Kelley Blue Book Co., in search of new audiences, has hired M Booth in New York as its first public relations agency of record.
“We do a really good job talking about the industry, what is going on in the car market, what is going on within a specific brand and manufacturer, but we don’t really do a good job of reaching the average consumer,” said Chintan Talati, senior director of public relations at the Irvine-based auto information company. “We want them to really get to know and understand the brand, to know that we are not just a used car website. But we also have a lot of new-car information that we can provide.”
Talati said data show about 60% of car shoppers visit Kelley Blue Book’s website looking for information. He hopes M Booth will usher in the remainder.
“There is still that 40% that are car shopping and that haven’t been on our site,” he said. “We want to make sure that they understand that we are the trusted resource, the place to go when it comes to new and used” car values.
M Booth’s assignment is to “push the brand into new audiences” by targeting specific consumer media, such as Vogue Magazine or Men’s Health. Entertainment publications popular with the Millennial generation, which “has so far not been as interested in cars, but we know they will be interested in cars later on,” will also be high on M Booth’s priority list.
National TV is another arena where Kelley Blue Book is looking to expand its reach. The company just completed a $100,000 in-house broadcast studio, which will make it easier for its auto industry experts to do live interviews, hopefully reaching audiences through shows like “Good Morning America” or “The Early Show.”
“We get asked quite often to do interviews on business networks, and typically we had to go to a studio that was 30 minutes away, and now our experts can go downstairs and walk into our studio,” Talati said.
Also on M Booth’s agenda: promoting a new awards program Kelley Blue Book plans to launch in November to “make sure that it gets started on the right foot and reaches the right consumers.”
The company currently gives out three awards: Best Resale Value, Total Cost of Ownership, and the Brand Image Award. The new one is based on auto industry data and testing of vehicles in 12 size segments by the company’s editorial team, he said.
“Everyone has heard of … Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award or the North American Car and Truck of the Year, but when you think of an award like that, last year a Corvette won—the average person probably isn’t buying a Corvette,” Talati said. “We wanted to create an award that can help consumers really find the right car based on the segments they are looking for.”
The value of the annual PR contract is estimated at $220,000. M Booth beat out two other agencies for the assignment, including Irvine-based Citizen Paine.
“We really, really liked them,” Talati said. “It was a tough decision.”
M Booth’s client roster includes Burlington Coat Factory, Godiva and Tourism Victoria, among others.
The effectiveness of M Booth’s efforts will be measured by “where are they placing us,” Talati said.
Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com acquired the brand in 2010 for an undisclosed amount, which the Wall Street Journal estimated at “$500 million-plus.” Both companies are owned by Cox Enterprises Inc. in Atlanta.
