Cars.com Brand Standards and Brand Style Glossary-Interactive PDF

7/28/2019 Cars.com Brand Standards and Brand Style Glossary-Interactive PDF

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Cars.com

Brand Standards


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1

2 Introduction

2 Using This Guide

3 What is a Brand?

4 Our Brand: Condence

5 Logo

5 Using the New Cars.com Logo

6 Logo and Tagline

7 Logo Spacing and Positioning

8 Logo Sie and Scale

9 Logo Color

10 Obtaining a Logo

(including eternal logo reuests)

11 Color

11 Cars.com Purple

12 Highlight Colors

13 Using the Color Palette

14 Fonts

14 Standard Typeface

15 Recommended Sies / Special Cases

16 Voice: Writing the Cars.com Way

18 Trademarks

19 Cars.com Family of Sites

19 Freebo

20 MotherProof

21 PickupTrucks.com

22 Collateral Guidelines

22 Representing our Brand

23 Personal Communications

23 Voicemail

24 EmailSignature

25 Email Signature / Out of Ofce Alerts

26 Appendi

27 Templates28 Marketing Contacts

29 Brand Style Glossary

Cs.c B Sts | Table of Contents

TaBle o ConTenTS


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2

How can I get a Cars.com logo? When do I use the Condence Comes Standard tagline? What templates

should I use when communicating? When do I use the Cars.comsymbol? Is that Power Position or Power Positions

or PowerPositions?

Using This Guide

This guide was created as a resource to help you understand the Cars.com brand and how it etends into

our style that is, how we present ourselves in words and pictures.

By using this guide and the standards provided within, you can answer nagging uestions like those

above and address aspects ofour brand that you may never have thought of. Whether youre developing

a product, writing to a customer or creating a presentation, you should use this guide to ensure that youre

strengthening our brand by communicating the right messages and consistently representing our product

names and marks.

This guide isnt intended to limit your creativity. Rather, it is here as a reference so you can communicate

creatively while still delivering our brand messages. Consult this resource until you have a rm grasp ofCars.com style. To simplify your work, weve also created a Cars.com Style Glossary of commonly used

terms for easy reference, as well as a number oftemplates for documents such as reports, memos and

presentations that make communicating the right brand messages easy.

A Note From Marketing

In some circumstances, the marketing or editorial

departments may deviate from standards outlined

here to communicate a specic message in print

and electronic marketing communications or within

editorial content. Employees throughout other areas

of the company should adhere to these guidelinesunless instructed otherwise by the marketing or

editorial teams.

A Note From Legal

The Cars.com Brand Standards and its contents

are for internal use and shouldnt be shared or

reproduced without written consent of the Cars.com

marketing department. Consult the resource section

at the back of this guide formarketing contact

information. All content is copyright 2009, Classied

Ventures LLC.

Updates and Additions

Because our business is always evolving, some

things in this guide may change. So make sure to

check for updates if youre referencing a guide that

is older than si months.

Questions and Corrections

Should you have uestions about how to use this

guide, feedback to improve future editions, additions

for future publication or corrections to eisting

content, contact [email protected].

Cs.c B Sts | Introduction

inTroduCTion
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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3

A product is made in a actory; a brand is made in the mind. Walter Landor

What is a brand?

A brand is more than a logo, an advertisement or a slogan. A brand is what we stand for in the minds

of our audience.

Our brand is the essence of who we are. As a service provider, our brand is one of our companys most

important assets because it represents the relationship we have with our advertisers and site visitors.

Our brand is the reason consumers immediately think Cars.com when they start their car-shopping

process. Its why dealers and manufacturers think Cars.com when theyre searching for an effective

advertising medium.

When we all live up to our brand, consumers and customers emotionally and visibly connect with us.

A strong brand even helps us do our jobs better. By living up to our brand, product development teams

create better solutions, sales teams sell and retain more customers, and customer service representatives

and account managers deliver a better eperience.

Building the Cars.com brand isnt just the role of the marketing department; delivering our brands

message is everyones responsibility. Every day, you play a major role in communicating to one

another and to our advertisers, site visitors, afliates, partners and vendors. As we grow as a company,

it becomes increasingly important that we present a united face to all stakeholders.

You can strengthen our brand simply by using a consistent look and voice to communicate consistent

messages, both internally and eternally. In brand-building, as in any relationship-building, consistency

builds credibility. And at Cars.com, credibility builds condence.


inTroduCTion


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4

The Cars.com Condence Comes Standard tagline is more than just a catchy phrase. Its a reerence to our brand

positioning around condence.

Our Brand: Condence

After etensive research into our consumer and trade audiences, we determined that condence

is a message that speaks to all our key targets. Because these audiences have different needs, however,

the meaning of condence is different for each. The meanings are outlined in this diagram.

What does it mean to consumers? What does it mean to dealers?

Brand Personality

Insightful

Credible

Friendly

Easy-to-understand

Brand Promise (How do we deliver condence?)

Because the right information fuels car-shopping

power, Cars.com provides credible and easy-

to-understand information from consumers and

eperts so car shoppers can formulate their own

opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how

much to pay for it.

Consumer Insight

Car shopping is stressful because its difcult to nd

credible information to make a condent decision.

Brand Promise (How do we deliver condence?)

Because we understand what car shoppers seek,

Cars.com is committed to helping dealers deliver

information to shoppers and make the most of new

technology and innovations.

Dealer Insight

Helping consumers nd the right vehicle can

be challenging in a continually shifting internet

marketplace where people access new information

in new ways.

Brand Personality

Results-oriented

Committed

Knowledgeable


inTroduCTion


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5

The Cars.com logo is one our most important assets. It represents the essence o our business and identies not

only our brand, but also the service we provide to consumers and dealers.

To prevent dilution of our identity and to ensure message consistency, its important to follow theseguidelines when using our logo.

Using the New Cars.com Logo

The Cars.com logo was rened and reintroduced

in 2008 for a more modern look and better

reproduction uality. When displayed in the full

four-color format, this new logo appears to have

three-dimensional glassy reections on the oval.

It also contains a trademark symbol in the lower

right corner.

If logos used in your materials are outdated,

please replace with the 2008 version.

Conduct an audit of tools and materials used or

produced by your team to ensure the appropriate

logo is being used. All outdated logo les should be

removed from your respective network folders and

your hard drive.

To reuest new logo les, see the Obtaining a

Logo section.

Old Logo:

New Logo:

Cs.c B Sts | Logo

logo

as s t cjct t t sb, c s st pt t f.


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Logo and Tagline

The Cars.com logo is available with and without the

Condence Comes Standard tagline. The taglineversion should be used in consumer- and dealer-

facing promotional communications.

However, there are cases where the standard

Cars.com logo i ai should be applied.

These include:

Most placements within the Cars.com website,

as consumers will already be interacting

with our brand and do not need the tagline

position reference

Placements on Cars.com tools and products,

including DealerCenter, DealerSites, etranet, etc.

Materials such as premiums or marketing collateral

where a tagline can not physically be incorporated

because of sie, space or visual clutter

Corporate communications stationery such as

letterhead, business cards, envelopes, return

address labels, etc.

Tagline Guidelines

The font used for the Condence Comes Standard

tagline was specially selected to pair with the logo

and is a graphic component of the logo le. When

using the logo with tagline, use only the locked-

up version provided by marketing.

If you are having sie or spacing concerns with

the tagline, contact [email protected].

Logowithout

tag:

Logo

with tag:

Cs.c B Sts | Logo

logo

as s t t sb, c s pt t f.

Confidence Comes Standard.

Do not type the tet

under the logo le in

another font

Do not use the tagline

typeface outside

logo lockup

Do not place the tagline

in an alternate position

with the logo

Do not separate

the tagline from

the logo lockup

Do not reproduce the logo

with tagline in sies under

two inches because tagline

becomes difcult to read


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7Cs.c B Sts | Logo

logo

Logo Spacing and Positioning

Give it Space

The Cars.com logo is a dominant visual andshouldnt be overwhelmed by other nearby

information. The height and width of the clear areas

surrounding the logo (called the area of isolation)

should never be less than 20 percent of the height

of the logo lockup.

Keep It Straight

The Cars.com logo should not be rotated or placed

at an angle.

Keep It Simple

The Cars.com logo should always stand alone; do

not incorporate it into a sentence or headline or pair

it with any other logo or graphic element. Do not

incorporate the Cars.com logo into a new graphic

or logo without consulting the marketing team rst.

If you have a special reuest, contact our graphicdesigner at [email protected].

Applying the Logo

When using the logo le, save it to your desktop

rst. If working with a Microsoft Ofce program,

insert by selecting Insert / Picture / From File.

Do not cut and paste or copy and paste, as both

these options can distort the logo.

Logo lockup area of isolation

20% of

and You!


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8

Logo Sie and Scale

Find the Right Sie

To prevent our logo from distortion, start with alogo thats as close to the reuired sie as possible

before scaling up or down.

To scale an image in MS Ofce, select the image,

then go to Format / Picture, then select the sie tab.

You can scale up or down, just make sure the lock

aspect ratio and relative to original picture sie

boes are checked.

The Cars.com logo should not be enlarged more

than 20 percent or reduced to more than

15 percent of its original sie. You can determine

the right sie by emailing our graphic designerat [email protected].

Scale, Dont Stretch

The logo should never be stretched, only scaled

up and down. Stretching, rearranging or skewing

the logo will distort the image and dilute the

distinctiveness of the graphic mark. By scaling (see

above section), you will make sure youre keeping

the original proportions of height and width.

Correctly rescaled logo

Incorrectly rescaled logo

Cs.c B Sts | Logo

logo


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9

Logo Color

The color of the Cars.com logo has been carefully calibrated and should not be altered. There are logos

created specically for video and computer screens (RGB formats) and print (CMYK or spot color). Use theright logo for your needs and do not convert artwork from one color mode to another.

On dark backgrounds, the logo artwork remains the same; only the tagline and are reversed from

black to white. For premium items, there is specic white artwork for use on dark backgrounds. For

uestions regarding logo color and translation to printing in various media, please contact our graphic

designer by emailing [email protected].

Cs.c B Sts | Logo

logo

Cars.com Logo for

Dark Backgrounds

Cars.com Logo for

Premium Items With

Dark Backgrounds

Cars.com Logo for

Light Backgrounds

Black and White

Cars.com Logo

Grayscale

Cars.com Logo


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Obtaining a Logo

On most occasions, you wont need to adjust or

even source a Cars.com logo because the logohas been incorporated into templates that can

be used for most business communications

(see Templates section).

In the chance that you do need to incorporate

a logo into what you are creating, please

contact our graphic designer by emailing

[email protected]. Please provide:

Your intended use for the logo, including the

audience it will appear in front of and details on

how it will be distributed

The medium in which you plan to use the logo(presentation, print, web, etc.)

Time by which you will need the logo

If known, the le format that you need (e.g., .jpg, .eps)

The approimate sie that you need (e.g., 2 inches

by 3 inches)

Please allow a complete business day for the

fulllment of all logo reuests.

Eternal Logo Requests

All reuests from business partners, vendors and

other third parties to use the Cars.com logo shouldbe cleared and approved by Cars.com marketing.

When making a reuest, please include the

following information:

Reason for the reuest

Contet in which the logo will be used

Mockup of materials it will be used in, if available

Details of the relationship, which will

help determine usage rights, such as

contract obligations

Send reuests to [email protected].

Using Partner Logos

Just as we strive to correctly represent the

Cars.com brand, similar care should be taken

to protect the brand assets of ourbusiness partners

and afliates. When using partner logos, be sure

to follow their respective brand standards. Note that

eternal approval is often reuired to use the logos

of eternal partners.

For information on the use of afliate logos,

contact [email protected]

For information on the use of distribution partner

logos, contact [email protected]

Cs.c B Sts | Logo

logo
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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11Cs.c B Sts | Color

Color

The Cars.com Purple has become synonymous with our name and should be used just as consistently

in our communications.

Besides the logo, the second most important element of the Cars.com brand identity is our color.This includes what we refer to as Cars.com Purple, as well as the palate of complementary colors that

communicate our credible, insightful and friendly brand personality.

Cars.com Purple

The ofcial Cars.com Purple is PMS 2685. This is used in the Cars.com logo and as a key design element

in marketing materials and site design. It can also be used in written communications to highlight key points

such as headlines.

Note that the color of the new Cars.com logos is correctly calibrated to Cars.com Purple. (Please refer to the

Logo Color section in this guide for more details.)

PMS 2685 R: 60

G: 20

B: 140

He code:

#41148C

C: 91

M: 100

Y: 0

K: 3

Cars.com Purple

Color Printing

Like many colors in the purple family, Cars.com Purple (PMS 2685) can be a difcult color to reproduce.

Therefore, please consult the marketing department for all printing needs that go beyond the color laserprinter in our ofce.


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Color

Highlight Colors

The following highlight colors complement Cars.com Purple and communicate our brands personality.

They are used throughout marketing materials as an accent to Cars.com Purple.

PMS 454 R: 210

G: 208

B: 181

He code:

#D2D0B5

C: 18

M: 12

Y: 12

K: 30

Tan Accent

PMS Warm

Gray 2

R: 215

G: 210

B: 203

He code:

#D7D2CB

C: 15

M: 13

Y: 17

K: 0

Warm Gray Accent

PMS 364 R: 65

G: 118

B: 48

He code:

#417630

C: 77

M: 24

Y: 100K: 19

Green Accent (best used on white background)

PMS 382 R: 190

G: 214

B: 0

He code:

#BED600

C: 27

M: 0

Y: 90

K: 0

Light Green Accent (best used on purple background)

PMS 123 R: 255

G: 195

B: 55

He code:

#FFC337

C: 0

M: 22

Y: 83

K: 0

Orange Accent


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Color

Using the Cars.com Color Palate

in MS Ofce

To make it easy for everyone to use the Cars.comcolor palate, and to ensure consistency, colors have

been built into our new Microsoft Ofce templates.

Please use the default colors established within

these templates as your guide. Here are a few

guidelines to keep in mind:

Tet MS Word

For most standard communication, your body

tet should be 100 percent black on a white

background. This ensures maimum readability.

Please follow this guide for email communications,letters, reports, memos, faes, etc.

Tet MS PowerPoint

When creating PowerPoint documents, your body

tet should also be 100 percent black, or one

of the calibrated shades in our PowerPoint

templates. The templates include a palate for charts

and graphics, based on the Cars.com color palate.

Headlines

Use color guidelines established within templates

as a guide for headline color. In most cases,

headlines should be black, but where purple

is called for, use the correct shade of Cars.com

Purple provided within the template (see adjacent

for instructions on how to calibrate this color).

Creating Cars.com Purple in MS Ofce

There may be times when you need toreproduce the Cars.com Purple within a

document or presentation template. While

Microsoft Ofce offers a range of ll and

font colors, be careful not to use Microsofts

default palate. Instead, customie your

colors to match Cars.com brand guidelines.

In Word

You can customie your colors by going to

Format / Font / Font Color / More Colors /

Custom. Type in red: 60, green: 20, blue: 140.

In PowerPoint

Customie your colors by going to Format /

Slide Design / Color Schemes / Edit Color

Schemes / Change Color. Type in red: 60,

green: 20, blue: 140.

Accent Colors in MS Ofce

To reproduce highlight colors from our

palate, follow the instructions above,

but use corresponding RGB numbers.


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Arial is the primary typeace or all Cars.com internal communications because its simple and straight-orward,

supporting our position o condence.

Standard Typeface

The Arial typeface is available as a standard system font for both Macs and PCs, making it accessible to

everyone. The standard typeface is also available in bold and italic.

Arial should be the primary font used in all Cars.com communications, including email and ofce documents

such as memos, letters, reports, proposals and PowerPoint presentations.

Cs.c B Sts | Fonts

onTS

Arial Regular:

abcdefghijklmnoprstuvwy

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPqRSTUVWxYz

1234567890

Arial Bold:

abcdefghiklmnopqrstuvwy

ABCDEFGHIjKLMNOPQRSTUVWxYz

1234567890

Aia Iai:

ai

AbcdefghIjklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890


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15Cs.c B Sts | Fonts

onTS

Recommended Sies

In Outlook emails and Word documents, use the

following guide for font sie. These font sies arepre-loaded into ourtemplates.

Headlines: 12 pt

Sub-headlines: 11 pt

Body copy: 10 pt

Headers: 8 pt

Footers: 8 pt

For other applications, such as PowerPoint, font

sie specications are provided within the specic

document templates.

Adding Emphasis

The standard Arial font is available in bold and italic

options; use these to add emphasis or interest to

your piece rather than an additional font. Using one

font keeps your communication clean and ensures

that your message comes across with clarity

and credibility.

Do not use ALL CAPS to add emphasis. Use of

ALL CAPS decreases readability and message

comprehension. Its often recognied as the written

euivalent to screaming, particularly in email.

Special Cases

Fonts Used in Marketing Materials

In addition to Arial, professionally designed

marketing materials may include other fonts to add

emphasis or differentiation, such as those used

in our logo and tagline. These fonts are typically

not available on or readable by most ofce

PCs and therefore should not be used by staff

outside of marketing without approval, outsideof graphic images.

Fonts Used on Websites

For maimum readability, fonts other than Arial are

also used on the Cars.com family of websites and

should not be used in other materials.


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17Cs.c B Sts | Voice

VoiCe

Simplicity

Complicated words hurt our writing by making us

seem stiff, difcult to understand and unfriendly.Simple, straightforward language eudes

condence and gives your ideas power.

A few tips to keep things simple:

Avoid wordiness, needless epressions and

vague modiers such as very or slightly.

Use short sentences; our eyes can skim two

or three short sentences faster and with more

accuracy than one long one.

Eliminate jargon; those words known only by

industry insiders (e.g. skyscraper).

Write in everyday language, not muddy or

pompous business-speak. Do you use paradigm

shift or nancial-results perspective when

talking with friends? Probably not. Use words that

normal people use, such as new way of thinking

or nancial results.

Other Writing Tips

Be Relevant

Before you write, think Who cares and why?Focus on what readers need and want. Too often

we may communicate just because we need to

get something out. Connect with your reader by

showing them why something is important.

Be Brief

People are pressed for time. Keep your message

brief and use bulleted lists, indentations, boldface

and italics to help your reader understand key points.

Use Contractions

Used in moderation, contractions can help your

writing seem friendly and more natural. Why use

will not when wont sounds more conversational?

Dont let the tone get in the way of the message

While tone is important, it should be secondary

to what youre trying to communicate. The brand

personality is best epressed in your headlines,

sub-heads and the introductory paragraph.

Use condence sparingly

We want to communicate condence in our writing,

but by peppering everything we write with that word,

we detract from its power in the tagline. Instead,

work the idea or spirit of condence into your

writing, and consider alternate words or phrases

that convey a similar meaning.

Eamples of Simplicity:

Say...

Discover, nd out

Try

Help, ease

Point out, show

Many

End

Use

Instead of saying...

Ascertain

Attempt

Facilitate

Indicate

Numerous

Terminate

Utilie

Examples of Condence:

Use...

Do your research on

Cars.com and youll

know youre making

the right car purchase.

Instead of...

Do your research on

Cars.com and youll be

condent in your net

car purchase.


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For our brand to have value in a legal sense, we must protect its trademark.

While trademark law can get complicated, here are a few simple rules of thumb to determine which symbol

you should use.

All our trademarks should be noted in superscripts

(e.g., or) at least once in a document or

presentation. This can be done in one of the

following ways:

1 Use an approved logo or template that includes

a trademark symbol such as or in the logo.

All approved and current logos include a

trademark symbol. Check to see if youre using

the most current logo.

2 If your presentation or document does not includea logo, you should use a trademark symbol

such as or with the rst mention of our

trademarked name. Check the list to the right.

To add a symbol into a Microsoft Ofce document,

use Insert / Symbol. Then superscript the symbol

by highlighting the symbol, right click / Font. Then

check superscript.

Applying for Trademarks

Product teams should consider trademark as a

check-step when developing and naming newproducts. Contact the Classied Ventures legal

team for assistance.

Our Trademarks

AppropriateSymbol

TM

TM

TM

TM

Brand

CarPriceSecrets.com

WhyPaySticker.com

Independent Ad Package

NewCars.com

Classied Ventures, LLC

Condence Comes Standard

CPC Logic

Freebo.com

MotherProof.com

PickupTrucks.com

Cs.c B Sts | Trademarks

TrademarkS


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As weve grown as a company, so have our network o sites and brand portolio.

The Cars.com family of sites has epanded to include Freebo.com, MotherProof.com and PickupTrucks.com.

While owned and managed by Cars.com, these are each free-standing sites with their own identity and brandguidelines. Each also has a uniue relationship to the Cars.com brand that is identied in our brand architecture.

Freebo

About Freebo

Launched in May 2008, Freebo.com is a free,

easy to use auto website that specialies in local

automotive listings for sale by owner.

Managed by the automotive eperts at Cars.com,

Freebo.com features photos, pricing information,

seller and buyer guides, and unbiased reviews thathelp both buyers and sellers. With Freebo.coms

built-in anti-fraud safeguards and updates

on the latest online scams, consumers can

buy or sell a used car with condence in a safe,

well-monitored environment.

The Freebo.com Logo

The Freebo.com logo (below) can be sourced by

contacting [email protected]. The same

Cars.com logo usage guidelines (pages 6-7) apply

to the Freebo.com logo.

Using Freebo.com in Tet

While the brand name is simply Freebo, use the dot

com name in all print references outside the logo to

drive awareness of the brand as a web destination.

Freebo.coms logo uses a lowercase f for style

reasons. Always capitalie in tet references.

Freebo.com Trademark

Freebo.com is a trademark of Cars.com. The

symbol is included in the Freebo.com logo. If not

using a logo on your page of work, include the

symbol with the rst reference, e.g., Freebo.com.

Cs.c B Sts | Cars.com Family of Sites

CarS.Com amily o SiTeS


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20

MotherProof.com

About MotherProof.com

MotherProof.com is a moms guide to life in the carthat offers opinions and practical information about

cars and car life, written from one savvy mom

to another.

MotherProof.com was born in 2004 when young

mother and entrepreneur Kristin Varela needed a

new car to meet the growing demands of her family

and found that a short test drive didnt deliver

mom-relevant information. While women purchase

52.5 percent of new cars and inuence 85 percent

of all car sales,* most automotive advice speaks to

men and automotive enthusiasts. Varela saw theneed to deliver automotive information to moms, an

important and under served niche. MotherProof.com

joined the Cars.com family in June 2007.

The MotherProof.com Logo

The MotherProof.com logo (left) can be sourced

by contacting [email protected]. When

appearing on the website, the logo does not

incorporate a .com etension. In all other uses

it should appear as MotherProof.com. The same


to the MotherProof.com logo.

The Cars.com graphic designer will provide

you with specic direction on logo reproduction

depending on your need and medium.

n: s mp. a ii

aa a ii iai.

Using MotherProof.com in Tet

In all tet references, MotherProof.com shouldalways be referred to in its complete form, with M

and P uppercase and the .com domain included,

NOT Mother Proof or MotherProof.

MotherProof.com Trademark

MotherProof.com is a trademark of Cars.com. Use

a MotherProof.com logo with a symbol. If not

using a logo, incorporate trademark into the rst

tet reference, e.g., MotherProof.com.



* Road and Travel Magaine


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21

PickupTrucks.com

About PickupTrucks.com

PickupTrucks.com is a site dedicated to the distinctneeds of pickup truck buyers and owners.

In addition to thousands of new- and used-truck

listings, PickupTrucks.com offers relevant information

and powerful tools to help truck buyers make

the right decision on what to buy, where to buy,

how much to pay and how to outt their vehicles.

The site features epert truck reviews, the latest

truck news, a pickup truck congurator, pricing

calculators, user-generated ratings and more.

PickupTrucks.com Logo

The PickupTrucks.com logo (below) can be sourced

by contacting [email protected]. The same


to the PickupTrucks.com logo.



Using PickupTrucks.com in Tet

In all tet references, PickupTrucks.com shouldalways be referred to in its complete form with P

and T uppercase and the .com domain included,

NOT Pickup Trucks or PickupTrucks.

PickupTrucks.com Trademark

PickupTrucks.com is a trademark of Cars.com.

The PickupTrucks.com logo includes a symbol.

If a logo is not included in your document,

include a symbol with the rst tet reference,

e.g., PickupTrucks.com.


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22Cs.c B Sts | Collateral Guidelines

CollaTeral guidelineS

We all play a role in representing the Cars.com brand and ensuring that our reputation and image are protected.

Representing Our Brand

The marketing team has developed a full suite of collateral to meet a wide range of needs. Whether you are

trying to reach consumers or marketing to local dealers in your area, chances are good we have the tools

to meet your needs. All marketing materials have been designed to comply with our brand standards and

accurately reect messages we want to consistently push in the marketplace. We ask that all employees

leverage these tools instead of creating custom collateral or websites.

Dealer Marketing Materials

Dealer marketing materials can be found on the

Cars.com etranet. For 175 W. Jackson employees,

printed materials can be found on the Cars.com

sales wall.

Also use DealerCenterto showcase Cars.com to

our dealer customers.

Afliate Marketing Materials

The Marketing Toolkit has been developed

as a comprehensive resource to assist our

afliate partners in their local marketing efforts.

Additional resources can also be found on the

Cars.com etranet.

Email Campaigns

All email campaigns should be managed by our

marketing department to ensure compliance

with CAN SPAM laws and to allow us to measure

campaign effectiveness with Salesforce.

Newsletters and other email distributions

should not be eecuted locally without approval

from marketing.

Custom Collateral and Websites

All materials that will be professionally

printed should be rst approved by

marketing to ensure the correct logo isbeing used for the respective print process.

If you have a need for custom collateral,

websites or marketing materials that

have not been addressed, please

contact the marketing department.

Check the References section for the

appropriate contact.

With the introduction of new Microsoft

Ofce templates, creation of designed

trade- or consumer-facing marketing or

communications collateral without theapproval of marketing is prohibited.


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23Cs.c B Sts | Personal Communications

PerSonal CommuniCaTionS

Your voicemail greeting says more than you may think. Ours should be brie, direct and riendly to refect the tone

o our brand.

Voicemail

Weve all heard the never-ending voicemail greeting that rambles on and on. Voicemail messages should

be professional yet personal, letting callers know that you are in the ofce but unavailable, or that you are

out of the ofce, as well as the date of your return and who they should contact in your absence.

Consider using one of the following formats:

Hello, this is at Cars.com

. Im either on the phone or

away from my desk, but leave me a message and

Ill get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.


. This is the week of

and I will be in the ofce all week.

Im not available to take your call right now, so leave

a message and Ill return your call. Thank you.


. I will be out of the ofce

from until . If you need

immediate assistance, please contact at, otherwise leave me a message Ill get

back to you when I return.


25/45



Email touches thousands o consumers, dealers and other key audiences every day. Because o its ubiquity, email is

a great way to extend our brand and demonstrate consistency.

Email Signature

All Cars.com employees should use the adacent

email signature and follow these guidelines:

Use proper capitaliation.

Cars.com should appear on its own line, double

spaced from name and title.

If you choose, you can use the Condence Comes

Standard tagline as part of your signature.

Be sure it includes the appropriate TM symbol.

Dont include graphics or logos these are often

distorted, not readable on mobile devices and

cause download delays.

To keep the spotlight on Cars.com, do not include

additional website or email addresses.

Use the mailing address that makes the most

sense; if you work from a satellite ofce, use that

address instead of the 175 W. Jackson address

included in the signature template. Remote sales

employees are encouraged to use a local mailing

address or to remove the address eld from the

signature line.

Do not include a toll-free sales number in your

address; all calls should be directed to your desk

phone or cell phone.

Do not include additional signoffs with the

signature, as they can uickly become dated and

can distract from key messages communicated in

the body of your email.

First name, Last name

Title

Cars.com175 W. Jackson Blvd, Suite 800

Chicago, IL 60604

P: 111.111.1111

C: 222.222.2222

F: 111.111.1111

Condence Comes Standard


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How to Use/Install Email Signatures

To install a Cars.com signature into Microsoft

Outlook 2007, follow these instructions:1. Open the ca. eai saa sia

Word document from the Resources/Templates

of the CV Intranet.

2. In Microsoft Outlook, go to Tools | Options |

Mail Format.

3. Click Signatures. This opens the Signatures

and Stationary dialogue bo.

4. Click New.

5. Enter a name or title for the signature,

such as Cars.com Corporate Standardor My Cars.com Signature.

6. Click OK.

7. Highlight the default signature in the Cars.com

Email Standard Signature Word document.

Right-click on your mouse and select Copy.

8. Go back to the Signatures and Stationary

window in Microsoft Outlook. Place your cursor

into the tet bo, right-click on your mouse and

select Paste.

9. Edit the signature with your personal information

(name, phone number, etc).

10. In the Choose default signature section of

the dialog bo, select this signature so that it

appears in new messages and replies/forwards.

11. Click OK | OK.

Your new email signature is now installed.

Out of Ofce Alerts

Out of ofce alerts should be concise and accurate,

letting people know you are unavailable to checkyour email. The response should indicate:

The day/days that you are unavailable

The date of your return

Who people should contact in your absence,

including an email address and phone number for

the alternate contact person

The same signature signoff that you use in your

outgoing emails

No other additional information is necessary.


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26

Appendix


28/45


29/45

28

aPPendix

Cs.c B Sts | Appendix

Marketing Contacts

Contact the Cars.com marketing team for any

uestions about content in this guide. Pleasealso use this list to secure necessary approvals

on any consumer- or trade-facing sales or

marketing materials.

Afliate Marketing

Afliate marketing needs, requests or suggestions

[email protected]

Brand Communication Standards

qi a i i i i i i/a ii

[email protected]

Graphic Design

Graphic requests, logo requests

[email protected]

Manufacturer (OEM) Marketing

Aa a-aa i

ca. i aii a i

[email protected]

Media and Public Relations

Media inquiries, partner press release/case studyrequests, approvals

[email protected]

Premiums and Trade Shows

Cars.com gear, premiums, signage and sales

a

[email protected]

Special Events

da

[email protected]

Trade Marketing

Aa a-ai aia a a

i ca.

[email protected]

a nt et appvs

Sometimes you may need eternal approval from a partner before releasing a document

or presentation. Cars.coms style may not be the same as the partners style. In these cases,

use your judgment to balance efcient workow with guidelines outlined here.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


30/45

29Cs.c B Sts | Appendix: Brand Style Glossary

aPPendix: Brand STyle gloSSary

In writing, style is the way words and sentences are arranged how we say or phrase certain things.

Unlike the hard-and-ast rules o grammar and punctuation, style is more subjective. Do you click a hot link

or a hotlink? Do you nd a car on the Internet or the internet? Do you need to send an email,

an E-mail or an e-mail? These are all questions o style.

Brand Style Glossary

To maintain consistency, Cars.com has established its own style rules that should be adhered to for written

communications. These rules are a reference tool for use in producing or revising content for the Cars.com

site or other company-related materials, including your own documents and presentations. The Cars.com

in-house style is based on a combination of style standards and guidelines set forth in The Associated Press

Stylebook and Wired Style.

The full Cars.com Editorial Style Guide is posted in the tools and standards section of the etranet. The

following is an abbreviated glossary of key terms that are especially relevant for Cars.com business writing.

Table of Contents

30 Cars.com Website and Business Operations

30 Advertising Product Terminology

34 Consumer Site Terminology

37 Classied Ventures and Its Verticals

38 Classied Ventures Tools and Ressources

38 Classied Ventures Parent Companies

38 Afliate Partners

39 Other Partners

39 Internal Tools and Resources

40 Internet Terminology

41 Manufacturers

41 Automotive Terminology

42 Grammar, Punctuation and Formatting

43 Word Choice The Cars.com Way
http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-


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30

Cars.com Websites and

Business Operations

The following terms represent the coreCars.com brand names, our family of sites and

our remote ofces.

When referencing our various website brands,

they should be referred to as the Cars.com family

of sites. See The Cars.com Family of Sites,

for more details.

Cars.com

We recently made a move to capitalie the

Cars.com brand name to give it more prominence

and visibility in written tet. Always capitalie ourbrand name unless it appears in a URL address

or within the Cars.com logo. The possessive form

is Cars.coms. Always include the symbol on rst

reference if not using a logo on the same document.

CPC Logic

A Cars.com-afliated search engine specialty

group. Include the symbol in rst reference

if not using a logo with trademark symbol on the

same document.

Freebo.com

A Cars.com website offering free listings for

private-party car sellers; capitalied when used

outside of the logo and include the symbol in

rst reference if not using a logo on the same

document. See The Cars.com Family of Sites,

for more details.

MotherProof.com

A Cars.com website aimed at mothers. The ofcialbrand name includes .com and should be used

in all tet references accordingly. All one word,

capitalie M and P, include the symbol on

rst reference if not using a logo on the same

document. See The Cars.com Family of Sites,

for more details.

PickupTrucks.com

A Cars.com website dedicated to delivering

information to pickup truck owners and buyers.

Formerly PickupTruck.com, the ofcial brand nameis now plural. The plural name, PickupTrucks.com,

should be used in all written communication.

All one word, capitalie P and T and include

the symbol on rst reference if not using a logo

on the same document. See The Cars.com Family

of Sites, for more details.

Cars.com Santa Monica

Cars.coms Santa Monica ofce specialies in

search engine marketing and management of

Cars.coms search-engine based lead-generationefforts. The ofce is an etension of our

Chicago-based operation, not a separate entity

or division. This ofce should no longer be

referred to as NewCars.com, which was its name

prior to acuisition in 2005. The ofce manages

NewLeadsPlus lead-generating websites,

including NewCars.com, WhyPaySticker.com

and CarPriceSecrets.com.

Advertising Product

Terminology Guidelines

The following terms represent our advertising

solutions and other key words used in reference

to our advertising product suite. These terms

are key brand assets that should be used and

communicated consistently in all channels. Whether

its in labeling a product on the website or in reports,

referencing products in a proposal or simply

providing an internal update, care should be taken

to use our ad product terminology accurately.

Keep in mind the following guidelines:

Proper Names

All proper nouns should be capitalied. Keep in

mind not all product terminology is proper nouns.

Cs.c B Sts | Appendix: Brand Style Glossary



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31

Advertising Product Guidelines (Cont.)

United Names

Many of Cars.coms product names are comprisedof multiple words brought together as one (e.g.,

NewLeadsPlus). Be careful to note which products

this applies to and accurately reect the name in all

tet references. Also be sure to note capitaliation

standards for these products.

Plural Product Names

Many of our product names are plural in form,

including PowerPositions, DealerSites,

DealerSpecials and MultiPhotos. Following

standard grammar, an object with a formal namethat ends in an s remains singular. Therefore,

the corresponding verbs would also be singular.

Eamples:

PowerPositions provides etra branding

for your dealership on Cars.com.

MultiPhotos helps to sell cars faster

by giving consumers visual information.

Abbreviations

To protect our product name assets, product nameabbreviations should only be used in nancial

reporting and sales reporting where room does not

allow for the full product name. Customer-facing

materials should always include the complete

product name.

Solutions vs. Products

Cars.coms advertising offering is more than a series

of products and tools. We provide a comprehensive

online advertising solution. Use words such as

solution, suite and offering in place of productsand tools to better reect the value, breadth and

depth of the Cars.com advertising offering.

Advertising Product Terminology

batch taglines

A vehicle listing tag that dealers use to customieand brand listings as their own; not a proper noun,

do not capitalie.

CarsStars

A value-add Cars.com report that shows dealers

which vehicles are in high demand and short

supply in their market; proper noun, one word,

capitalie the C in Cars and the S in Stars.

See Online Ad Reports.

certied-vehicle advertising program

This is a descriptive term referring to the Cars.com

advertising program that highlights manufacturer-

certied inventory in dealer listings; not a proper

noun, do not capitalie.

Do not use certied used vehicle or certied

pre-owned when referencing programs in a

general, descriptive manner, as these terms

are often used differently by manufacturers and

are not interchangeable.

Use the complete program names in place

of the abbreviation CPO.

Each manufacturer has a branded certied

program; use this capitalied, proper name

when referring to a specic manufacturers

program (e.g., Volkswagens Certied

Pre-Loved, GMs Certied Used Vehicles,

Fords Certied Pre-Owned).

Certied Showroom

A feature of our manufacturer-sponsored certied-

vehicle advertising program that gives etraprominence to the certied inventory of dealers who

advertise on Cars.com; proper noun, two words.

co-op advertising program

General term for dealer advertising that is eligible

for manufacturer reimbursement; not a proper

noun. In tet, refer to it as a co-op advertising

program, lowercase.




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33

Advertising Product Terminology (Cont.)

NewCarSpecials

A Cars.com advertising solution that highlights andpromotes a dealers new-car inventory; proper noun,

one word, capitalie the N in New, the C in Car

and the S in Specials. See UsedCarSpecials.

NewLeadsPlus

Cars.coms new-car lead offering; proper noun, one

word, capitalie the N in New, the L in Leads

and the P in Plus. NewLeadsPlus is a stand-alone

advertising solution, not a separate business unit.

The acronym NLP should not be used outside

sales or nancial reporting.

New-vehicle inventory

Terminology used to describe new vehicles within

the Cars.com listings; NOT NewVehicleInventory

or newvehicleinventory.

The acronym NVI should not be used outside


Online Ad Package: Cars.coms primary advertising

solution aimed at franchise dealers; proper noun,three words. NOT OnlineAdPackage.

The acronym OAP should not be used outside


Online Ad Reports: Cars.coms online reporting

tool that allows dealers to measure results and get

data about their market; proper noun, three words.

All report names are separate, capitalied

words, with the eception of the CarsStars

report, which is written as one word.

Other report names include the Inventory

Summary Report, Lead Summary Report, Sold

Vehicle Report and Vehicle Detail Summary.

PowerPositions

Targeted banner ads that dealers run in vehicle

listings; one word, capitalie the P in Power

and the P in Positions. This product can be

applied to both new and used cars.

Advertisements referring specically to new

or used cars should be referred to as new-carPowerPositions or used-car PowerPositions.

Since new-car is a general descriptor for the

proper product name PowerPositions, new-car

and used-car should not be capitalied.

Note that a hyphen is included in new-car

and used-car because these are serving

as compound modiers describing the

PowerPositions product.

Secure Credit Application

A Cars.com Ad Package enhancement that drives

leads to dealers from consumers who are interested

in nancing at the dealership; proper noun, three

words. NOT SecureCreditApplication.

sellers notes

The advertising copy dealers can include with

listings to tell a story about each vehicle in their

inventory; not a proper noun, do not capitalie.

When referred to in general terms or when

discussing the practice of updating sellers notes,this can also be referred to as sell copy.

The term sellers notes is specic to Cars.com.

Used-car PowerPositions

See PowerPositions.

UsedCarSpecials

A Cars.com advertising solution that highlights and

promotes a dealers used-car inventory; proper

noun, one word, capitalie the U in Used, theC in Car and the S in Specials. The products

former name, DealerSpecials, is no longer in use.

See DealerSpecials and NewCarSpecials.

VideoShowcase

Inventory-level video solution offered to dealers:

proper noun, one word, capitalie the V in Video

and the S in Showcase.




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34

Consumer Site Guidelines

The following terms relate to tools and content

found on our consumer website. When using thisterminology, keep the following in mind:

Proper product names

Many of these terms are proper names in that

they are used as consumer-facing labels for tools

on our site. However, many can also be used in

a general descriptive manner to describe tools

in the category. Note if you are making a general

reference to functionality or if you are referencing

a specic Cars.com tool to determine if you should

use the term as a proper noun. When referencingCars.com tools, always use the proper noun.

Internal naming conventions

For ease of internal communications, names have

been given to various tools and functions on the site

that are not consumer-facing terms. Care should

to be taken to only use such terms internally,

e.g. trailhead.

Abbreviations

To protect our product name assets, product name

abbreviations should only be used in nancial

reporting and sales reporting where room does not

allow for the full product name. Customer-facing

materials should always include the complete

product name.

Consumer Site Terminology

360 Interior Views

Interior views of cars offered on the Cars.comwebsite; proper noun, capitalied.

Affordability Calculator

A Cars.com nancial calculator; NOT

AffordabilityCalculator. Proper noun, capitalied.

Ask.cars.com

This is Cars.coms consumer uestion-and-answer

website. It should be written as Ask.cars.com.

Auto Loan Calculator

A Cars.com nancial calculator; three words, proper

noun, capitalied.

Best Bets

An editorial designation for the vehicles in each car

class that our editorial staff recommends; proper

noun, capitalied.

Best Resale Value

A list of vehicles with the best resale value;

it can be found in the Cars.com Advice section,

sourced from Automotive Leasing Guide; proper

noun, capitalied.

Buying Guides

Cars.coms listings of all new cars on the market,

broken down by segment.

When noting a specic Buying Guide, note

year and type of guide, e.g., 2008 LuuryVehicle Buying Guide or 2007 Passenger

Car Buying Guide.

Cars.com New Car of the Year

This award is presented to the best overall new

or redesigned model of that respective model year.

There is one winner per model year; proper

noun, capitalied.

Cars.com Lifestyle Awards

Annual awards chosen by Cars.coms epert

reviewers and editors; proper noun, capitalied.

In addition to awards in the following categories,

each category includes a best deal selection that

recognies the best vehicle with a more cost-

conscious price tag. An editors choice distinction

applies to vehicles that were considered for an

award but not selected as the winner.




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36

Consumer Site Terminology (Cont.)

Criteria search

An internal name for the Cars.com VehicleRecommender, which allows users to select specic

criteria in their search for cars; do not use refer to

consumer-facing tool name.

Core research product

An internal name for Cars.coms vehicle-specic

research pages.

Do not use acronym CRP.

dealer directoryAn area on Cars.com in which consumers can

search for dealers rather than vehicles; appears as

Car Dealers in Your Area on the site. Lowercase.

Driver Reviews

Reviews written by Cars.com site users, also

referred to as Consumer Reviews.

Epert Reviews

Reviews written by Cars.coms editorial staff,proper noun, capitalied.

home page

The main landing page of the Cars.com website.

NOT homepage. Lowercase.

Insurance Marketplace

Tool that allows consumers to get multiple uotes

from insurance companies; proper noun, capitalied.

Kelley Blue Book Prices

Values on used vehicles provided by Kelley Blue

Book, also referred to as Kelley Blue Book Values.

Kelley Blue Book Values

Values on used vehicles provided by Kelley Blue

Book, also referred to as Kelley Blue Book Prices.

KickingTires

Cars.coms blog for car shoppers; proper noun, one

word, capitalie K in Kicking and T in Tires.

When referring to the URL, write kickingtires.net

Lifestyle New-Car Buying Guide

A Cars.com consumer research resource that

allows consumers to search for a particular vehicle

by lifestyle designation; proper noun, capitalied.

Note use of hyphen.

Loan vs. Lease Calculator

A Cars.com nancial calculator; proper

noun, capitalied.

Model Year Preview

Portion of Cars.com Buying Guides that outlines

newly introduced and redesigned vehicles for the

upcoming model year; proper noun, capitalied.

new-vehicle inventory

Term used to describe new vehicles within the

Cars.com listings; NOT NewVehicleInventory.

The acronym NVI should not be used outsidesales or nancial reporting.

New-Car Congurator

Tool on Cars.com that allows consumers to build

a new car and reuest a uote from local dealers;

proper noun, capitalied.

Photo Compare

Tool on Cars.com that allows users to compare

side-by-side photos of two vehicles from a variety

of angles; proper noun, capitalied.

Photo Galleries

Collections of photos associated with each vehicle;

proper noun, capitalied.

SAFE Blog

See Scams and Fraud Eposed Blog.




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37

Consumer Site Terminology (Cont.)

Scams and Fraud Eposed Blog

A Cars.com blog that provides tips to protect carbuyers and sellers from scams; spell out on rst

reference and use SAFE Blog for subseuent

references; write http://blogs.cars.com/safe when

referring to the URL.

Sell It Yourself

Product that allows individual sellers to list cars

for sale on Cars.com; proper noun, three words,

capitalied. NOT Sell-It-Yourself.

Sellers Guide

Consumer-facing document and downloadable

PDF that offers information to individuals selling a

car through Sell It Yourself and Freebo.com; proper

noun, capitalied.

Side-by-Side Compare

Tool that allows consumers to compare up to four

different vehicles; proper noun, capitalied. Note

hyphenation. See Compare.

side-by-side comparison

Do not use; use Side-by-Side Compare when referring

to the website tool. If used to describe a consumer

action, it is not a proper noun; e.g., She created a side-

by-side comparison of the cars she was considering

using Side-by-Side Compare on Cars.com.

Smart Target Price

A consumer product that gives shoppers a price

they can realistically epect to pay for any given

vehicle; three words, capitalied.

Top 10s

Collection of various automotive top 10 lists that

resides in the Advice section of Cars.com; proper

noun, capitalied.

trailhead

Internal term for Cars.com page that offers users a

choice between live inventory or New-Car Congurator.

Video Galleries

A collection of Cars.com videos available on

Cars.com; proper noun, capitalied.

Classied Ventures and Its Verticals

The following terms relate to CV and its verticals.

Just as we do with the Cars.com brand, we should

accurately represent the Classied Ventures brand

and our sister verticals.

Classied Ventures, LLC

Note comma preceding LLC, spell out Classied

Ventures on rst reference. CV is acceptable

on following references, include symbol on rsttet reference.

Classied Ventures business verticals include

Cars.com, Apartments.com (including

RentalHomesPlus) and CV Real Estate (including

HomeGain and Homescape). Reference these units

as shown in the chart below:



When referring to

the business entity:

Apartments.com

Cars.com

HomeGain

Homescape

RentalHomesPlus

Trademark symbol on

the rst text reference:*

TM

TM

TM

When referring

to the website:

Apartments.com

Cars.com

HomeGain.com

Homescape.com

RentalHomesPlus.com

* Trademark use in rst tet reference is reuired only in cases where a logo using the appropriate trademark designation is not used.


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40

Internal Tools and Resources (Cont.)

Cars.com etranet

Secure online resource with tools to help salesstaff reach prospects and upsell current customers;

can be referred to as etranet after rst

reference. When using the URL, write out as

http://etranet.cars.com.

Cars.com Weekly

Cars.coms weekly email newsletter for the afliate

network sales staff that offers updates on Cars.com

and relevant industry news.

Cars University

Cars.coms training program that educates new

hires and seasoned sales representatives.

DirectConnect

Cars.coms weekly direct sales team email

newsletter providing news and information relevant

to the direct sales team, including a summary of

the most recent O&O Revenue Report; one word,

capitalie D in Direct and C in Connect.

CarsUniversity.com

Cars.coms e-learning site that educates new hires

and seasoned sales representatives.

etranet

Use only on second reference; Cars.com

etranet on rst reference; lowercase. See

Cars.com etranet.

O&O Revenue Report

A month-to-date report on the direct sales teams

performance. A name change to Direct Revenue

Report is scheduled in 2009.

Salesforce

A web-based customer-relationship management

tool for sales teams to manage and track sales

efforts; if referring to URL, write salesforce.com.

Sparks & Misres

An internal Cars.com suggestion site for

consumer-facing products; note ampersand,

two words, capitalied. If referring to URL, usehttp://proddev.cars.com/suggest/.

xTools

A suite of database tools used in computer

programming; NOT Tools.

Internet Terminology

When it comes to internet language, there are

many conicting styles. Cars.com has its ownuniue style for these terms, based mostly on Wired

Style. Please reference the following key terms for

guidance on capitaliation and hyphenation.

email: No hyphen

enewsletter: No hyphen**

etranet: Unless it begins a sentence, etranet

is lowercase

home page: NOT homepage

hot link (n.), but hotlink (v.): e.g., There is a hotlink on the Cars.com home page. Please hotlink to

the listing.

internet: Unless it begins a sentence, internet

is lowercase.

keyword: NOT key word

online: NOT on line

URL addresses: When referring to websites,

eliminate the www before the URL. Eample:

dealers.cars.com or Cars.com. Include http:// in

the address when not part of the World Wide Web(www). Eample: http://etranet.cars.com.

web: lowercase unless part of a formal name

(e.g., World Wide Web)

website: lowercase and one word; NOT web site

or Website



**Note: this is a variation from what is used on the Cars.com website. Use the style listed in this guide for non-website communications.


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41

Manufacturers

Manufacturers are our key customers and care

should be taken to accurately represent theirbrands. By using these brands inaccurately,

we lose credibility as automotive eperts.

The following represent those brands that present

special considerations.

GM

General Motors Corp., acceptable to use GM on

rst reference.

OEM

Original euipment manufacturer; replace with

manufacturer, automaker or automotive

manufacturer in all instances.

Toyota

Full company name is Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.

but Toyota is acceptable to use on rst reference.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen of America Inc., a subsidiary of

the German company Volkswagen A.G.; useVolkswagen on rst reference, VW acceptable on

following references. NOT Volkswagon.

Frequently Used Automotive Terminology

Many automotive terms are freuently referenced

on Cars.com. We have developed a specic style

to ensure consistency in using this terminology.

A complete guide can be found in the Cars.com

Style Guide. The following terms are those most

freuently used in communications beyond the

website and represent those that are freuently

used incorrectly and reuire special attention:

drivers side (n.), but driver-side (adj.)

e.g., A power-adjustable feature is available on the

drivers side. The driver-side airbag is mounted in

the steering wheel.

horsepower

Spell out on rst reference, use hp on

following references.

manufacturers suggested retail price

Spell out on rst reference, dont capitalie

unless using abbreviation, use MSRP on

following references.

new car (n.), but new-car (adj.)

e.g., New cars depreciate uickly. New-car buyers

should research nancing offers and cash-back

incentives before visiting a dealer.

OEM

Original euipment manufacturer; replace with

manufacturer, auto maker or automotive

manufacturer in all instances.

private party (n.), but private-party (adj.)

e.g., Cars.com has seen a decline in private-party

listings. Many cars sold by a private party are

advertised online.

used car (n.), but used-car (adj.)

e.g., Used cars dont lose their value as uickly as

new cars. Used-car buyers cant be too picky about

colors and features.

YMM

An acronym referring to year, make and model;

spell out year, make and model in all instances

or consider replacing with vehicle in

non-specic instances.

zero-percent nancing

NOT ero% nancing or 0 percent nancing




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42

Grammar, Punctuation and Formatting

The following guidelines outline Cars.com style

for key areas of grammar, punctuation andformatting where we currently lack consistency.

These guidelines should be followed in all written

communications:

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Unless otherwise specied in this guide, always

spell out a name on rst reference. Acronyms

are acceptable after rst reference if it is a

commonly known acronym, such as the name

of an association. Never use acronyms for Cars.

com brand and product names or for other internalterminology that is not readily understood outside

our business.

And / &

Use and rather than the ampersand

sign (&) unless & is part of a formal name,

such as AT&T.

Bullet Points

True bullet points are phrases, not sentences. If

your bullet is not a sentence, do not use a period.

Eample:

DealerADvantage LIVE is a webinar featuring:

Tips and techniues to get the most out of your

online advertising

Advice from epert trainers at Cars.com

Real eamples from the best dealers in

the industry

However, if your bullet is a sentence or a series of

sentences, do use a period(s).

Captions

In general, keep photo captions to no more than

two concise sentences. In Word documents, place

in 8-point Arial font.

Cars.com address

Cars.coms Chicago headuarters address is

written as:

175 W. Jackson Blvd, Suite 800

Chicago, IL 60604

Citations

When citing material in a presentation or document,

follow the Chicago Manual of Style footnote format.

Eample: 1Author name, Article Title if Applicable.

piai s ti, Month Day, Year, page.

Departments

Lowercase all department names. Eample: Usethe marketing department, NOT the Marketing

Department or the Marketing department.

Headlines

Cars.com follows Associated Press style

on headline writing. All principal words in a

headline are capitalied. Articles, prepositions

and conjunctions of three letters or fewer are

lowercased. Do not include periods in headlines.

Phone numbers

Use periods in between numbers**. For U.S.

telephone numbers, use the three-digit area

code and seven-digit phone number only. Do not

precede the number with a 1. Eample: Use

312.601.5000 NOT (312) 601-5000.

Titles

Capitalie and spell out formal job titles when

used before an individuals name; lowercase and

spell out in other instances. Eample: Use SalesManager Mike Barnes presented to the group

or Mike Barnes, sales manager at Cars.com,

presented to the group.



**Note: this is a variation from what is used on the Cars.com website. Use the style listed in this guide for non-website communications.


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Word Choice The Cars.com Way

advertiser

Any company or organiation that purchasesadvertising on Cars.com is an advertiser. To be

generic, use advertiser. To be specic, use dealer

association, dealer, manufacturer or private

party, but make sure youre being accurate

(e.g., do not use dealer when you are referring

to all advertisers).

dealer

When referring generally to those who purchase

advertising through Cars.com, use advertiser

because not all advertisers are dealers.See advertiser.

direct sales team

NOT O&O sales team.

O&O

Owned and operated, has referred to direct sales

team in the past, see direct sales team.

sales representative

When referred to generally, sales staff are

referred to as representatives, NOT associates

or eecutives.

Communicating Growth

When communicating growth, use percentages

rather than hard numbers. Percentages provide

contet, making it easier for readers to nd

signicance in the numbers. Use of percentages

instead of raw numbers also allow us to keep our

nancial specics condential.

Visitors, Consumers, Shoppers or Buyers?

We refer to and read these terms every day, and

while they may be intuitive to you, its important

to refer to the right term so we convey the rightmeaning. We want to eplain our site as one that

moves people to action, so when communicating

with advertisers, language choice plays a key

role in shaping perceptions about the uality

of our audience.

Users and visitors are technical terms, often

used when reporting hits or uniue visits to our

site. They do not communicate action and dont

inherently refer to in-market car shoppers. These

should be used when communicating site trafc

numbers, as they are standard terminology forsuch communications.

Consumers are the end users of a product. In our

case, consumers are the people who search our

site for vehicles. The term is more specic than

users and visitors, but still not very personal and

does not communicate readiness to buy. This can

be used when describing our general audience in

materials to a non-advertising audience and when

eplaining general shopping behaviors.

Shoppers are people, ones who are actively

shopping for a new or used vehicle. This termcommunicates action because shoppers are in the

information-gathering stage of the buying process.

The word actively conveys that our visitors are

in-market and should be used to describe our site

audience to advertisers.

Buyers are also people theyve actively

narrowed their purchase decision and are

approaching a dealer to make a purchase. This

should be used when referring to lead-senders

and past site visitors. A buyer is the highest-uality

form of trafc. The term should be used freuently

to describe our audience to advertisers.




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Cars.com Brand Standards and Brand Style Glossary-Interactive PDF

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