From “Just a Marketplace” to a Brand Worth Following

The Challenge

Stuck in first gear

Autotrader is the UK’s biggest car marketplace, but on social it was stuck in first gear – respected, not exactly loved. It needed younger drivers (25–44) to see it as more than a place you go when the old car finally gives up.

The Strategy

Car-ish

So we swapped petrolheads for people, building a strategy we call Car-ish: less about the cars themselves, more about the lives built around them. Enter the Hi-Vis Character, our breakout star, alongside a steady stream of culturally-tuned content spanning motorsport icons and quirky Fiats. We paired it all with Comment Generated Outreach, giving Autotrader permission to jump into conversations – from viral car debates to F1 moments – it used to just watch from the sidelines.

The Result

Not just louder — younger

Six months later, the brand isn’t just louder, it’s younger: our core 25–44 audience grew from 40% to 58%, proof Autotrader had genuinely gate-crashed the next generation’s feeds, one Fiat joke at a time.

6-month results: 13M organic views, 8.1% average TikTok engagement rate, 2M Comment Generated Outreach engagements (2x target), 25K new followers.