AND news - May 2008
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Motors.co.uk launches first ‘real life’ panel of car reviewers
Jobsite becomes the official recruitment brand across all Northcliffe newspapers and local websites
Northcliffe promotes rebranded Motors.co.uk
Motors.co.uk launches first 'real life' panel of car reviewers
1st May 2008
Motoring celebrities have been booted out of the driving seat by UK car buyers who are more likely to turn to a friend, spouse or partner for advice than the well known TV faces when it comes to buying a new motor.
Of 2,500 drivers surveyed by motors.co.uk, one of the UK’s most visited used car websites, over half (52 per cent) of buyers said they pick up the phone to a friend for advice when buying a new car while nearly a third (30 per cent) turn to their partner or spouse. Only one in ten (10 per cent) said they trust the input of a TV motoring celebrity.
Of the TV reviewers who do catch the ear of the car buyer, Jeremy Clarkson proved the most popular with almost half of all buyers (47per cent) saying they would trust his advice on a new motor. Top Gear partner in crime Richard Hammond was next in line for trusted tips, with 17 per cent of votes, followed by Quentin Willson with 11 per cent of votes.
On the back of the results and in celebration of buyers preferring ‘real advice from real people’, Motors.co.uk has launched ‘The Real Review’ - the UK’s first panel of video car reviewers made up from members of the public.
Following a nationwide search, six winners have been selected from over 500 entrants who reflect the different needs and wants of car buyers.
Stuart Tidman (a bus driver from Nuneaton), Derek Marsh (a salesman from Derby), Donna Fraher (an Occupational Therapist from Bradford), Louise A’ Barrow (a new mum from Yeovil) Sam Rollings (a dentist from Dundee) and Michelle Brown (IT consultant from Basingstoke) will be offering their views and practical advice to over 1 million car buyers who use the motors.co.uk website every month.
The panel has been trained on how to produce a filmed car review by Fifth Gear’s Vicki Butler-Henderson.
Katie Armitage, Marketing Manager of Motors.co.uk explains: “Our findings really highlighted that car buyers turn to someone they know or who they would perceive to give a real persons view for advice when buying a new car. Our Real Review panel has been formed to fill this gap and is the first forum to offer car buyers real life reviews filmed by real people and looking at the things that they care about most.
"The new video offering on Motors.co.uk enables our panel to really get to grips with the cars they are reviewing. The visual element really allows car buyers to see the car they are considering buying and having a real person talk them through it makes the whole process more approachable.”
Fifth Gear presenter Vicki-Butler Henderson, commented; “I really enjoyed working with the Motors.co.uk Real Review panel to help them learn how to put together real life car reviews that tell it like it is. I think it is a great idea that will hopefully help other buyers make the right choice when buying their next car. Filming the reviews adds another dimension to the car buying process as it will enable the buyer to really learn about the car they are considering.”
The motors.co.uk network, which launched in January 2007 features nearly 200,000 used cars for sale from car retailers and private sellers across the UK and provides advice and guidance covering every part of the car buying process to help motorists make informed choices about their next car. Motors.co.uk is also the first in the UK to run free security and history checks on all vehicles before they are offered for sale.
Budding car reviews interested in submitting reviews for the next stage of the ‘Real Review’ programme can find out more by visiting www.motors.co.uk/real.
Jobsite becomes the official recruitment brand across all Northcliffe newspapers and local websites
1st May 2008
Jobsite has become the official brand across all Northcliffe Media recruitment platforms. From May 1st, all Northcliffe newspapers and 56 ‘this is’ websites (eg. www.thisisbristol.co.uk ) will change to feature the Jobsite brand across all newspaper recruitment supplements, in paper promotion and web pages.
The new partnership brings together the benefits of Jobsite’s recruitment expertise, brand equity and multi-sector strength with the local presence, reach and recruiter relationships that Northcliffe Media have in some of the UK’s key regions.
With at least 50,000 new vacancies advertised each week on Jobsite and 3.9 million registered users, the partnership gives Northcliffe Media readers and advertisers on-going access to one of the UK’s leading recruitment sites on which to search for new jobs or advertise local vacancies.
With Northcliffe Media recently announcing combined de-duplicated ‘reach’ figures of over 4.7 million across their newspaper and local website portfolio the re-brand gives Jobsite significant weekly brand exposure across key UK recruitment regions, including Hull, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Bristol and Plymouth. When combined with Jobsite’s other branding partnerships which include the Evening Standard, Metro (London) and Friends Reunited Jobs, the new partnership gives Jobsite a potential weekly online audience reach of circa 13 million representing a significant proportion of the UK working population.
Commenting on the partnership, Keith Potts, CEO of Jobsite, says; “As the needs of recruiters grow more complex, part of the challenge for Jobsite is finding passive jobseekers as well as active ones. This exciting new partnership allows us to reach these candidates by the unrivalled regional presence it gives us, both online and now in print. It complements our strategy of going to where the candidates are and talking with them directly – not waiting for them to come to us. This is a money can’t buy deal, which illustrates the potential of DMGT’s online and print properties starting to fully integrate for the first time.”
Michael Pelosi, Managing Director of Northcliffe Media, adds: “We continue to see online and regional newspapers as being the most powerful ways in which to bring recruiters and candidates together. This partnership with Jobsite allows us to combine one of the UK’s strongest recruitment brands with our unmatched local presence. Our readers and advertisers can now take advantage of market leading recruitment solutions via our newspapers and websites when looking for a new job or looking to recruit locally.’
The announcement builds on the success of the original partnership created between the two businesses in 2007, which enabled vacancies to be distributed between Jobsite and Northcliffe’s network of ‘this is’ sites bringing new and different jobseekers to both brands. The deal replicates similar partnerships that Northcliffe is initiating with FindaProperty and Motors.co.uk, and is part of a wider strategy to bring the sector expertise and brand strength of core online brands within the Daily Mail and General Trust Group (DMGT) to Northcliffe Media advertisers and readers.
The partnership will be supported by ongoing in paper classified and display advertising campaigns, as well as online search and email marketing activity, providing a highly effective route to reach both active and passive jobseekers.
Northcliffe promotes rebranded Motors.co.uk
1st May 2008
Northcliffe Media is launching a campaign for its rebranded classified advertising section, Motors.co.uk. The move is part of a wider strategy to take the company's online classifieds brands into its newspapers in a bid to grow revenue.
The campaign is launching on May 5 and will include TV, press and outdoor. It has been created by Principles, which is also handling outdoor planning and buying. The rebranding across the motoring sections started to roll out last week across over 100 regional newspaper titles and 56 websites within the Daily Mail & General Trust-owned group.
It has also started to rebrand its jobs section, with the Jobsite.co.uk logo currently being rolled out across all its newspapers. It is expecting to launch a supporting advertising campaign next month.
The latest moves follow the rebrand of its property pages as Findaproperty.co.uk in February this year. Sean Mahon, marketing director at Northcliffe Media, says it is also looking into the areas of dating and travel.
He says its overall aim is to use the strength of its online classifieds brands in its newspapers to boost classified revenue. "What we've done is part of a wider strategy to bring the expertise and strength of our core online brands and integrate them into our wider [print] business," he says.