Case Study: CARFAX

CARFAX

The impact

CARFAX Canada helps Canadians buy used vehicles with more confidence by providing vehicle history reports, giving drivers a clearer view of a car’s past before they make a purchase. As the business grew, the challenge was no longer just driving performance on a lower-funnel program; it was finding a smarter way to expand the media approach, build awareness, and support growth across the full customer journey. The latest results show that the program continued to build momentum, with revenue up 17%, media ROI up 9%, and unaided awareness up 7%. These gains reflect a more sophisticated, enterprise-to-local media engine that has expanded well beyond its original lower-funnel starting point. Recent upper-funnel activity also helped reinforce that progress. A national out-of-home campaign delivered efficient reach, and the latest awareness study showed continued year-over-year growth in key markets, including Quebec.

17%

increase in revenue

9%

increase in media ROI

7%

increase in unaided awareness

Challenges

CARFAX Canada operates in a crowded, mature category where many used-car shoppers already know the brand, which makes incremental growth harder to unlock. As one of the leading players in the market, the business needed a way to move beyond a performance-only foundation and identify new opportunities for growth while maintaining efficiency.

As the program evolved, the team also needed to align on changing KPIs and build confidence in new channels through detailed data and clear proof points. At the same time, national planning had to account for sharp provincial differences, meaning the strategy had to be broad enough to scale and precise enough to work locally.

The solution

DAC built the CARFAX Canada program by keeping a steady focus on what would move the business forward: stronger evidence, sharper planning, and more effective ideas. That approach helped expand the account from lower-funnel search into a full-funnel media mix that included paid social, programmatic, digital audio, traditional audio, connected TV, and out-of-home, while DAC continued to refine the strategy based on what was performing and what needed to evolve.

To support that expansion, DAC moved from broad planning to granular, data-led execution. The team built an FSA scorecard using a wide range of variables across a national footprint to identify where awareness investment would matter most, then mapped dealer locations, inventory, and media coverage to choose placements that aligned with CARFAX Canada’s business priorities.

DAC’s support also extended beyond media buying. The team worked closely with CARFAX Canada’s creative, analytics, and vendor partners, helped support the Adobe Analytics migration, and used IRIS, DAC’s media planning, optimization and measurement platform, to improve search efficiency, keyword coverage, and ad-copy testing across the lower funnel. Together, DAC and CARFAX Canada built a partnership grounded in performance, trust, and a shared commitment to finding the next opportunity to grow.

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