Campaign The Car Buyer’s Survival School
Client Motors.co.uk
PR Team Accleris Marketing Communications
Timescale May-June 2007
Budget Undisclosed
Objectives
To promote Motors.co.uk to the consumer market as a trustworthy way to source their new car. To raise the profile of Motors.co.uk within the motor trade as the best option for marketing used cars to a consumer audience. To drive visitors to the Motors.co.uk site. To differentiate the site from its main competitor, Autotrader.
Strategy and plan
Acceleris questioned 1,223 motorists about their car buying habits. The findings highlighted a basic lack of knowledge of the critical things to look for when buying a car. So the team came up with ‘Car Buyer’s Survival School’, covering everything from getting a good price on a part-exchange to choosing the right model.
Acceleris recruited motoring journalists Quentin Willson and Vicki Butler-Henderson to provide support for the guide and present the Survival School events.
UK dealers were interviewed for their top buying tips and techniques to ensure that motor retailers were embraced rather than alienated.
London, Birmingham, Leeds and Bristol were chosen as the locations for four Survival Schools. A series of competitions were then run across national and regional titles to win places on the events.
Measurement and evaluation
The campaign gained 126 pieces of coverage in news, consumer and trade titles, creating 27.2 million opportunities to see. The total value in PR terms has been estimated at £160,800.
Media activity on the day of the first event started with two studio interviews with Quentin Willson on BBC Breakfast and finished with London Tonight on ITV.
Results
On the day of the launch event, Motors.co.uk saw an increase of 4,000 unique visitors to its website, from 17,000 to 21,000 – the site’s best-ever day for traffic. More than 5,000 people subsequently applied for places on Survival School events.
