Why Kubota Stopped Selling 'Easier' and Started Selling Pride

Kubota and full-service agency VML have launched a new brand platform called "Love Tough" across Australia and New Zealand, shifting the equipment brand's marketing focus from machinery specifications to the people who use them.

The platform went live in May 2025, targeting farmers, contractors, operators, and landowners across both markets.

Platform Built on Direct Conversations With Owners

VML was appointed as Kubota's full-service agency of record (AOR) following a competitive review. The agency's mandate covers brand, sponsorship, retail, and local area marketing across Australia and New Zealand. "Love Tough" is the first major creative output of that partnership.

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Rather than relying on data models or assumed customer profiles, VML built the creative brief from direct conversations with actual Kubota owners. That research surfaced a counterintuitive finding: these customers do not want hard work made easier. They take pride in demanding conditions.

"Kubota owners don't see hard work as a grind, they genuinely love it," said Mark Basile, Marketing Manager at Kubota Australia. "They're up early, pushing through tough conditions and constantly looking for better, more efficient ways to get the job done."

Richard Williams, Group Executive Creative Director at VML Melbourne and Sydney, described the insight as a deliberate inversion of category convention. "Most categories like this talk about making hard work easier. But when we spent time with Kubota owners, we realised that's not actually what they want. They don't want to avoid the hard part, they take pride in it."

A Direct Challenge to Equipment Category Norms

The dominant messaging convention in compact machinery and agricultural equipment centers on efficiency, productivity gains, and reducing the burden of hard work. "Love Tough" directly inverts that framing.

Kubota's global technology narrative, presented at CES 2025 under the separate "Smart Innovation for You" platform, confirms that "Love Tough" is a regionally specific positioning for Australia and New Zealand, not a global directive. Creative executions were also tailored separately for each market, acknowledging cultural differences even within a geographically proximate two-market scope.

The campaign runs across broadcast advertising, social media, dealership environments, and on-farm executions, four distinct channel categories reflecting how consumer marketing channel strategies are being adopted in B2B equipment sectors.

Vanessa Tout, Managing Director at VML, described the partnership as "a pivotal moment for the brand," adding that the agency's goal was to build "a modern, connected marketing platform that puts people first."

Long-Term Brand Expression Targeting Compact Machinery

Kubota and VML have explicitly positioned "Love Tough" as a long-term brand expression rather than a single campaign. The platform carries a specific commercial objective: driving awareness and consideration in the compact machinery category.

The integrated platform also spans Kubota's dealer network, connecting brand experience, customer experience, and commerce in a unified framework. This signals that the repositioning is designed to unify every customer and dealer touchpoint, not just advertising.

The campaign is currently live and will continue rolling out across both markets in the coming months.