ATLANTA, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoTrader.com, the ultimate automotive marketplace, kicked off its 2009 advertising campaign in January and is already seeing record traffic as a result. For January, during which the company secured advertising time during the BCS National Championship Game and the National Football League NFC playoffs on Fox, AutoTrader.com's traffic stood at 15.25 million unique monthly visitors, compared to 14.3 million unique monthly visitors in January 2008. This represents AutoTrader.com's highest traffic numbers since May of 2008 and is the first time AutoTrader.com has attracted more than 15 million unique visitors in the month of January.
 

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From January to December, the company's 2009 media plan puts AutoTrader.com in front of over 167 million people. During 2009, AutoTrader.com will continue to build on the company's relationship with the NBA. This includes the NBA on TNT broadcasts featuring pre-game entitlement during the Tip-Off show, on-court signage for games broadcast on TNT and branding assets on NBA.com. AutoTrader.com will also appear during major NBA events like the NBA playoffs, All-Star Weekend and the AutoTrader.com Open outdoor game.
 

For 2009, AutoTrader.com has expanded its presence in sports with exposure on some of 2009's biggest sporting events, including the Daytona 500; Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, post season playoffs and World Series; and NFL football in the fall.
 

The company will also be seen on the most watched entertainment events and shows on cable television, including the MTV Movie Awards; VH1's Storytellers; Spike TV's Guy's Choice Awards, Scream Awards and Video Game Awards; and Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report.
 

"Our goal with this year's plan was to be in front of consumers as many times and in as many places as we could," said AutoTrader.com Chief Marketing Officer Clark Wood. "From the most devoted fan of sports and television to the casual viewer who occasionally tunes in and channel surfs, our brand will be inescapable. That's the kind of unavoidable exposure that drives brand recognition and drives people looking for cars to our site when they get ready to find the car they want. The fact that our January traffic hit record numbers proves this strategy works."
 

Creative for the advertising buys will rotate between AutoTrader.com's "Big Guy" spot and the company's "Armada" spot.
 

"Big Guy" focuses on a larger-than-life figure moving from one dealership to another, comparing new cars as he walks around a city. It was created to specifically highlight the company's expanded new car research and compare functionality launched in 2008. "Armada" shows a couple at their home computer searching for a car online while millions of cars hurtle down a highway. The millions of cars are pared down as the couple refines their search until finally a red two-door sports car stops in front of their house. Both are 30 second spots.
 

During the variety of sports and entertainment portions of the buy, viewers will see and hear the AutoTrader.com name through a combination of advertising spots, on-air mentions, animated billboards and program integration. The media campaign will be augmented with robust search engine marketing efforts.
 

"When consumers get ready to buy a car in 2009, they will remember the AutoTrader.com name and make us a part of their car shopping experience," said Wood. "More and more consumers tell us that the internet is the most valuable tool they have for finding the perfect car. This campaign will ensure that every car buyer -- from the most seasoned to the first-time buyer -- knows our name."
 

About AutoTrader.com
 

AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location about 3.5 million new cars, used cars and certified pre-owned cars from 40,000 dealers and 250,000 private owners and the site attracts about 14 million unique monthly visitors. Through innovative merchandising functionality such as multiple photos, videos, detailed descriptions and comprehensive research and compare tools, AutoTrader.com unites new and used car buyers and sellers online to improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles. AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.
 

  Media Contact(s):  Mark Scott
  404-568-7905(ph), 404-435-2047(cell)
  mark.scott@autotrader.com

PRNewswire -- Feb. 3
 

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Source: AutoTrader.com

Web site: http://www.autotrader.com/