For 25th Anniversary, Brand Upgrade Stakes a
Claim on Where Car Buying and Selling Is Going Next
CHICAGO, June 1, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- Car-shopping marketplace Cars.com™ (NYSE: CARS) is
launching a modern brand identity and advertising campaign
encouraging people to explore "Where to next?" For the first
time in the company's quarter-century history as a technology
leader, it will debut a redesign of its logo, paying homae to the
innovation and credibility that has made Cars.com a leading
destination for car buyers and sellers while paving the way for its
future.
New Attributes
Consumers and dealers want the same
thing: a happy buyer driving off the lot in their next car.
Cars.com's new brand embodies that experience and the freedom it
provides.
- Refreshed brand campaign: "Possibilities" reminds us
that car buying is fun and spurred by various life changes.
Cars.com exists to facilitate the next chapter in every driver's
life.
- New tagline: "Where to next?" reminds consumers of the
opportunities unlocked by Cars.com and a new set of wheels. New
cars take us where we need to go but also signify where we're
headed in life.
- Updated logo: A motion-filled design emphasizes
Cars.com's position at the center of consumers and retailers and
its essential role in making the industry go. The logo's
transparency signals Cars.com's history and continued focus on
creating trust and confidence for both buyers and sellers.
Cars.com's Evolution
Through dot-com busts, auto
bailouts, recessions and pandemics, Cars.com has flourished for 25
years, applying where-to-next thinking to every aspect of car
buying and selling. The result?
- More than 28 million unique monthly shoppers¹
- No. 1 brand in the category²
- No. 1 most downloaded app in the category³
- No. 1 resource for millions of user-generated dealership
reviews⁴
- Advanced technology that simplifies everything about the
big-ticket, highly-emotional, milestone of buying or selling a
car
"As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, our new brand
positioning and logo reflect an important inflection point for
Cars.com. We are proud of our heritage as an original dot-com
company and search engine for automotive, and have evolved into a
comprehensive platform of possibilities for car buyers and sellers"
said Jennifer Vianello, Cars.com's
chief marketing officer. "Whether you're looking to buy or sell, do
it all online or at a physical retailer, Cars.com is built for
consumer choice."
Modern Consumer and Brand
The "Possibilities''
campaign highlights how shoppers can take advantage of Cars.com's
depth and breadth of inventory as well as its new buying and
selling tools to get into the right vehicle at the right price for
their current life stage or lifestyle. It was created in
partnership with Leo Burnett Worldwide and consists of three hero
30-second spots depicting consumers at different life stages in
need of a new car. These spots and additional creative assets will
begin running across a variety of media channels as part of a
comprehensive launch plan that includes network TV, social media,
custom integrations, out-of-home and a range of digital and online
video executions. Through these efforts, Cars.com expects to reach
90% of its target audience between June-August.
Each of the campaign's three new TV commercials ends with a
shopper driving off a dealership lot — intentionally
highlighting Cars.com's strong support of the local automotive
retail system.
"Much of the car buying and selling process has transitioned
online, but the vast majority of consumers still prefer to test
drive and finalize the purchase with a local dealership — and
there's often no one better to handle that final step of the
transaction," said Vianello. "Our goal is to meet consumers where
they are and provide them — and dealers — the tools to
facilitate every aspect of the buying and selling journey up to and
including a total online purchasing experience."
Cars.com's "Possibilities" campaign featuring its new logo
debuts today. Each new TV commercial can be viewed on the company's
YouTube page.
¹ Cars.com, Earnings Report, Q1 2023
²
Cars.com Brand Tracker Survey, Q1 2023
³ Data.ai,
Total App downloads, April 2023
⁴ Cars.com Active
Reviews, Sept. 2022 - May 2023
ABOUT CARS.COM INC.
Cars.com, Inc.
(CARS) is a leading automotive marketplace platform that provides a
robust set of digital solutions that connect car shoppers with
sellers. Launched in 1998 with the flagship marketplace Cars.com
and headquartered in Chicago, the
company empowers shoppers with the data, resources and digital
tools needed to make informed buying decisions and seamlessly
connect with automotive retailers. In a rapidly changing market,
CARS enables dealerships and OEMs with innovative technical
solutions and data-driven intelligence to better reach and
influence ready-to-buy shoppers, increase inventory turn and gain
market share.
In addition to Cars.com, CARS brands include Dealer Inspire, a
technology provider building solutions that future-proof
dealerships with more efficient operations and connected digital
experiences; FUEL, which gives dealers and OEMs the opportunity to
harness the untapped power of digital video by leveraging
Cars.com's pure audience of in-market car shoppers, DealerRater, a
leading car dealer review and reputation management platform,
CreditIQ, automotive fintech technology, and Accu-Trade, a leading
provider of vehicle acquisition technology and valuation data. For
more information, visit www.cars.com.
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SOURCE Cars.com Inc.