Auto Trader

Autos.ca was a new brand (created by parent company AutoTrader) to help drivers navigate the perilous world of buying a car online.

John St. was asked to come up with an idea to launch the new site at the Toronto AutoShow.

Autos.ca was created to help car buyers, so the idea was to help AutoShow attendees with a Free Parking Day. On Feb. 26, 2011, Autos.ca bought out all of the parking spaces at seven garages owned by Green P and offered free parking for the day.

Digital banner ads were created and posters outside the participating lots communicated the event. Wild postings appeared on nearby construction sites and in the parking lots themselves with headlines like: “The best thing to happen to cars since Rob Ford” or “You’ll think you’ve died and gone to Barrie.”

Branded cards were stuck into meters on King and Queen Streets to let drivers know Autos.ca had covered their parking costs.

Autos.ca received coverage in the National Post, Global News, CBC, CTV, CP24, Chum FM, and 680News just to name a few, generating over three million impressions.

Over 13,343 drivers parked for free that day generating positive social media buzz. And Free Parking Day over-delivered on the objective or driving traffic to the site with a total of 195,872 visits.