CARS.COM'S NEWEST MODEL: A MODERN BRAND, FRESH AD CAMPAIGN AND ENDLESS 'POSSIBILITIES'

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Jun 01, 2023, 07:30 ET

For 25th Anniversary, Brand Upgrade Stakes a Claim on Where Car Buying and Selling Is Going Next

CHICAGO, June 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Car-shopping marketplace Cars.com™ (NYSE: CARS) is launching a modern brand identity and advertising campaign encouraging people to explore "Where to next?" For the first time in the company's quarter-century history as a technology leader, it will debut a redesign of its logo, paying homae to the innovation and credibility that has made Cars.com a leading destination for car buyers and sellers while paving the way for its future.

New Attributes
Consumers and dealers want the same thing: a happy buyer driving off the lot in their next car. Cars.com's new brand embodies that experience and the freedom it provides.

Refreshed brand campaign: "Possibilities" reminds us that car buying is fun and spurred by various life changes. Cars.com exists to facilitate the next chapter in every driver's life.
New tagline: "Where to next?" reminds consumers of the opportunities unlocked by Cars.com and a new set of wheels. New cars take us where we need to go but also signify where we're headed in life.
Updated logo: A motion-filled design emphasizes Cars.com's position at the center of consumers and retailers and its essential role in making the industry go. The logo's transparency signals Cars.com's history and continued focus on creating trust and confidence for both buyers and sellers.

Cars.com's Evolution
Through dot-com busts, auto bailouts, recessions and pandemics, Cars.com has flourished for 25 years, applying where-to-next thinking to every aspect of car buying and selling. The result?

More than 28 million unique monthly shoppers¹
No. 1 brand in the category²
No. 1 most downloaded app in the category³
No. 1 resource for millions of user-generated dealership reviews⁴
Advanced technology that simplifies everything about the big-ticket, highly-emotional, milestone of buying or selling a car

"As we celebrate our 25^th anniversary, our new brand positioning and logo reflect an important inflection point for Cars.com. We are proud of our heritage as an original dot-com company and search engine for automotive, and have evolved into a comprehensive platform of possibilities for car buyers and sellers" said Jennifer Vianello, Cars.com's chief marketing officer. "Whether you're looking to buy or sell, do it all online or at a physical retailer, Cars.com is built for consumer choice."

Modern Consumer and Brand
The "Possibilities'' campaign highlights how shoppers can take advantage of Cars.com's depth and breadth of inventory as well as its new buying and selling tools to get into the right vehicle at the right price for their current life stage or lifestyle. It was created in partnership with Leo Burnett Worldwide and consists of three hero 30-second spots depicting consumers at different life stages in need of a new car. These spots and additional creative assets will begin running across a variety of media channels as part of a comprehensive launch plan that includes network TV, social media, custom integrations, out-of-home and a range of digital and online video executions. Through these efforts, Cars.com expects to reach 90% of its target audience between June-August.

Each of the campaign's three new TV commercials ends with a shopper driving off a dealership lot — intentionally highlighting Cars.com's strong support of the local automotive retail system.

"Much of the car buying and selling process has transitioned online, but the vast majority of consumers still prefer to test drive and finalize the purchase with a local dealership — and there's often no one better to handle that final step of the transaction," said Vianello. "Our goal is to meet consumers where they are and provide them — and dealers — the tools to facilitate every aspect of the buying and selling journey up to and including a total online purchasing experience."

Cars.com's "Possibilities" campaign featuring its new logo debuts today. Each new TV commercial can be viewed on the company's YouTube page.

¹ Cars.com, Earnings Report, Q1 2023
² Cars.com Brand Tracker Survey, Q1 2023
³ Data.ai, Total App downloads, April 2023
⁴ Cars.com Active Reviews, Sept. 2022 - May 2023

ABOUT CARS.COM INC.
Cars.com, Inc. (CARS) is a leading automotive marketplace platform that provides a robust set of digital solutions that connect car shoppers with sellers. Launched in 1998 with the flagship marketplace Cars.com and headquartered in Chicago, the company empowers shoppers with the data, resources and digital tools needed to make informed buying decisions and seamlessly connect with automotive retailers. In a rapidly changing market, CARS enables dealerships and OEMs with innovative technical solutions and data-driven intelligence to better reach and influence ready-to-buy shoppers, increase inventory turn and gain market share.

In addition to Cars.com, CARS brands include Dealer Inspire, a technology provider building solutions that future-proof dealerships with more efficient operations and connected digital experiences; FUEL, which gives dealers and OEMs the opportunity to harness the untapped power of digital video by leveraging Cars.com's pure audience of in-market car shoppers, DealerRater, a leading car dealer review and reputation management platform, CreditIQ, automotive fintech technology, and Accu-Trade, a leading provider of vehicle acquisition technology and valuation data. For more information, visit www.cars.com.

SOURCE Cars.com Inc.