CarLotz ‘flipping the script’ on used-car connotations with first ad campaign
“Your mom is a used-car salesman.”
No, that’s not meant to be a lunchroom jab from your grade-school days.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
It’s actually just one example of the messaging from CarLotz’s first major brand campaign, which aims to debunk pre-conceived notions about pre-owned and emphasize that “it feels good to be a used-car person.”
And that’s whether you’re buying or selling a used car, both of which consumers — including our beloved mommas — can do through CarLotz.
Other examples of messaging in the campaign shared by the company include “It's brand spanking used!” or “The smartest way to sell your car is to let someone else do the work” or “It's a brand used day.”
The used-vehicle consignment and retail remarketing business launched this campaign in early August, beginning with out-of-home, radio and digital spots – with plans to add TV, additional video content, sponsorships, local activitations, influencer marketing and in-hub displays.
The campaign is running in the Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Nashville, Tenn.; Orlando, Fla.; Richmond, Va.; San Antonio; Seattle; St. Louis and Tampa metro areas.
“This campaign is all about flipping the script on what it means to buy used. We want to turn ‘used car’ into a badge you wear with pride,” CarLotz chief marketing officer Michael Chapman said in a news release.
“This work is a direct reflection of the pride our employees and our guests feel working with CarLotz. There is something special about the people who buy and sell at CarLotz. They know the true value of getting used and they love it,” he continued. “At the end of the day our job is to plant a flag in the category, continue to put the value back in the hands of buyers and sellers and remind people that, ‘it feels good to be a used car person.’”
Arts & Letters, which is based in CarLotz’s home market of Richmond, Va., led the strategy and creative for the campaign. Media planning and buying is led by Noble People, with Familiar Creatures leading the social.
“From the ground up, CarLotz is a company built around putting people first,” said Andy Grayson, director of strategy at Arts & Letters Creative Co. “So, when we looked at the category and saw that everyone else was focused on their process, we knew the right thing to do was to make the strategy all about people and the pride they feel buying used from CarLotz.”