New strategy from JDA takes The Car Shop back in time
An integrated campaign has been devised for The Car Shop, which breaks across the UK today, by JDA.
The Leeds-based creative agency has devised the TV, online and outdoor campaign, using a ‘Ye Olde’ theme, to take the long standing client back in history, to ‘The Carte Shop’, marking a step-change in the advertising strategy for the client, driven by a change in consumer behaviour in recent years.
The TV spots break today across the ITV and IDS networks, alongside a campaign microsite which promotes the company’s four sites in Northampton, Swindon, Cardiff and most recently Doncaster.
The change in strategy follows the fall in footfall from casual browsers, with more definite car buyers, who have done their research through the brand's website and have specifics in mind, coming to The Car Shop.
In order to drive further web traffic to its site, JDA was challenged to refocus the advertising on the brand’s web presence and use a new campaign idea to achieve this.
As a result, creative directors Dan James and Chris Lines, alongside copywriter Pete Thompson, developed the idea of highlighting the future of car shopping by taking it back to the past. This has spread across a series of ads, which are underpinned by the brand’s Lowest Price Guarantee.
The TV campaign is supported by the accompanying Cart Shop microsite as well as a search and social media campaign that helps users search for their perfect cart, ranging from a nippy thatchback for driving round the hamlet, a family cart to carry thy kinfolk, swine or turnip harvest or spend few more groats on a sports cart that will send the maidens a-quiver. This includes the review feature ‘What-Cart’.
The site also includes wallpaper downloads and a ringtone download feature, as well as illustrations continuing the campaign theme.
Mike Ashton, managing director of JDA, commented: “It’s a great example of how even the most solid and robust advertising strategy can be transformed by the power of a simple, compelling idea. We’re here to sell cars for our client, and to their credit they’ve backed a brave, original idea all the way.
Jonathan Dunkley, group operations director for The Car Shop; added “We’ve constantly pushed JDA over the last five years of our relationship to make us the most innovative and successful advertiser in our sector, and once again they’ve come up trumps. This was an idea that was just too good to ignore. We think it will win us a much wider audience, establish us as a national brand, drive our ambitions to open new sites and add to the industry awards and plaudits JDA have already helped us to win.”