• by Karl Greenberg , June 5, 2009

AutoTrader.com will double its media exposure this year by adding ESPN/ABC to its broadcast media advertising mix. The buy, which begins in July, will give the company advertising real estate and in-program integration on "Monday Night Football" on ESPN; college football on ESPN and ABC; NASCAR Sprint Cup on ESPN and ABC and Major League Baseball broadcasts on ESPN and on ESPN SportsCenter airings on Saturday nights.

AutoTrader.com's current ad buy -- both ad units and brand integration -- includes the NBA on TNT; MTV, Vh1, Comedy Central and Spike TV. AutoTrader also advertises during NFL games, as well as the Daytona 500 broadcast and Major League Baseball events, including the All-Star game, the playoffs and the World Series.

The company ended 2008 with an average of about 13 million unique monthly visitors, and this year is racking up 15 million unique monthly visitors. About 70% of visitors to AutoTrader.com arrive at the site by typing the name into their browser. Visitors to the site spend more than 30 minutes on average, researching makes and models, searching inventory, comparing prices and searching dealer specials.

"We knew we were going to look at broadcast for another element of our campaign this year," says John Kovac, senior director of advertising at AutoTrader.com. "We have had so much success to date with our sports sponsorship. It made a lot of sense to go back into sports and round out our Fox and TNT buy."

He says the high-profile buys double AutoTrader's media exposure in the second half. "We are getting back into NASCAR, NFL, expanding Major League Baseball, and college football. So I would say it's a very significant addition," Kovac says. What the company will not do is new creative. AutoTrader.com will stick with its two current spots, one that features a Paul Bunyanesque auto shopper and another showing a huge fleet of cars. Southfield, MI-based Doner has handled ad duties for AutoTrader.com since the company's inception a decade ago. Kovac adds that the male sports target, with the expanded buy, augments the current media plan. "We are trying to keep a balance between male and female focus."