Motor retailers rebrand in expectation of January sales spikes

The rivalry between online automotive retailers Motors.co.uk and Autotrader.co.uk has existed for a long time now, and possibly Autotrader’s historical dominance of the used car market is coming to a close. With sales spikes projected for January, who knows who will win the latest battle in the ‘portal wars’.

Both Motors and AutoTrader have really upped the ante in recent weeks with rebrands for both of their websites. Historically, January has been a huge month for used car searches, so it is easy to understand why the amount of money spent on these rebrands is justified with the predicted increase in searches.

AutoTrader has adopted a new selling technique in its efforts to retain dominance of the market, detailed here in Marketing Week: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/auto-trader-adopts-stories-to-humanise-brand/4002055.article. AutoTrader are humanising their approach, and it may well prove quite effective. Anthropomorphic devices have worked well in the past! This is the first change they have made, in what is a three-year strategy to improve sales.

Dan Daly, of AutoTrader, illustrated the importance of the rivalry, and the challenge posed by Motors by stating: “Consumer needs are changing and we’ve got a new vision. We aspire to be the only place that car lovers need”.

Conversely, Motors’ rebrand has been very much concerned with aesthetics. Their new look website, and logo are propelling them into the New Year, and with a modernist touch could give them the boost they need to take the mantle of premier online automotive retailer in the coming years. Their website has a very easy-to-use interface and this could be very important for them, as it allows you to ‘slide’ to dictate what budget you have available, which is a very fun and simple option.

AutoTrader have also given their logo a fresh touch. This could be considered to be a little riskier than Motors doing so, as the AutoTrader brand and logo is so well known. A lot of people who have bought their magazine may well be resistant to the change.

Whereas Motors are looking to steal ground from AutoTrader, AutoTrader are looking to preserve their market leadership, which can be a much more difficult task, particularly in these austere times. Motors and AutoTrader have shared the online automotive retailer market for a long time now, and with this rebrand we could really see the effects a good marketing team can have upon sales!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Stephen Wright .