Greta Crowley says sports have been a “huge component” of Autotrader’s marketing plan for years.

“It's something where we’re constantly looking at research and the data, and what we're continuing to see is that sports fans are so incredibly passionate and are brand-loyal for those brands that invest in our long-term partners and sponsors,” said Crowley, who is Autotrader vice president of marketing, in an interview with Auto Remarketing.

The NBA is a major part of that huge sports component that Crowley mentioned, and Autotrader’s 16th season as an NBA partner premiered Tuesday night with a Tip-Off Show presented by Autotrader, followed by a doubleheader.

Crowley said Autotrader’s partnership with the NBA helps the company reach a young and diverse audience. That, she said, is much more difficult to achieve through purchasing “one-off” TV spots.

“This really encompasses a full marketing plan where we can touch consumers literally in stadium, with courtside signage all the way to promotions to TV spots running in all the biggest games,” Crowley said.

Starting its 16th season as a partner of the NBA, Autotrader gets various opportunities for attention as “the Official Car Search Engine of the NBA.”

In addition to the pre-game, in-game and digital streaming presence, Autotrader for the 14th year will support the donation of a vehicle to a recipient via the All-Star Drive Charity Giveaway during NBA All-Star weekend.

Autotrader is the exclusive partner of the NBA on TNT Tip-Off Show presented by Autotrader, and at least 34 of those pre-game shows are on the schedule throughout this season with analysts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and host Ernie Johnson.

Autotrader’s additional in-game exposure, reaching millions of fans each week, will take place through the regular season and playoff game broadcasts on TNT and NBA TV, as well as online via NBA.com.

Crowley told Auto Remarketing that throughout its 16 years of sponsorship of the program, Autotrader has seen increases in traffic on its website after its TV spots air during the games.

“And we're driving a ton of brand awareness for Autotrader,” she said. “We continue to see that back on our site.”

This year, she said, Autotrader is focusing on its new Finally, it’s easy consumer campaign.

“So we are really trying to partner with NBA this year to figure out how do we bring that idea of stress-free shopping with Autotrader through into the new promotion,” she said. “We’re getting ready, obviously, to kick off the NBA season this week.

“But we've got some new things on promotion this year and how we think about our (All-Star Drive Charity Giveaway), where we give back to the community during All-Star weekend and how we can wrap our new campaign around that.”