There are few automakers out there with a brand identity as fiercely loyal, or specific, as Subaru. You know the type — golden retrievers, flannel shirts, a deeply held conviction that an overlanding roof ladder is a personality trait.
So what if your car itself could tell everyone at the farmers market that you not only love your dog, but you're also an avid gardener, a marathon runner, and on your third Forester? Subaru has a program for that, and it's called the Badge of Ownership. It's a beautifully quirky, and frankly, genius marketing program that allows owners to turn the back of their cars into a rolling resume of their hobbies, and more importantly for Subaru, brand loyalty.
What may look like simple decorations to the uninitiated is more like a secret handshake among the Subaru faithful. This isn't some cheap dealership freebie, it's a strategic initiative from Subaru of America, framed as a complimentary gift for being part of the family. The program is remarkably inclusive, available to all U.S. Subaru owners, whether their car is brand new or a decade-old hand-me-down. It's a true masterclass in high-impact marketing that transforms customers into passionate brand evangelists by brilliantly aligning personal identity with a corporate ethos.
In fact, it's a system so unique that after a fender-bender, some Subaru owners worry less about the dent and more about rescuing their hard-earned badges — like realizing you might lose all your Pokémon gym badges when switching from Red to Yellow.
So how does one acquire this automotive merit badge? The process is far more straightforward than having to document a minimum number of trail hikes on Strava. The entire system is centralized through the official Badge Of Ownership website. Simply provide the VIN to verify you're legit and then the fun begins.
First, you select a Loyalty Number, which ranges from My 1st Subaru all the way up to My 10+ Subaru for the most seasoned brand veterans. Then, you get to choose up to five Lifestyle Icons from a smorgasbord of options to personalize your set. The sheer variety of these icons is what transforms this from a simple loyalty program into a true form of automotive self-expression. The catalog of over 30 active symbols has evolved since the program's inception, and Subaru even solicits owner suggestions for new ideas.
You've got the expected Subaru-centric activities, like hiking, mountain biking, and a paw print for your four-legged friends. Still, the catalog goes so much deeper, letting you tell the world you're into gardening, yoga, or that you're a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community with the Pride icon. Once you've curated your life story in plastic adhesive badges, Subaru ships the whole shebang to your door.
While the Badge of Ownership is largely beloved, it's not without its critics. Dig into any online Subaru forum and you'll find some owners who find the badges to be cheesy or an overt display they'd rather avoid. For these folks, simply driving the car is badge enough. Others have lamented that their niche hobbies, like scuba diving or LARPing perhaps, aren't represented. However, the most compelling evidence of the program's success is how the community has embraced it. It's like the Jeep duck thing — only with badges instead of bath toys.
This deep engagement has even led to owners developing their own "hacks." Hesitant to permanently affix the badges to their vehicle's paint, many have developed clever, removable solutions using magnetic strips or custom license plate frames.
Strategically, the program is a genius one. It serves in a sense as a completely voluntary, first-party data collection tool, giving Subaru direct intelligence on the passions of its most engaged customers, and even helps track used Subarus due to their VIN requirement to order. That data can help inform everything from marketing to partnerships, like its sponsorship of Yoga Journal conferences. It's all a piece of Subaru's "Love Promise" philosophy – ultimately a clever way to turn owners into rolling billboards that shout the brand's values louder than any TV ad ever could. Maybe, just maybe, Subaru had it right all along.
