CARSTORE CASESTUDY (CAMPAIGN)

THE CHALLENGE:

After helping CarStore to relaunch their brand in 2021, it was now time for us to help them create their first ever brand advertising campaign. But creating cut through in the used car marketplace isn’t easy. It’s a very crowded place, bustling with new digital brands, and the same old familiar faces. Everyone’s desperately sounding their horns and loudly revving their engines, trying to be heard. So, our challenge was clear. CarStore not only needed to be noticed, they also needed to give customers a compelling reason to turn to them, above everyone else, for their car buying needs.

THE IDEA:

As with all great advertising solutions, the best answers come out of a brand truth. So, we lifted the bonnet and made an important discovery - CarStore want to put the customer at the heart of its brand. Where others in the market make car buyers dance to their car-buying tune and dictate whether they can only buy online or in-store, CarStore are the absolute opposite. They have a more customer-friendly hybrid model, so people can now buy their next car their way. If they want to search one of the UK’s widest range of cars online in their own time, they can browse away. If they want to pop into one of their Centres and see the cars for themselves, they can pop in. Car buyers can also choose to get advice face to face, or over the phone - it’s their call. CarStore even let them drive their car home, or if they prefer, CarStore can deliver it to their door. In a nutshell, this is car buying that’s designed around the customer.

So, we took this insight and made it our over-arching launch campaign message: ‘Car buying that revolves around you’. This was then supported by the brand endline ‘Welcome to more, Welcome to CarStore.’

We had the big idea and the messaging, now we needed to bring it to life in an attention-grabbing way on TV, and across OOH, radio, digital and in press.

For the TV execution we deliberately adopted a visually arresting approach, where we built a set that literally revolved around a female car buyer. She then ‘magically’ and effortlessly transfers between scenes, navigating through various car buying environments he VO explains how CarStore make all this possible. As the rotating set comes to a stop, our woman is happily brought together with her new car, which has just been delivered to her door by CarStore.

In other media channels we unpack the customer benefits by taking a stunning split-screen approach. This allows us to simply bring together two different ways to buy a car at CarStore. So, for example, a photograph of someone searching cars on their sofa perfectly connects to another photo of a stunning new car. This represents the choice, where customers can either buy at home, online or in a Center.

Every execution was then signed off with the campaign line of ‘Car buying that revolves around you’.

We then took this powerful integrated campaign message and flexed across other media, including radio, online digital ads and YouTube films.

It was a huge team effort, bringing together many of Maverick’s working hubs and specialists skillsets, including the teams from Electric, Eric and Pulse.

IMPACT:

The campaign has only just hit our TV screens, newspapers, and radios, so it’s too early to know what impact it’s had in terms of driving car buyers to CarStore.

But it’s safe to say that this bold, integrated campaign will create brand stand-out and cut through. Our ‘car buying that revolves around you’ is such a lovely, big thought, it can work across every customer touchpoint, even living and breathing beyond advertising and coming alive in the CarStore Centres. It’s here through the helpful advice, friendly relaxed approach, and flexible ways to car shop,that the customer can experience and feel that the brand revolves around them. Proof that we’ve built something that’s even bigger than advertising and message that can live on for years to come. It’s no wonder our clients are as proud of the campaign as we are.

Pendragon’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kim Costello commented “My team and I are so excited about this campaign going live. It’s the culmination of many months of hard work by the Maverick Group and our in-house marketing team, I’m very grateful for their expert support. We are looking forward to showing consumers how CarStore’s offering revolves around them, tailoring the car buying journey to each individual’s needs.”