tools in sequence.
