The new 40 second advert, part of a £15 million marketing investment to demonstrate the brand’s position as the “leading digital destination” for buying and selling new and used cars, runs on TV until the end of September and online until mid-October. To take advantage of the uplift in website traffic the new advert will generate, Auto Trader is launching a stock uncapping offer, allowing dealers to add additional stock outside their normal stock contract for free for the duration of the campaign.
The TV campaign will be on all major channels with primetime appearances during major sporting events including football, the Paralympics and F1. In total the advert will be aired over 600 times during the campaign across key channels including Sky, ITV1, and Channel 4, with the target audience seeing the advert on average seven times.
The advert reflects Auto trader’s 35 year heritage, starting in the 1970s and travelling through to present day following a series of people who are just buying or have just bought cars through Auto Trader. It will appeal to Auto Trader’s existing core audiences through TV advertising, but also attract a younger and more affluent audience via digital channels such as YouTube and Twitter.
The campaign is supported by high profile ‘homepage takeovers’ on YouTube and Top Gear which will integrate with video on demand, display advertising and social media. In addition, a fully branded online hub will invite motorists to take part in a series of interactive competitions.
Nathan Coe, Group Director, Auto Trader said: “Auto Trader’s return to the TV screens after 18 months will help to raise the profile of the new and used cars offered by our dealers during the continued economic uncertainty. They should all take advantage of the stock uncapping offer as it is expected that there will be an additional 1.3 million visits to the Auto Trader website during the TV campaign and nearly 32 million people will be exposed to the campaign and complementary marketing activity.”
