• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 7, 2016

Mazda North American Operations has launched a new Web site, tying the style with the look and the feel of its latest automobiles.  In fact, the marketing team collaborated with vehicle designers in research and development to pick a look and feel that expresses the automaker's vision.

The Web site -- built in partnership with Mirum, as part of Garage Team Mazda -- offers intuitive, shopping tools and navigation filled with information on local inventory, video, visuals and animation. An interactive guide assists in finding specification on models.

Through search marketing and online banner ads, Mazda links consumers to the content on the Web site. About 60% of the traffic lands deep in the Web site and not on the home page, directing consumers to exactly what they seek, said Eric Watson, director of marketing operations for Mazda North America Operations. "About 40% lands on the home page," he said.

"The paid campaigns are still focused on the users' search behavior," said Denny Pezic, business director at Mirum Agency. "The difference is that Mazda's new site now points users to more relevant content. Mobile campaigns point users to more specific destinations for high volume search terms."

Designers analyzed the traffic on the previous site to determine the way people search and browse for information before making design decision.

The new Web site adds price and availability to mobile searchers and shoppers. "About 60% of the Web site traffic comes from mobile devices," Mazda's Watson said.

Concept and testing took about 18 months. Modules make up the Web site, making it easier to switch different pieces of content and landing pages as automobile models change, added Ben Rounsefell, group manager and digital for CRM and mobile marketing at Mazda North America.

"Within the build feature, we had a liner process, but now it has become much easier to change colors and switch features," he said. "We looked at the pain points from the previous process and made sure the new site had a much better flow."

Since launching the site, Mazda has seen an increase in the number of people building a vehicle.