AutoTrader signs up again for NFL ads.

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Author: Sawyers, Arlena1

AutoTrader.com has extended its sponsorship of ABC's "Monday Night Football" for two years.

The deal includes commercials for the vehicle-sales Web site and exclusive sponsorship of a postgame show, says Clark Wood, AutoTrader's vice president of marketing.

AutoTrader.com started sponsoring "Monday Night Football" last year.

Wood says the company's Web traffic increases by about 10 percent in the two days after each Monday game. The number of sales leads the site sends dealers increases by about 12 percent in the same period, he says.

"If you walk into a local bar on Monday night, you're going to find half of the town, it looks like, in there watching the game," Wood says. "That was very appealing to us. We were looking for venues that would really garner a bigger marketing footprint."

The company declined to disclose how much it is spending on the advertising campaign. Wood says as many as 40 percent of "Monday Night Football" viewers are women.

The deal also extends AutoTrader.com's sponsorship of National Football League programs on the cable sports network ESPN2. Walt Disney Co. owns ABC and ESPN2.

Manheim, an auto remarketing company in Atlanta, is majority owner of AutoTrader.com.

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By Arlena Sawyers