Establishing the UK’s number-one car marketplace

Over a five-year campaign, Drum delivered corporate, trade and consumer marketing and PR, crisis and issues management, award events, roundtables, television sponsorship, dealer communications and B2B PR. Working closely with the events, editorial, sales and digital teams, Drum became an integral part of the marketing department, based in Auto Trader’s Wimbledon offices up to two days each week.

The work helped establish Auto Trader as the UK’s largest motoring website, with more than ten million users and number-one marketplace status.

For the Used Car Awards, we teamed up with ITV to give motorists a voice. A voting microsite was supported by car communities, owners’ clubs, motoring websites and media. The finalists were celebrated at a televised black-tie event at the Metropole in Birmingham, attended by more than 150 senior manufacturer and media representatives.

To bring Auto Trader’s ‘World of Cars Made Easy’ promise to life, we also created the Cost of Motoring campaign. Consumer research examined rising fuel, tax, MOT, servicing and fine costs; partnerships helped motorists save money; and a BBC Breakfast interview launched the initiative. Radio and press activity combined Auto Trader buying data with practical advice and promotions.