NADA – Modernizing Auto Dealership Engagement through Digital Innovation

The Netty Awards, celebrating the brightest innovations in the digital world, has its spotlight this year on the striking transformation of the National Automobile Dealers Association’s (NADA) website. This ambitious and complex project was driven by NADA’s desire to increase its impact, retain its members, and attract new ones, making it a worthy contender for a Netty Award. Aided by Tombras, a leading full-service independent advertising agency, NADA successfully reimagined its online presence, evolving from a traditional information portal to a vibrant, engaging digital ecosystem. This revamp amplifies NADA’s authority in the automobile industry and stimulates member engagement, setting a new benchmark for digital transformations in the industry.

Innovation and Differentiation

In an era where digital presence significantly influences an organization’s success, the comprehensive redesign of the NADA website exemplifies innovation at its finest. The meticulous discovery process that guided this transformation involved more than 12 groups of stakeholder interviews across NADA’s internal departments. This in-depth approach allowed a thorough understanding of the organization’s mission, objectives, and the unique needs of its departments and audiences. The redesigned architecture and the new sitemap enhance user experience, while the restructured site taxonomy organizes and connects content by topic, improving content visibility and boosting internal linking throughout the site.

Measurable Impact and Success

The success of this massive project is evident in its impressive metrics. Since the launch of the new NADA.org, page view traffic skyrocketed by 46 percent, while unique users surged by 26 percent compared to the same time period the previous year. This increase in traffic was primarily attributed to the redesign of the NADA Headlines, SEO improvements, and enhanced digital marketing for the NADA Show. Additionally, Education Resources and Policy Issue pages observed significant audience growth and increased time spent on the site.

Creative Elements and Execution

The seamless execution of the website redesign involved over five months of intensive design mockups, sprints, and client reviews. Tombras’ digital designers collaborated closely with content and UX teams to infuse modernity and practicality into the site, resulting in a robust design system with over 30 unique components. This unifies all departments under one design language yet allows enough flexibility to reflect their individual branding.

Overall Excellence and Industry Advancement

The unveiling of the new NADA.org website represents a significant stride in the evolution of the automobile industry’s digital space. By creating a user-centered, intuitive platform that marries form with function, NADA has elevated the standard for industry websites. It demonstrates that a commitment to innovation, user experience, and modern design can transform the way organizations serve their members and the broader industry.

The Netty Award Nomination

Being nominated for a Netty Award is a highly respected acknowledgment, conferred to those who make substantial strides in the digital realm. The comprehensive redesign of NADA’s website is a vibrant illustration of achieving this through creativity, innovation, and strategic application of user-focused design and content management. 

The nomination is a validation of the intense work, vision, and collaborative partnership between NADA and Tombras. Collectively, they have revolutionized a digital space that not only engages with audiences but also fortifies NADA’s industry authority and drives member involvement. This nomination recognizes the significance of modernizing digital platforms in order to better serve users, as well as the profound influence of strategic design and content organization in our continuously evolving digital landscape.

Congratulations to the National Automobile Dealers Association and Tombras on their Netty Awards nomination. We eagerly anticipate witnessing more of their inventive contributions to the digital world.

About National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)

Founded in 1917, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has long been a cornerstone of support for over 16,000 new-car and truck franchises. From advocacy, training, and education, to research, networking, and the organization of the annual NADA Show that attracts nearly 25,000 attendees each year, NADA consistently empowers auto and truck franchise dealers. As the organization looks toward the future, the redesigned website represents NADA’s commitment to modernization and member engagement.

About Tombras

Tombras, a leading full-service independent advertising agency, combines the digital mindset with innovative approaches. As a 400+ person agency, Tombras has been recognized as one of the top independent agencies in North America, united by the philosophy of Connecting Data & Creativity for Business Results®.

This agency boasts a multitude of accolades, including being listed among the Fastest Growing Global Agencies by ADWEEK 2020, Ad Age A-List Agencies to Watch 2019, and the #3 Most Effective Independent Agency in North America by the 2018 Effie Index. In 2018, Fast Company also recognized Tombras as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies, and in 2017, Forbes named them in their Marketing Success Story of the Year.

Tombras’ impressive portfolio includes clients like Orangetheory Fitness, MoonPie, BUSH’s Beans, Pernod Ricard, Big Lots, Mozilla Firefox, Samsung, Zaxby’s, and ESPN. Their partnership with NADA to transform its website into a dynamic, engaging platform further emphasizes their creativity and dedication to delivering outstanding business results.