Isobar Appeals to Determined 'Searchers' in New Auto Trader Campaign

Auto Trader are set to launch a fully integrated campaign which aims to help grow their online reach by offering customers a new way to search the digital marketplace.  The TVC, ‘Searchers’ will launch on Boxing Day and was devised and created by Isobar. The £6.5m TV campaign will be supported by additional online video content, a YouTube takeover, social, mobile and print. Media has been handled by Isobar’s Dentsu Aegis Network sister agencies, with Vizeum responsible for overall media planning and implementation and iProspect handling performance. JJ Marketing has handled the B2B Marketing. 

Auto Trader’s campaign is based on the unique understanding that we all search in different ways, and it’s about the success of finding what you’re looking, communicating that we are a mix of searchers ‘sneaky peakers, window shoppers, discoverers and spotters’. The emotive ad brings this to life and concludes with the end line ‘creating new ways to help you find your perfect car’. Following the success of the 2013 ‘Hello Goodbye’ TVC that aired last boxing day, Auto Trader continue to use emotive advertising to connect with their audiences, a distinctive approach for the vehicle classifieds sector. 

The campaign ‘Searchers’ is targeted at Britain’s car buyers and sellers. Auto Trader have enhanced the search experience to help less confident car buyers with an easier way to navigate to their ideal car.  Using filters, which align to consumer needs, enables the consumer to identify a tailored list of make/model options, including new and used cars, editorial reviews and ultimately reviews from previous owners. This additional way to search compliments the current Auto Trader search offering, which is used by the monthly audience of 11m unique users. With Auto Trader’s ambition of leading the digital automotive marketplace, this tool broadens the appeal of the brand to a wider cross section of car buyers irrespective of their knowledge and confidence in car buying.

Auto Trader’s Group Marketing Director, Jonathan Williams says: ‘At Auto Trader we understand that car buyers all search in different ways based on their knowledge of cars. Deciding what car to buy next can often be a difficult decision for many of us. We now offer ways for the unconfident car buyer to find their next car and explore cars they may not of have thought met their criteria. We want our campaign to connect with buyers that do and don't know what they are looking for next.’ 

Blake Cuthbert, Business Director at Isobar, said: ‘It has been fantastic for us to work so closely with the Auto Trader team to help develop their brand, product and vision, which has led to a compelling integrated campaign’ 

The campaign will launch on 26th December 2014 (Boxing Day), rolling into the first quarter of 2015 - a key period for the automotive industry and car buying / selling.