Auto Trader creates unit to take digital sales in-house

Digital agency buyers will now be served by three dedicated teams from
Auto Trader, each serving an individual sector: automotive, finance and
insurance, and lifestyle and fast-moving consumer goods.

Naomi Lay, head of display advertising at Auto Trader, will oversee all
agency activity.

Auto Trader will sell directly to agencies on a variety of advertising
across its website, ranging from integrated options to more traditional,
targeted campaigns.

Jason Biffin, commercial director of e-commerce at Trader Media Group,
said the company is confident the change will benefit agencies.

He added: "We have spent the past 12 months building a team and new
products to suit both existing advertisers and new sectors, such as
lifestyle and new car advertising."

Ahead of the move to take digital sales in-house, Auto Trader is
organising road shows to agencies over January and February, as well as
launching an agency-only website aimed at providing research, case
studies and ad opportunities.

Despite the move in-house, AdLink will continue to manage run-of-network
campaigns, allowing Auto Trader to access advertisers across its
network.

Meanwhile, AdLink has lost its digital sales account with Time Out
London, with the listings guide bringing the sales function of its
website in-house. AdLink and Time Out are negotiating over the nature of
their future relationship.

An AdLink spokeswoman said: "Taking sales in-house is a natural
evolution for companies such as Auto Trader.

"We help them to grow their digital operations and once they reach a
certain size, they often take digital in-house."

AdLink has picked up three new account wins, striking deals to handle
digital sales for Weight Watchers, Manchester Evening News and Dating
Direct.