LAUNCHING TRUECAR+: Building a story in three weeks. Making a brand out of an idea.
TrueCar+ was imagined as TrueCar’s most ambitious step forward: a fully online car buying platform designed to give customers maximum flexibility. From browsing and financing to notarizing documents, TrueCar+ enables car buyers to purchase or lease a vehicle without ever stepping foot in a dealership.
It was a bold innovation, born from an evolving understanding of what modern car shoppers want—especially younger audiences looking for more convenience, control, and ease. But by the time the beta version was ready to launch, there was still work to be done: Who was this product really for? Why did it matter? And how could we tell its story in a way that would truly connect?
We had three weeks, a $50K production budget, and no formal brief—just the product as it stood.
From a creative standpoint, the challenge was clear: define what this platform stood for, position it meaningfully, and bring it to life across paid, social, video, and product in a way that would resonate with today’s car shoppers.
This is how we did it.
(SOFT) Product launch campaign
Role: Creative & Art Direction
The Visual Identity
After years of focusing our marketing on B2B, TrueCar’s consumer awareness had dipped. Many shoppers didn’t know us; those who did weren’t clear on how we were different from competitors like Carvana or Cars.com. That created a challenge: TrueCar+ was a new offering—but TrueCar had always been an online platform.
So how was this different?
Giving TrueCar+ a Look—and Feel—of Its Own
We created a standalone visual identity for TrueCar+—one that felt like a sleeker, more premium sibling to the core brand. We pushed our four brand colors into rich gradients paired with glowing neon lines, giving the system depth, dimensionality, and a high-performance edge. The result was bold but flexible, easy to scale across static, animated, and product environments.
Designing the distinction
We partnered with our friends at WolfDen to create a 30-second CTV ad centered on a 3D vortex sequence—a cinematic anchor designed to elevate the UI reveal and give the product its aha moment. We sourced emotive, authentic live-action clips from FilmSupply to introduce a human element without the cost of a shoot.
The visual system established in the film—gradient backdrops, glowing accents, and dynamic type—became our motion blueprint for scaling the identity across paid, product, and social.
Launching in motion
THE LANDING PAGE
Without definitive audience data in place, we made informed assumptions and leaned into what we knew: younger, digitally fluent car shoppers would likely be the earliest adopters of a fully online car buying experience. We featured Gen Z talent in the hero image and retained the emotional tone established in the launch film to maintain consistency and warmth.
To test initial resonance, we led with messaging focused on convenience and the 100% online experience—initially positioning TrueCar+ as a simpler, more flexible way to buy a car.
INTRODUCING the pRODUCT WITH EMOTION AND INTENT
We knew the landing page for TrueCar+ needed to do a lot: introduce the platform, educate shoppers, and drive traffic to search results pages across new, used, and EV inventory. But just as important—it had to feel human.
OOH CAMPAIGN
With that insight finally in place, we had something to build around. We brainstormed dozens of lines, refined the voice, and landed on what became our product tagline:
“Own the car. And the process.”
And for leasing: “Lease the car. Own the process.”
It was simple. Confident. Clear. And it anchored our OOH campaign with a message designed to meet buyers where they were—ready to decide, and ready to drive.
A MESSAGE THAT FINALLY STUCK
We tested four core themes—convenience, speed, ease, and control—to see what resonated most with potential TrueCar+ shoppers. The data was clear: control rose to the top. It tapped into a core desire of our highest-intent audience—independent, high-FICO buyers who wanted to do things on their own terms.
A Multi-Intent Email Strategy
Email played a key role in supporting the TrueCar+ launch—not just as a performance driver, but as a retention and learning tool. We designed a full funnel of emails to guide shoppers through the TrueCar+ buying process, increasing clarity and completion rates at each step.
We also used email to incentivize feedback: reaching out to customers who left carts behind to understand drop-off points, and following up with successful buyers to hear what worked. These insights helped shape both product improvements and future messaging.
Across all campaigns, we tested new headlines and framing, while using personalized modules to show shoppers where they left off, and what came next.
We developed a large suite of performance ads across paid channels. Some focused on vehicle-specific incentives, others were used in earlier messaging testing to emphasize the speed and simplicity of the experience.
We used the core visual identity to create modular, scalable layouts that could easily flex across vehicles, messages, and placements to deliver a campaign that felt cohesive but highly targeted, optimized for performance without losing brand integrity.
PERFORMANCE ADS
For paid social, we leaned into what works in-feed: people, motion, and personality. We used human-centric imagery to reflect younger, digitally savvy shoppers and brought the ads to life with playful animation—making each ad feel more like content than a campaign. The goal wasn’t to just sell but for these to be entertaining, relatable, and most importantly scroll-stopping
PAID SOCIAL ADS
We tapped UGC creators and influencers to produce native-style videos that felt right at home on TikTok. We crafted mini briefs with reference scripts and creative direction, guiding each creator to frame TrueCar+ through relatable, real-life scenarios.
The goal was to keep the content feeling organic—anchored in everyday moments—while weaving in branded UI sequences that made the product experience feel both discoverable and easy.
TIKTOK ADS
We partnered with Product Design and Product Marketing to bring the TrueCar+ brand into the product experience. Together, we identified key surfaces—like SRPs (Search Results Pages), VDPs (Vehicle Detail Pages), and VLAs (Vehicle Listing Ads)—where we could insert branded UI elements to both educate and activate.
Strategically placed banners and callouts helped highlight the benefits of TrueCar+ and directed shoppers toward vehicles that were 100% ready to buy online. It was a small but critical step in closing the loop between awareness and action—turning the product itself into a branded, conversion-ready experience.
UX/UI UPDATES
—CREDITS
Copywriting: Jeff Perreca, Eric Arnold
Art Direction: Wolf Den, Matt Olivotti
Video Editing, Motion & Animation: Wolf Den, Makiko Fukaya, Benny Baruch, John Flores
Branding and Visual Identity: Louis Alvardo, Austin Alcala, Taylor Watson, Nilsa Puentes
Influencer and UGC Creators Campaigns: Noah Peters