To Reach Key Demographics, Subaru Teams Up with Antiques Roadshow

PBS Ratings Winner a Gold Mine for Japanese Automaker

Special From Marty Bernstein
AIADA Contributing Editor

Grand Rapids, MI – Every car aficionado dreams of one day finding a rare classic car – be it a Buggati, Rolls-Royce, or Packard – in a barn where it’s been for sitting for years and can be bought for a song. But that’s all it is, a dream. In reality, one is far more likely to inherit a valuable antique from a departed relative or buy one at an estate sale, right? Well, sort of …

This is the American dream of discovery which has made the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) program, Antiques Roadshow, the most popular show on public television for 12 of the past 13 years and along the way has garnered several Emmy nominations. Every week over 10 million households watch the program that maybe, just maybe, will turn someone’s dream of an undiscovered treasure into financial reality. A few significant treasures – worth six figures – have been discovered on the Antiques Roadshow, but the reality is most appraised values are not that stratospheric.

The show’s appeal is in the process of discovery, shared by viewers and participants. The vicarious thrill of seeing a person turn a family heirloom into a cash cow. Roadshow viewers are a steadfast, loyal group of educated, upper income, independent thinking consumers. In other words, a perfect example of Subaru of America’s core demographic group.

In a poor automotive climate, event marketing has become an important, albeit expensive, tool to reach prospective (i.e. real) buyers as opposed to potential (just looking thank you) shoppers.

For the cost of a few NFL or Law & Order commercials, an amount many auto brands would consider chump change, Subaru become one of the two sponsors of the Antiques Road show on PBS for an entire year. For its investment, Subaru receives two commercials per show and is permitted to plaster their logo on every sign, handout, ticket, and banner at the physical event. This is an exceptional value that is both effective and efficient.

Antiques Roadshow airs primetime every Monday throughout the year, and is rerun later in the week by most stations. That adds up to a whole lot of spots for Subaru.

Beyond the media investment, Subaru produced a traveling exhibit transported to the five city venues that are visited by the Antiques Roadshow each summer. These one day events attract several thousand fans. But getting tickets is not easy. In January every year, the PBS show announces the five cities it will visit and the dates. People interested in attending must submit their names to a website to enter a ticket lottery.

For the most recent show my wife and I attended in Grand Rapids, Michigan, PBS received 27,000 email requests, the biggest response in the show’s history according to an Antiques Roadshow spokesperson. From the thousands who responded only 3,400 recipients received two tickets each.

Getting through to the experts can be a bit daunting. Preliminary screening determines which line one must stand in to be seen at the specific table. Certain lines – painting, dolls, sports memorabilia, and collectables – are longer than others.

From personal experience, however, there is an air of conviviality while waiting to go onto the set. Once ushered to the proper table, the item or items are presented to the expert. Happily, these public television celebrities were personable, interested, and of course, antique experts.

If selected, the hopeful “treasure” owner will accompany their item to the green-room for makeup and microphone application. Then the person is taken to the shooting set were the antique expert and camera crew are waiting. They want to get a live reaction to the news which will be delivered – no matter what it might be.

Often there is good news, infrequently some really good news, and occasionally some not so good. The variance in degrees of good is based on estimated monetary price at auction or in an antique store.

On their way to the exit, visitors pass the Subaru display. They see the first Subaru in America, a beautifully restored Subaru 360 from 1968 along side the new 2009 Forrester. Both vehicles generated comment and conversation, especially when spectators were given a copy of the first ad and see what the car sold for.

It was an almost unbelievable, $1,297 MSRP that got 66 miles per gallon. Contrast those prices to today’s Subaru 2009 Foreseter AWD, 4 cylinder, 2.5 liter SUV which starts at $19,995 and can ramp up to $29,995. The new MPG rating for the Forester is 20 city and 26 highway.

There’s also a Subaru contest to win a Tiffany lamp or a Steif bear – both considered antiques gems. It generates over 1,500 responses per show which are used as prospect contacts for dealers in the area. The ownership rate for Subaru owners who fill out the card is more than double their national brand share.

The real winner of Antiques Roadshow is Subaru. The Japanese automaker discovered a real marketing treasure and turned into a promotional reality with exceptional value. And, yes, they’ve just renewed for another two years.

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SIDEBAR:
A Few Select Prices from 1968
1968 was, according to historians, one of the most important years in our nation’s history. Compare these costs to what it costs today.

Average Cost of new house $14,950.00
Average Income per year $7,850.00
Average Monthly Rent $130.00
Gas per Gallon 34 cents
Average Cost of a new car $2,822.00
Movie Ticket $1.50