• by Tanya Gazdik , April 23, 2018

Buying a vehicle is a lot of work and generally isn’t sexy. But Autotrader’s new campaign takes a high-energy approach to showing off all the bells and whistles of its new website, which aims to make the process easier. 

“Test Drive” is an extension of the company’s “Shop All The Cars” brand campaign that launched in September. The new creative is designed to reinforce the performance enhancements of the All-New Autotrader. 

The spot uses a simulated race course to illustrate the heightened features of the All-New Autotrader. In one stunt, the Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor dial with its white, red and green pricing zones is shown, immediately followed by a sporty car drifting into the Fair Market Range of the vehicle. Autotrader is the only third-party car shopping site to feature Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor, bringing these iconic brands together to provide a trusted experience for car shoppers.

The company claims to have the widest variety of cars and consumers can shop seamlessly across devices with a new mobile-first platform. The site’s updated search algorithm claims to drive more relevant results for car shoppers, and the addition of Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor on Autotrader listings gives car buyers the confidence to purchase with expert, up-to-date and data-driven pricing information from the industry’s most trusted source.

The campaign, from Zambezi, will air nationally across cable, radio, network and streaming television platforms, with a focus on entertainment, late night and sports programs, including integrations targeting the Hispanic audience on Telemundo. The campaign also will include a digital-first approach through social media, paid search, custom sponsorships and content on Hulu, YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, among other platforms, offering interactive and engaging experiences to online audiences. 

“This campaign reinforces Autotrader’s foundational promise of shopping variety, along with our commitment of helping car shoppers find their next vehicle faster than ever before, while delivering true price confidence in their purchase,” said Greta Crowley, vice president of marketing for Autotrader, in a release. “With more speed, shopping control and trust in the all-new Autotrader, there’s no reason to go anywhere else.”

Another car shopping site also recently launched a campaign. CarGurus’ “Everything You Need to Know” debuted in mid-March.  That campaign aims to draws attention to key differentiators for CarGurus versus other car shopping sites. The spots highlight CarGurus’ claim that is has more inventory than any other major U.S. car shopping site, gives cars a deal rating and sorts the best deals first.

Not unlike the automakers themselves, clearly there is competition among the vehicle-shopping services. The good news for consumers is there’s nothing stopping them from checking out both sites to see which one they find to be the most user-friendly.