Kelley Blue Book launched two all-new integrated marketing campaigns on Monday aimed at both franchised and independent dealerships as well as informing consumers about how much information and experience the company has to help buyers through the vehicle selection and purchase experience.

With more than nine decades of experience to leverage, Kelley Blue Book insisted its storied history makes it the most influential site for shoppers choosing a dealership, which can help clients “get results out of the blue.” 

Based on that idea and research showing 68 percent of KBB.com shoppers are planning to purchase a vehicle within the next two months, the company’s multi-point “Out of the Blue” marketing campaign is directed at franchise and independent dealer audiences.

Officials highlighted the campaign brings to life how Kelley Blue Book is shifting from a marketplace to matchmaker strategy, bringing the right buyers to the right dealership through an experience and purchase that can make all parties can feel good.

KBB mentioned the marketing campaign will include print media, display advertising, retargeting and pre-roll video, reaching 90 percent of franchised and 25 percent of independent dealers. 

“Kelley Blue Book lends its brand equity, competitive traffic levels of in-market shoppers and strong pedigree within the industry to help dealerships achieve their respective goals,” said Jessica Stafford, vice president of marketing at Kelley Blue Book’s parent company Cox Automotive.

“The company’s all-new campaign supports that mission by building awareness and perception among dealers that the Kelley Blue Book brand and its products are highly relevant and necessary to drive traffic and reduce friction in the car-buying process,” Stafford continued.

In addition to an existing robust portfolio of products, including classified listings, LeadDriver and more, KBB pointed out some new products for dealer customers include the Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer and the Used Car Highlight module.

— Instant Cash Offer: Last year, Kelley Blue Book provided nearly 100 million trade-in values to shoppers. Now dealers can drive transaction-ready consumers to their showroom, integrating Kelley Blue Book’s Price Advisor to boost confidence and redeem an Instant Cash offer on their current vehicle.

— Used Car Highlight: Dealers can receive a unique opportunity to make an immediate connection with in-market shoppers using Used Car Highlight. As consumers receive a price for their configured used vehicle, this widget matches the most relevant vehicle from local participating dealers to the consumer search criteria.

More details about consumer endeavor

Debuting on Monday as well, the “Get New Car Smart” campaign is designed to reposition the brand and shift perceptions of KBB.com from a used-vehicle pricing and valuation destination to the definitive, go-to resource for new-model shoppers. At its debut, the campaign can be seen across cable, network and streaming television platforms, digital media, including radio, and also on social media and through public relations initiatives.

“For the majority of car shoppers, KBB.com historically has been known as the trusted destination for used-car pricing and valuation,” Stafford said.

“But KBB.com has so much more to offer, including unparalleled tools to help shoppers understand what they should pay for a new car, along with award-winning expert editorial content that helps consumers narrow their consideration set and ultimately choose the car that best suits their individual needs and wants,” she continued.

KBB reiterated that the average shopper spends 15 to 17 hours online researching and visits three dealerships during a span consisting of more than 15 weeks before buying their next vehicle. Kelley Blue Book boasts comprehensive expert editorial reviews and ratings, recommendations and other helpful new-car buying tools.

With the Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor tool, KBB.com offers vehicle shoppers the ability to understand how much they should pay for their new vehicle based on what others have paid for similar cars in the area. In addition, new-car buyers can find the Fair Market Range, 5-Year Cost to Own information, expert and consumer ratings, new-car buying guides, new-vehicle reviews, top 10 lists, segment comparison tests, data/specs on the cars they are interested in and more.

The campaign highlighting all of these resources targets men and women 18 to 49 years old who are in-market shopping for a new vehicle, and seeking knowledge from an objective, trustworthy expert, as well as reassurance and a sense of confidence as they make decisions throughout the new-car buying process.

The creative was developed with Los Angeles advertising agency Zambezi, Kelley Blue Book’s first collaboration with the agency, which also represents Autotrader, another Cox Automotive company. The new spot, “That’s Pretty Smart,” will be shared in three formats (60 seconds, 30 seconds and 15 seconds) across television, social and various digital channels.

The 60-second spot can be seen in the video at the top of this page.

This is the second TV campaign for the nearly-100-year-old brand, which debuted its inaugural ad campaign in summer 2012. The additional agencies supporting this campaign include 360i and Citizen Relations.

“Kelley Blue Book has long been The Trusted Resource for car shoppers and is the most visited third-party automotive website," said Josh DiMarcantonio, executive creative director at Zambezi.

“We built the marketing campaign on the idea that the brand offers a wealth of tools and information that helps car shoppers along their path to purchase, so anyone in the market for a new car can become a master new car shopper by visiting KBB.com,” DiMarcantonio went on to say.