In this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, Jamie Warner sits down with Trent Thacker, senior director of market and customer research at Cox Automotive and currently senior director of industry intelligence, to explore how iconic brands like AutoTrader and Kelley Blue Book consistently produce high-performing creative in an increasingly competitive media landscape.
Trent shares Cox Automotive’s research-first approach to campaign development, revealing how consumer tracking, competitive intelligence, and multi-stage testing help reduce risk while improving results.
The conversation dives into why automotive advertising demands a different playbook, with consumers spending up to 100 days researching vehicles and relying heavily on informative content.
Trent also explains how Cox Automotive is embracing AI, from generating animatics for rapid testing to creating AI-powered consumer personas, without losing the human judgment required to protect brand equity.
What you’ll learn:
- How to structure a creative development process that mitigates risk
- Why the Information Score matters more than you think in automotive advertising
- How to use AI to accelerate creative iterations without sacrificing quality
- The strategic value of AI-powered generational personas for script refinement
- How to protect brand equity while staying competitive
- Why cross-brand integration amplifies performance
**About our guest: **
Trent Thacker is the senior director of market and customer research, as well as senior director of industry intelligence, at Cox Automotive, where he leads research and market intelligence initiatives for major consumer-facing brands including AutoTrader and Kelley Blue Book. With over a decade of experience at Cox Automotive and previous roles at Phillips and AT&T, Thacker has developed deep expertise in campaign development, consumer research methodologies, and creative testing across competitive markets.
Jamie Warner is a highly motivated sales leader with a proven track record of exceeding goals and building lasting client relationships. As enterprise account executive of brand partnerships at iSpot, Jamie brings extensive experience in business development, revenue generation, and account management. Known for a solution-oriented approach, Jamie excels at identifying client pain points and creating mutually beneficial outcomes. A positive leader, strong motivator, and effective communicator, Jamie is passionate about helping brands achieve measurable success through strategic partnerships.