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Subaru Uses Google to Clear Out 2013 Foresters (And Google Uses The Auto Channel)


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Washington DC April 15, 2013; The AIADA newsletter reported that Subaru of America in the first quarter used Google and other digital marketing to reduce inventory of its 2013 Forester crossover and make way for the redesigned 2014 model.

According to Automotive News, the carmaker expects to sell out of 2013 Foresters in April, a month earlier than projected, said Dean Evans, Subaru's chief marketing officer.

In the last week of March, Subaru had about 2,000 2013 Foresters, down from about 17,000 on Jan. 1, he said. Evans said Subaru increased spending on digital marketing in the first quarter to $4 million from about $2.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 to help move the 2013 Foresters. T

he strategy relied heavily on Google pay-per-click advertising and ad retargeting, said Evans, 44, who cut his teeth at digital marketing vendors such as Cobalt and Dealer.com. Ad retargeting places ads in front of Forester shoppers as they search the Web.

He said Subaru aggressively bought key words for competitive vehicles, such as the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, so that Forester listings would appear at the top of a Google search when online shoppers looked for the competing vehicles.

Read more about Subaru's unconventional marketing tactics to clear inventory of the Forester.