Trader Corporation, which operates the automotive classified site AutoTrader.ca, has selected Toronto’s Co-Op Advertising as its new agency following a competitive review that launched in the fall.
Co-Op beat out two other undisclosed agencies for the assignment, which was previously handled by DDB Canada.
Trader Corporation’s director of marketing, Ian MacDonald, said that Co-Op offered a combination of “excellent strategic and creative thinking” as the company looks to grow market share and website traffic.
“We saw a high calibre, collaborative and cost-effective offering that competing shops simply couldn’t provide,” he said.
Co-Op’s managing director, Peter Brough, said that the agency spent the pitch process developing and refining a new go-to-market strategy for AutoTrader.ca that positions it as a hero that empowers people to buy and sell a used car with more confidence.
The agency has created a series of video ads that begin rolling out nationally on TV and online this week using the tagline “Where Canadians click with cars.” The company has also created a new positioning statement, “Anyone can buy and sell cars like a pro with AutoTrader.ca.”
While AutoTrader.ca’s advertising has traditionally put vehicles at the forefront, the new approach from Co-Op puts consumers squarely in the centre. The creative – which includes three 30-second and three 15-second spots in English, and a pair of 30s and a pair of 15-second ads in French – demonstrates that anyone can buy or sell like a pro when they use AutoTrader.ca.
“The car buying and selling process can be fraught with booby traps and they saw in their research that people were really looking to be empowered to make the right decision,” said Brough.
One of the three 30-second TV spots shows a young boy and his father walking onto a car lot. When the salesman approaches, the boy takes over the conversation, finishing the salesman’s sentences about the car while referring to the AutoTrader.ca site on his smartphone.
Other spots, one using “fashionista”-type girlfriends and another one using a grandma, employ the same humour-based approach.
Each of the spots ends with the voiceover “Anyone can buy and sell like a pro, with AutoTrader.ca” as well as a new mnemonic comprised of an audio snippet from the iconic Gary Numan song “Cars.”
MacDonald said that the campaign is aimed at people who don’t currently use marketplace sites to buy or sell their vehicles to try AutoTrader.ca, “by virtue of the fact it will make them more effective at buying and selling cars.”
He said that Kijiji is the closest competitor to AutoTrader.ca when it comes to automotive classifieds, although AutoTrader.ca’s focus on “quality” new and used vehicles differentiates it from its competitor, which also focuses heavily on car accessories and low-priced items.
