What are Autotrader doing to get more eyes on your adverts in May?
In May we continued with activities across multiple channels to increase awareness of Autotrader. As we continue to also target the core audience of 25-44 year olds we've ran activity across various media types such as YouTube, Social and we've even refreshed our radio ad!
Take a look at the activity we’ve done to drive more buyers to our platform and get more eyes on your adverts. In this artice we’ll take a look at…
Our EV Giveaway
YouTube adverts
How we work with content creators
Our new radio ad
How we show up on social media
EV Giveaway
On the 1st of May we launched our EV giveaway, giving consumers the chance to win an electric vehicle, this time a CUPRA Born. The Autotrader EV Giveaway launched in 2021 as a way to help build brand awareness, drive onsite traffic and engage with audiences out of market. Since its launch we have had 17 million entries¹. In November 2025 we switched the giveaway to app only, which has driven app downloads and usage by 17% YoY¹. By switching the giveaway to app only we’ve managed to build a long-term audience rather than one-off entrants. We recieved over 280,000 downloads and reinstalls in May¹.
May also saw a record in monthly app users on the Autotrader app, reaching 3.7 million active users (that’s 6 times more than our nearest competitior fyi)¹. We continuously invest in the platform to improve the experience for buyers. We do this so they see your vehicles, your images, your videos, enabling them to contact you, even reserve your vehicles straight from the app. You can learn more about app here.
With 80% of our traffic now coming from mobile¹ it’s important that you make sure your adverst look great on the App and mobile with images, videos, and information.
We’re also using influencer-led content to drive scale for the giveaway. This content will run across both Instagram and TikTok. For this giveaway we’ve brought influencer activity in-house and sourced talent directly to help is shape content more closely around the campaign objectives while also remaining authentic. This activity has previously delivered an average (per giveaway) of…
6 million impressions¹
915k engagements¹
14k app installs¹
YouTube Adverts
Although at this moment in time we don’t have a TV ad running we’re showing up on consumers screens in different ways. Today, 54% of YouTube viewers now watching content through their home TV screens we have the opportunity to still show up in people’s living rooms like how a typical TV ad would. We’re running three different adverts on YouTube to target this audience and this campaign is expected to make 6.4 million impressions¹, which means one thing…. we’re more eyes on your adverts
Content Creators
We’ve continued to work with content creators and influencers across various platforms like Instagram and TikTok. The main focus of this content is to target young families and a younger audience; those aged between 25-44-years olds. In May, we saw the messaging of this content shift away from the primary messaging of valuations and focus more on curating an “It’s Time for” moment, calling out Autotrader as being the biggest and most trusted car marketplace.
Radio Ads
On the 1st of June our new refreshed '“It’s Time for” radio ad went live. This ad will run until the end of August across the most popular radio stations like Hits Radio network, Kiss network, Capital network and Capital Dance. It’s expected that people listening to these stations during June and July will hear our ad around 2-3 times a week and reach an expected 31 million adults¹.
Social Media
As part of our aim to reach younger audiences on social media, we’ve been spotting opportunities to show up in a natural way, tapping into trends and cultural moments. Part of this has involved us showing up outside out own content across trends and viral moments, getting our brand across by commenting on other peoples/brand content.
We’ve now had over 1 million engagements, that’s likes and replies on our comments we’ve posted to other people’s content. This is enabling us to get our brand in front of a new audience, increasing awareness.
We’re testing longer term influencer partnerships using one of our car enthusiast creators. As well as having him create several pieces of content over a few months, we’re also testing how we can integrate retailers into some of this content. He’ll be going to a local dealership to look at some of their Family car XL stock.
At the heart of all of this activity is a simple goal: bringing more buyers to Autotrader and helping them find your vehicles. We’re constantly investing in marketing that bring people to our platform. The more buyers we attract, the more opportunities there are for your stock to be seen and sold. That’s why we’ll continue to invest in growing our audience and making sure Autotrader stays front of mind.
¹Autotrader Internal Data - May 26