Cars.com

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Cars.com

Cars.com main page as of January 28, 2013
Web address cars.com
Slogan "ALL DRIVE. No drama."
Commercial? Yes
Available language(s) English
Owner Classified Ventures
Launched June 1998
Alexa rank negative increase 1,537 (February 2014)[1]

Cars.com is a website which was launched in June 1998. It is the second largest automotive classified site, second to only Autotrader.com. It is a division of Classified Ventures,[2] which is in turn a joint venture by major media companies including the Gannett Company, the McClatchy Company, the Washington Post Company, the Tribune Company, and A.H. Belo.[3] Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois.[4] The editor-in-chief is Patrick Olsen[5] and the President is Mitch Golub.[6]

A 2003 Library Journal survey of automobile-related websites described cars.com as "the most complete car sales megasite", noting staff-written reviews that "are signed, dated, detailed, and richly illustrated".[7] In 2004 the website announced a partnership with Kelley Blue Book and commenced national advertising.[8][9] In October 2007, it announced plans for its largest marketing campaign ever in early 2008.[10] In the same month, Yahoo! announced plans to receive listings from Cars.com for their Yahoo! Autos service. The deal would allow Cars.com listings to appear as advertisements targeted at consumers based on information they are looking at on Yahoo services.[11]

Marketing

Cars.com advertised during Super Bowl 2013, its 6th consecutive year running Super Bowl commercials.[12] In 2012, the Cars.com Super Bowl spot depicted a car shopper with a second, singinghead, symbolizing the shopper's confidence in Cars.com.[13] Viewers using Shazam (the smartphone app that can identify songs' titles and artists) to tag the commercial earned $1 for one of seven children's charities.[14][15] For Super Bowl 2011, Cars.com created commercials centered around consumer and expert car reviews. The Talking Cars commercial revolves around a group of cars who can't get enough about hearing all the interesting features consumers say they have to offer. The You Go First commercial insinuates that sometimes it is better to learn from other people's experience to discover what is best for you. For Super Bowl 2010, Cars.com made a mascot by the name of Timothy Richmond, and showed how he and everyone else can be confident in many other things in life except when buying a car, therefore needing to use Cars.com to help make their purchases. In 2009, they had a similar Super Bowl commercial featuring a character named David Abernathy.[16]

Partnerships

Since July 1998, Cars.com has been in partnership with Tom and Ray Magliozzi of Car Talk[17] and the website includes a Cartalk advice section.[7]

Cars.com is the exclusive online provider of used-car reports from Carfax.[17]

Cars.com also partners with MotorWeek on PBS to provide online access to MotorWeek reviews.[18]

Platforms

Along with a standard website, Cars.com is available on any smartphone through its mobile website, which was launched in May 2007. Consumers are also able to use Cars.com's services with a downloadable iPad App, iPhone App or Android App.

References

  1. ↑ "Cars.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-02-01. 
  2. ↑ Liebeskind, Ken (7 March 1998). "Newspapers Extend Auto Franchise onto the Web". Editor & Publisher  – via Questia (subscription required) . Retrieved 24 July 2013. 
  3. ↑ "About Us". Retrieved 19 April 2012. 
  4. ↑ "Company Facts". Retrieved 20 April 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Editorial Masthead". Retrieved 20 April 2011. 
  6. ↑ "Management Biographies". Retrieved 20 April 2011. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Caroline Gilman, "Web Watch: Cars", Library Journal, January 15, 2003.
  8. ↑ Martin, Chuck (2011). The Third Screen: Marketing to Your Customers in a World Gone Mobile. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. pp. 8–13. ISBN 9781857885644.  Excerpts available at Google Books.
  9. ↑ "McClatchy-backed car venture launches national TV campaign". Sacramento Business Journal. May 3, 2004. Retrieved 2013-07-24. 
  10. ↑ Elliott, Stuart (18 October 2007). "Super Bowl XLII Is More Than CX Days Away, But...". New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
  11. ↑ Morrissey, Brian (16 October 2007). "Yahoo! Bets on Open-Network Approach". Adweek. 
  12. ↑ Tim Nudd, "Cars.com to Get Overly Dramatic in Super Bowl Ad From Mcgarrybowen", Adweek, January 22, 2013.
  13. ↑ Cars.com Super Bowl Commercial
  14. ↑ Cars.com Cares
  15. ↑ Tim Nudd, "Cars.com's Super Bowl Ad Stars a Man and His Excitable Appendage", Adweek, January 26, 2012.
  16. ↑ Don Reisinger, "Did online companies market their brands well at the Super Bowl?", CNET, February 2, 2009.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Company History". Retrieved 20 April 2011. 
  18. ↑ "Business Partners". Retrieved 20 April 2011. 

External links

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