• by Tanya Gazdik , July 5, 2023

General Motors is launching an effort that show how its CarBravo used car platform aims to reinvigorate the entire used car experience.

Themed “Usedphoria,” the end-to-end campaign taps into the emotions associated with every step of the used car purchase journey.

GM launched the CarBravo used car platform last year. Its aim is to elevate the shopping, buying and ownership experience by offering used-vehicle customers access to an expansive inventory, an omnichannel shopping experience and exclusive ownership benefits.

Hundreds of existing GM dealers nationwide have signed up for GM’s CarBravo platform, which allows them to list used vehicles of all brands for sale online. 

Because the brand was built from scratch, the agency partners had the opportunity to leverage the strengths of the IPG network with MRM leading the marketing strategy and full campaign development, FutureBrand for the brand mark and Weber Shandwick on social.

“Usedphoria” is a combination of confidence, security, happiness and trust with a dash of glee, per the agency, which hopes to reach the nearly 9 million in-market used car shoppers, according to the agency. 

Creative includes spots which explain the experience of buying from CarBravo including "Hair,"  "Miss U" and "Cube."  A long-form spot,

"Benefits | CarBravo College," goes into greater detail about the premise of the company.

Rather than just certifying and selling used GM vehicles, CarBravo uniquely offers the same assurances on a wide array of makes and models, including those that are typically GM’s competition through online and in-person shopping. 

This new kind of used relationship aims to support shoppers throughout their entire journey. From the moment someone is in the market for a used car, through finding it, through selling their other car and well into ownership.

Most people approach used car shopping with the same enthusiasm as getting a root canal, says Steve Wineman, CarBravo national marketing and advertising manager.

“So, when it came to building a brand-new brand for a brand-new way to buy used cars, we knew plaid jackets and an inflatable gorilla weren’t going to cut it,” Wineman says. “When you establish a new brand by building your logo around a smile, you’re making a pretty big promise to consumers before you’ve even said a word – especially when that brand is all about creating a better way to sell used cars.”

The creative will launch across online video, paid social, organic social, web, streaming audio, OLA, paid search, streaming and addressable TV.

“Usedphoria” will come to life in different ways, in different places and with different messages, says MRM Group Creative Director Tiffany Moy-Miller. 

“From zen-like streaming audio to smile-inducing OLA to fantastical exaggeration and more, the ways we create that emotional connection to this better used-car experience can change,” she says.