Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid, T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessible online http://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/ #passion4digital This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

1. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Chapter 4 Digital and Social Media Marketing Strategy
Case Study Chapter 4: Classic Trader
Image:homepageof classic-trader.comreproduced with permission of PeakAceAG
“Driven by Desire” is the SEO campaign created by the agency Peak Ace AG (Germany) for
its client Classic Trader in 2015 to establish Classic-Trader.com as an online industry
leader/voice in the field of selling and buying classic cars.
Overview
Classic Trader (CT) (https://www.classic-trader.com/) is a German-based marketplace
dedicated to buying and selling classic cars (“old-timers”). Their long-term vision is to
become the No.1 in the field of classic cars and an industry leader/voice within the classic
car community. The commission from car sales generates their revenue.
Peak Ace was briefed to achieve the following objectives:
● Develop a strategy as well as technical set-up for a maximum SEO-friendly
marketplace.
● Gain relevant rankings in Germany for the most important generic keywords like
“Oldtimer kaufen” (“buy classic cars”) as well as for relevant car brands like
Mercedes (“Mercedes classic cars”) and car models like “Porsche 912” and drive
organic traffic.

2. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
● Promote linking for SEO purposes to boost the keyword “Oldtimer kaufen”
(search volume of 14,000 per month in Germany) into Google’s Top 10.
● Obtain high quality links from authoritative news sites due to the competitive
landscape of the car industry.
● Help to continually build brand recognition online.
Implementation
The brief of the campaign included:
1) Implement a clear site structure:
a. Classic Trader’s structure allows for the targeting of short-tail
keywords (“Mercedes oldtimer”) as well as long tail queries (“Mercedes 220
Cabriolet A 1952 convertible”) and therefore ensures that the searcher finds
the exact car type they are looking for. Additionally, this minimizes partial
duplication.
2) Build target group-oriented landing pages:
a. The target audience consists of two diverse group: occasional drivers
and expert drivers. Occasional drivers like classic cars but are not too tech-
savvy, not as familiar with details regarding car producers, car model names,
car body styles, etc. and use more generic keywords and are therefore
presented with a more generic landing page. For expert drivers who are very
knowledgeable regarding technical details and are members of the “classic
car” community as well as familiar with the details like car body style or
manufacturing date, Peak Ace created a more precise landing page.
3) Cooperate with leading industry magazines in order to help Classic Trader build their
brand awareness online:
a. Classic Trader initiated cooperation with a popular industry magazine:
Octane magazine (a car magazine highly popular in Germany and the UK).
The content of the magazine was successfully integrated into Classic Trader’s
website: https://www.classic-trader.com/de/octane.
4) Implement successful PR campaigns to obtain high-quality links (‘news jacking’:
a. Peak Ace implemented a news jacking strategy deriving from the

3. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
popular movie “The Fast and the Furious”. A NISSAN GT- R belonging to Paul
Walker (former actor from “The Fast and the Furious”) was being sold on the
Classic Trader marketplace. Classic Trader created a campaign around this
and promoted the page to websites, newspapers and magazines that had
previously mentioned the movie or were highly relevant to the topic. Classic
Trader managed to obtain high authority backlinks that helped boost the
overall domain of Classic Trader, which led to an increase in traffic.
Results
Classic Trader gained many relevant rankings within its niche in 2015. In January 2015
Classic Trader had only twenty Top 10 rankings. By the end of the year, this number
increased by up to ~5,000. According to Searchmetrics, the domain’s SEO visibility (for
Germany) increased by a phenomenal 750% (230 up to 2,000).
The organic traffic in Germany has been increased by 98% and almost doubled from January
to December (MoM). The most important keyword (“Oldtimer kaufen”) now holds an
established spot in Google’s Top 10, currently ranking #6 and steadily climbing.
The results from the news jacking “The Fast and the Furious” campaign as well as the
proactive PR “VW Käfer” campaign have resulted in ~80 very authoritative back-links.
Due to a fantastic 2015 performance, Classic Trader was able to secure a first round of
venture funding (€ 1,5 million) to further grow their business.
Commenting on the relationship with Classic-Trader and the success of the campaign,
Bastian Grimm, President Organic Search, Peak Ace AG stated: “Working together with
Classic-Trader during the last 18 months has been real fun. CT’s vision was clear from the
beginning and even though the competition is massive we were able to grow the online
footprint quite significantly and are happy that organic plays a significant role in CTs online
marketing mix.”
Further Information
Selection of the links generated from the “Fast and the Furious” campaign:

4. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
1. http://www.boston.com/cars/news-and-reviews/2015/04/06/paul-walker-nissan-
back-the-market/IjAmOoxXPbSixD7yu77kwL/story.html
a. (Dom-Pop: 179.136, Trust Flow 70, Citation Flow 55)
2. http://www.autobild.de/artikel/nissan-gt-r-aus-fast-furious-4-zu-verkaufen-
5481659.html
a. (Dom-Pop: 4052, Trust Flow 64, Citation Flow 59)
3. http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/paul-walker-s-nissan-skyline-from-fast-
furious-up-for-sale-ar166525.html
a. (Dom-Pop: 14.617, Trust Flow 21, Citation Flow 30)
4. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicTrader/
5. Twitter: https://twitter.com/Classic_Trader
6. Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ClassicsForSale/
7. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/classic_trader/
Other resources:
1. https://www.classic-trader.com/uk/cars/listing/nissan/skyline/skyline-gt-r-
34/2007/3388 (F&F Skyline listing on CT)
2. https://www.classic-trader.com/de/octane (Octane magazine integration)
3. http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/classic-trader-finanzierung (Classic Trader
funding (in German))
4. Peak Ace coverage of EU Search Awards (in German):
http://www.peakace.de/blog/peak-ace-gewinnt-eu-search-award/
Discussion questions
1. Apply The Action Learning Cycle to the Classic Trader campaign.
2. Create a Buyer Persona for two of the main audiences of Classic Trader.
3. In your opinion, are the objectives stated above SMART objectives? If not, using the
information in the case or other sources, convert the objectives into SMART
objectives.
4. Apply the 8C’s model covered in chapter 4 to the campaign Classic Trader campaign
run by Peak Ace.

5. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
5. Using the information in the case study and other sources, identify specific activities
relating to tactics in terms of Content, Channel and Data using the following Digital
Marketing strategy template:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YOXeSnAoSo1saRwYBw-
Qv3bhRJotPYNjQBtYz6xmHLU/edit
Class activities
1. Imagine you are the CEO of Classic Trader and believe it is time to build your brand
further. Explore possible brand building strategies that you can deploy and how you
could work with Peak Ace to make them a reality.
2. Visit the www.classic-trader.com website and identify possible strategies on how it
can be further improved.
Test adapted with kind permission from Prof Brian D Smith – www.pragmedic.com, 12 questions –
focusing on key aspects of strategic planning
Please answer these honestly
====================
1. Our digital marketing strategy makes it clear what markets or parts of the market we will
concentrate our efforts on
If your digital marketing strategy attacks all of the market sector equally = 0
If your digital strategy is focused by the “descriptor groups” = 1
If your digital strategy attacks needs-based segments = 2
If you don’t know = -1
====================
2. Our digital marketingstrategymakesclearwhichactionsfitwiththe marketingstrategyandwhich
do not
If your digital strategy allows complete freedom of action = 0
If your digital strategy allows a high degree of freedom of action = 1
If your digital strategy makes most of your action plan decisions for you = 2
If you don’t know = -1

6. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
====================
3. Our digital marketingstrategyclearly defines our intended competitive advantage for our buyer
personas
If there is no strong and supported reason why the buyer persona should choose you = 0
If there is a reason why the buyer persona should buy from you but there is no strong proof = 1
If you can clearly state the reason the buyer persona should buy from you and not the competitor
and substantiate that reason = 2
If you don’t know = -1
====================
4. Our digital marketingstrategyallowssynergy between the activities of the different parts of the
organisation
If the strategy is a compromise of what each department is capable of = 0
If the strategy uses the strengths of only one or two departments = 1
If the strategy uses the best strengths of all departments = 2
If you don’t know = -1
====================
5. Our digital marketingstrategyissignificantlydifferent from that of our competitors for our buyer
personas
If you attack the same buyer personas with the same value proposition = 0
If you attack the same buyer personas OR use the same value proposition = 1
If you attack different buyer personas with different value proposition = 2
If you don’t know = -1
====================
6. Our digital marketingstrategyrecognisesandmakesfullallowance forthe needsandwantsof our
buyer personas
If you only meet the basic functional needs = 0
If you also meet the higher functional needs = 1

7. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
If you also meet the emotional and ego needs = 2
If you don’t know = -1
====================
7. Our digital marketing strategy recognises and makes full allowance for the strategy of our
competitors
If you are ignoring the competitors’ digital marketing strategy = 0
If you are allowing for some of the competitors’ digital marketing strategy = 1
If you are allowing for all of the competitors’ digital marketing strategy = 2
If you don’t know = -1
====================
8. Our digital marketingstrategyrecognises andmakesfullallowance forthe changesinthe business
environment that are beyond our control, such as technological, legislation or social change
If your digital marketing strategy is designed for today’s conditions = 0
If your digital marketing strategy allows for one or two changes = 1
If your digital marketing strategy considers the combined effects of all the external factors = 2
If you don’t know = -1
====================
9. Our digital marketing strategy avoids or compensates for those areas where we are relatively
weak compared to our competition
If you have taken little or no account of your relative weaknesses = 0
If you are trying to fix your relative weaknesses = 1
If your strategy means that your relative weaknesses don’t matter = 2
If you don’t know = -1
====================
10. Our digital marketing strategy makes full use of those areas where we are relatively strong
compared to our competition
If you have taken little or no account of your relative strengths = 0

8. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
If you are trying to use your relative strengths = 1
If your digital marketing strategy means that your relative strengths become more important = 2
If you don’t know = -1
====================
11. Our digital marketing strategy, if successfully implemented, will meet all the objectives of the
organisation
If your digital marketingstrategy,fullyandsuccessfullyimplemented,doesnotdeliveryour financial
and non-financial objectives = 0
If your digital marketing strategy, fully and successfully implemented, delivers only your financial
objectives = 1
If your digital marketing strategy, fully and successfully implemented, delivers your financial and
non-financial objectives = 2
If you don’t know = -1
====================
12. The resources available to the organisation are sufficient to implement the digital marketing
strategy successfully
If you have neither the tangible nor the intangible resources to implement the digital marketing
strategy = 0
If you have onlythe tangible orthe intangible resourcestoimplementthe digital marketingstrategy,
but not both = 1
If you have both the tangible and the intangible resources to implement the digital marketing
strategy = 2
If you don’t know = -1
====================
How did you score?
18 – 24: Well done! It is all down to implementation now
12 – 17: Good. You can succeed if competition is weak
6 – 11: OK. Let’s hope competitors are very weak
< 6: Crumbs. A lot of work ahead