Why CarMax is switching up its messaging but sticking with sports

In the basketball marketing world, CarMax is something of a fixture. It’s been an official sponsor of the NBA and WNBA for half a decade, and has for years used superstars from both leagues, like Stephen Curry and Sue Bird, in its ads, some of which have gone viral.

In the past year, the used-car retailer has made some changes to its creative approach and brand platform, according to CMO Sarah Lane, but one thing has remained the same: CarMax is sticking with basketball stars.

“Basketball just continues to be a place that’s important to culture,” Lane told Marketing Brew. “It’s young, it’s modern, it’s where culture starts, and aligning the brand next to that helps us to look and feel more modern and connected to culture.”

CarMax’s latest campaign, “Wanna Drive?”, is fronted by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell and Dallas Wings guard and WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers, and is meant to convey a new message about the brand while also nodding to its basketball history, Lane said.

New driver

“Wanna Drive?” is a new tagline and overall brand platform for CarMax, according to Lane. Her team started working with a new creative agency, 72andSunny, in the past year, and requested campaign ideas that would make car buyers feel empowered during the process while highlighting CarMax’s omnichannel options, which include home deliveries and online appraisals. The 72andSunny team pitched several ideas, and the simple, two-word question immediately stuck, Lane said.

“As soon as we saw it, it just lit a little spark in us,” she said. “It’s an invitation. It’s playful. It’s got a play on words…and it has a lot of legs and utility to it that I think we’re excited to be able to evolve for years to come.”

To accompany the new tagline, Lane said she was looking for a pair of players with “style and swagger” who could “carry that confidence and clarity that we want the customers to be feeling.” She also said she wanted someone from both the NBA and the WNBA this time around. CarMax has made a point of featuring men and women players equally in its campaigns, but has run ads featuring all women for the past couple of years as the W gained popularity.

Expect to see Mitchell and Bueckers in CarMax ads for a while: both have multiyear deals with the brand.

IYKYK

While the tagline and athletes are new, there are some elements of the campaign strategy that may be familiar from past CarMax ads, including nods to basketball lore that only serious fans are likely to know. Mitchell, for instance, plays the drums in one of his spots, a real-life hobby of his.

As part of the partnership with Bueckers, CarMax posted a clip of her from the past season saying she hoped to land a car partnership, which Lane said has “caught a little bit of steam” online. It’s part of a broader push from the brand to find standout sports moments as they arise naturally; in a similar display of basketball knowledge, when now four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson won the award for the third time last year, CarMax posted an ad referencing the win with a caption acknowledging that they filmed multiple versions to account for the possibility of that outcome.

“The things that cause the virality are really, truly being a part of the basketball culture,” Lane said.

Special skills

Beyond its deals with individual basketball players, CarMax has also been an official sponsor of the NWSL since 2022, and on Friday announced that it’s renewing the partnership with another multiyear deal. The news comes just ahead of the NWSL’s Championship Weekend, where the league’s annual Skills Challenge will be presented by CarMax.

Lane said the contest was especially fruitful for CarMax last year when it aired on CBS for the first time. The ratings “blew us all away,” Lane said, adding that she was “hoping to replicate that this year.” The challenge is set to be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+ again this year.

“Similar to the WNBA and the NBA, I think [the NWSL] is another opportunity to connect with a growing league and growing fanbase,” Lane said. “The fans appreciate the brands that show up there. They recognize our contributions to the growth of the thing that they love, and they’ve expressed their loyalty back to us.”