From the top

Welcome to this latest edition of Traction. Whilst most of the country was locked down during Q3, we couldn’t have been busier and you’ll soon see why within.

In this edition of Traction we deep dive into our new data offering, Audience Engine. This is one of the ‘jewels in the crown’ of the joining of Gumtree with CarsGuide and Autotrader. We pull back the curtain to reveal the mechanics of this powerful tool, and more importantly how it will help give brands a complete view of their marketing effectiveness.

After a lengthy global search, we welcomed Manisha Seewal to the team as our new CMO. Manisha brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise from her most recent role at Carro in Singapore. Malcolm Flynn catches up with her and gets an insight into what drives her, what she’s driving and where she will take our business.

The editorial team celebrated some significant milestones during the quarter - 200,000 YouTube subscribers and our 200th podcast (or ‘podcarst’ as they call it) and continue to be the leading automotive editorial website in Australia* . Not bad given the restrictions the team had to face due to lockdowns. Our latest research ‘Engage’ is also featured. It takes a deeper look at how consumers want to engage with dealers in this COVID era. No surprises, it found that 65% of consumers want to see the dealer’s contact information and that walk-ins convert at almost twice the rate of a phone and email lead. Whether you’re Sales Manager on the floor of a dealership or CMO of an automotive brand, this is a must read.

After only being in market eight months we interviewed our Autotrader Group dealer customers asking for feedback. 78% of those dealers surveyed said they would recommend Autotrader Group and 71% agreed that the walk-ins Autotrader Group provide are an important part of their sales strategy.

As I write this, metrics across our platforms continue to move in the right direction with visits and leads up. No doubt an early indication of a return of consumer confidence.

Wishing everyone a strong finish to another challenging year.

Mark Kehoe Managing Director - Autotrader, CarsGuide and Gumtree