CarMax appoints 72andSunny its creative agency of record

Used vehicle retailer CarMax has appointed 72andSunny Los Angeles as its creative agency of record following a competitive review. 72andSunny secured the business from The Martin Agency, the incumbent since 2019. 72andSunny is tasked with leading CarMax’s creative and social media strategies, modernizing elements of its visual identity and logo and collaborating with the brand’s sports sponsorship agency Wasserman and its next media agency. CarMax issued an RFP in early January for the creative agency review, which was handled by R3. It’s also reviewing its media account handled by Dentsu X, said Sarah Lane, senior VP and chief marketing officer at CarMax. The Martin Agency was invited to participate in the creative review. “We’re truly thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with our partners at CarMax over the past six years,” said Danny Robinson, CEO of The Martin Agency, in an emailed statement. “It’s been a meaningful journey—one that’s helped shape the brand’s identity and explore new, culturally relevant spaces together … We’re grateful for this chapter and will continue cheering CarMax on from Richmond.” Richmond, Virginia-based CarMax reviewed creative and media simultaneously as it looks to tap into “a ton of data” to inform its creative storytelling and deliver personalized messaging up and down the marketing funnel, Lane said. “One of the things we discovered early along in this process was CarMax’s desire to create full funnel alignment of the brand positioning and that’s a sweet spot for us,” said Emily Connelly, managing director at 72andSunny’s Los Angeles office. “That’s something that gets us excited, creating that alignment and then figuring out the right messages to deliver to customers at the right moments in their journey.” Also read: How financial brands are changing their media approaches as they focus on AI Connelly will lead the account with creative under Lauren Smith, executive creative director at 72andSunny, who has driven some of the agency’s work for brands such as Adobe, Barbie, United Airlines and Venmo. 72andSunny will largely focus on highlighting CarMax’s omnichannel shopping features as consumers shop for cars online and in person. “That’s been hard for us in the past to, at any given time, figure out what’s our most important thing,” Lane said. “We’re really confident right now that this is new and differentiated. You can do a full online experience, full in-person and everything in between.” The agency’s debut work is slated for this summer, Lane said. “We’re working together to develop a new platform that can house all of the different aspects of what we’re bringing to the consumer,” she said. “Not just the omnichannel experience but all of the heritage equities that we have as well.” CarMax ranks as the largest used-car-only retailer in the U.S., far ahead of second-place Carvana, according to Automotive News. It sold 184,243 used retail vehicles in its third quarter, ended Nov. 30, up 5.4% from the same quarter in 2023. It will report fourth quarter results on April 10. CarMax spent $148 million on U.S.-measured media in 2024, up from $135 million in 2023, according to MediaRadar. The agency changes come at a tumultuous time for the auto industry, which is dealing with new 25% tariffs on imports put in place by President Donald Trump. CarMax doesn’t expect its long-term marketing efforts to be affected by tariffs, but it may be forced to respond to the situation in the future, Lane said. More auto marketing news: How auto tariffs will affect marketing spending CarMax marks another win for 72andSunny, which won 11 new clients and reported a 30% increase in revenue in 2024. The agency was ranked No. 9 on Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List. Late last year, Martin won creative responsibilities for General Mills and J.P. Morgan’s wealth management business. However, it recently saw client Solo Stove pause all creative branding to focus solely on performance marketing with Dentsu’s Carat.

CarMax appoints 72andSunny its creative agency of record

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