IRVINE, Calif., Oct 15, 2007 -- Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL) today debuted an innovative marketing campaign that is designed to drive traffic to its newly launched flagship consumer site, MyRide.com. Reflecting MyRide.com's mission to provide a single window into "all things automotive," while also offering opportunities for people to build communities around a wide variety of automotive subjects, the campaign is designed to target not only in-market car shoppers, but also car owners/buyers and car lovers at strategic chosen venues across the Web.
This innovative campaign was the result of a collaborative effort between Autobytel, Y&R Brands and KSL Media. Young & Rubicam Brands developed creative content for the campaign and KSL Media planned and bought the media.
"MyRide.com combines the best of automotive search with a rich interactive community designed to attract consumers during all stages of the ownership and purchase lifecycle," said Autobytel Inc. President and CEO Jim Riesenbach. "Just as MyRide.com was created to tap into the broad spectrum of online automotive consumer behavior, our unique marketing campaign is focused on targeting these consumers well beyond the traditional marketing approaches most commonly used by existing automotive sites."
According to Riesenbach, MyRide.com addresses the full range of purchase-oriented and interest-driven behaviors that make up the auto life-cycle. The site categorizes these behaviors into five key activities -- "Find, See, Buy, Learn, Belong" -- many of which are currently ignored by traditional automotive sites, which tend to be singularly focused on buying funnel activities. The multi-million dollar digital campaign has been designed to reach automotive consumers whose behavior fits those activities, while they are on other sites, with advertising generated specifically from the rich variety of content on MyRide.com. The campaign spots range from thought-provoking to amusing; from entertaining to those meant to educate. Once the consumer's interest is piqued, he or she will ultimately be directed to the relevant area (Find, See, Buy, Learn or Belong) of MyRide.com, with the option of exploring the other site areas.
"By leveraging MyRide.com's large and growing bank of updated automotive content across our multi-level digital campaign, we can attract consumers in a way that is far more targeted and, we believe, more efficient, than traditional brand advertising," said Riesenbach.
The MyRide.com launch campaign balances email, banner marketing and search engine marketing components to raise awareness, initiate trial and generate traffic. The email campaign targets Autobytel's current database of more than 9 million qualified research users. The banner marketing campaign is scaled to reach well beyond Autobytel's established consumer base of millions of monthly visitors, targeting consumers on leading sports, entertainment, technology and finance sites with consistently fresh and provocative questions and statements that reflect MyRide.com's unique offerings, such as: "What Happens when you put a Hemi on a Tricycle?" or "10 Tips to Keep You Safe from Hippie Violence."
As consumers click through each ad, they will come to a specific landing page that introduces them to an area of the site that matches their current interest. For example, those seeking to find out what exactly happens "when you put a hemi on a tricycle" will be directed to a user-posted video of a hemi on a tricycle while also being introduced to the broader community user-generated and video-sharing section of MyRide.
The final component of the MyRide.com marketing campaign is an extensive search engine marketing (SEM) program specifically targeting directional purchase behavior. Autobytel is a long time innovator in creating proprietary SEM programs, and the company will be leveraging those solutions to promote MyRide.com.
Officially launched on October 10, 2007, MyRide.com is designed to connect consumers to all things automotive from across the Web, a site where shoppers can find cars, parts and accessories; see and share thousands of vehicle photos and automotive-themed videos; research to buy vehicles based on the vast amount of available information, including local dealership details; learn from the best automotive publishing brands and writers; and belong to communities focused on their unique automotive interests. Some unique MyRide.com features include a proprietary Internet search tool tailor-made for automotive users; thousands of car-themed videos (ranging from video reviews to motor sports); video/photo sharing; a nationwide local parts and service directory; and wide-ranging community features, including interactive personal pages.
About Autobytel Inc.
Since launching the first car-buying website in 1995, Autobytel Inc.'s (Nasdaq:ABTL) mission has been to empower automotive consumers with the tools and information they need to make smart, well-informed vehicle purchasing and ownership decisions. The company has helped millions of car shoppers and generated billions of dollars in car sales for dealers. Today, the company's innovative, consumer-driven flagship site, MyRide.com, expands the company's mission across the automotive purchase and ownership life cycle. As the first vertical search experience for the automotive marketplace, MyRide.com is designed to help Internet-savvy consumers FIND, SEE, BUY and LEARN anything automotive and BELONG to a diverse community of people who have similar automotive interests.
By providing a convenient and comprehensive automotive consumer experience across the purchase and ownership lifecycle, Autobytel provides new value and touch-points for automotive marketers. Through MyRide.com and Autobytel's marketing network, the company connects dealerships with a steady, diverse stream of exceptionally motivated, serious shoppers, while providing both dealers and manufacturers with precision-targeted brand and product marketing opportunities. The company's advanced web-based advertising and marketing programs also help dealers and manufacturers build relationships with customers, as well as help them to efficiently manage and convert online business.
About Y&R
Young & Rubicam Brands is a global, collaborative network of preeminent companies in advertising, public relations, public affairs, brand identity and design, direct and database marketing, digital and interactive marketing, multicultural marketing and healthcare communications. The companies include Y&R, Wunderman, VML, Burson-Marsteller, Cohn & Wolfe, Landor, Robinson Lehrer Montgomery, the Bravo Group, and Sudler & Hennessey.
Headquartered in New York, Young & Rubicam Brands ranks among the world's leading consolidated marketing communications companies, and is a member of WPP.
About KSL Media
KSL (www.kslmedia.com) is one of the largest independent media services companies in America. KSL services fast-growing clients such as Grey Goose Vodka, Callaway Golf, and Borders Bookstores, as well as a number of market-leading independent advertising agencies. KSL has offices in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.