CHICAGO -

In an effort to help dealers better promote their inventory on Cars.com, the site revealed this week an enhanced version of its online advertising package. 

Also, the introduction of BaseDrive coincides with the “first wave” of expansions on the site “designed to better align the new-car shopping experience on Cars.com with the needs of today’s consumers,” the company noted.

Commenting on the changes, Mitch Golub, president of Cars.com, said, “New-car sales are back, and more shoppers than ever are taking to the internet to make the best choices, not only about what car to buy, but where to buy it.

“BaseDrive introduces new-car features to our online advertising package that help franchise dealers promote the value of their dealership, not just their inventory, and it’s all designed to drive more new-car business with Cars.com’s audience of in-market car shoppers,” he continued.

First highlighting the expanded online advertising package, the company explained BaseDrive provides dealers with “increased brand exposure, automated merchandising features and comprehensive reporting specifically customized for a dealer’s new-car sales process.” 

Ad packages for franchised dealers in most markets have been automatically upgraded to BaseDrive.

And just what does it offer rooftops?

On the new Dealer Profile Page, dealers can showcase their store through a personalized narrative, a promotional tagline, dealership photos and videos, multiple contact options, sales and service hours and featured dealer reviews.

Shoppers can also group search results by dealer and sort by dealer reviews, potentially making it easier to assess vehicle availability at the dealership level.

“These pages now feature more dealer-level information, such as dealer review ratings and a promotional tagline, better showcasing a dealership’s brand,” the company contends. 

“Dealers work hard to provide a great experience to their customers and differentiate themselves in their markets,” said David Gilmartin, director of new-car strategy at Cars.com,  “BaseDrive brings all that hard work to life on Cars.com by integrating a dealership’s story and reputation throughout a consumer’s new-car search process.”

Moving along, Cars.com will also now automatically include one color-matched stock photo on search result and vehicle details pages of every new-car listing when dealer-supplied photos are unavailable.

“When it comes to inventory merchandising, our research has shown that photos are one of the top items shoppers want to see, yet it can be time-consuming for dealers to take photos of every new vehicle on their lot,” said Gilmartin.  “BaseDrive makes including photos a turnkey part of the merchandising process.”

Lastly, BaseDrive’s Market Intelligence Reports track a dealer’s share of total consumer exposure and engagement in their market.

The company contends these show “how often shoppers see information about their dealership, as well as the level of consumer interaction they capture on Cars.com in relation to the rest of their market.”

Also, Cars.com has partnered with aggregator of Internet automotive shopping activity Dataium to provide new-car market trends in the BaseDrive Market Intelligence Report, including predicted consumer demand and trend forecasts for selected makes and models.

These are all provided at the national and regional levels.  The first report, based on data collected in May, will be available in June, officials shared.

“We’ve seen dynamic changes in the way consumers shop for new vehicles online, and one of our top priorities in launching BaseDrive is to give dealers better insight into that activity than ever before,” said Gilmartin. 

“BaseDrive Market Intelligence Reports convey how a dealership’s performance with new-car shoppers stacks up against that of its competitors, as well as key market trends and predictive data that help dealers make better decisions for their business,” he concluded.