The event-producing year involving Cars.com generated another headline on Wednesday morning as the vehicle-listing website’s parent company — TEGNA — announced it intends to spin-off Cars.com, creating two independent publicly traded companies.
Additionally, TEGNA announced that Gracia Martore, its president, chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors, will retire upon the closing of the spin-off, which is expected to take place in the first half of 2017.
Following the spin-off, officials said Cars.com will remain headquartered in Chicago and will trade under the ticker symbol CARS.
The company emphasized the automotive sector is the single largest and most important vertical for local advertising revenue, and Cars.com is one of the few “proven and established digital solutions of scale” in this market.
TEGNA is anticipating that the planned spin-off will result in a trading multiple for Cars.com that is commensurate with other pure-play digital companies; greater flexibility to pursue merger and acquisition opportunities; and benefits associated with aligning capital structure and allocation with specific business needs and opportunities.
“As an independent company, Cars.com will be able to focus more sharply on its key strategic priorities, including rapid innovation within a growing marketplace and active evaluation and pursuit of acquisitions to open up new, adjacent opportunities,” the company said.
Earlier this summer, Cars.com acquired DealerRater, in a move seen as a way to leverage “word-of-mouth marketing,” according to previous reports in Auto Remarketing.
“The spin-off we are announcing today is the next logical step in our ongoing transformation to best position our market-leading businesses and continues our strong track record of creating value for shareholders,” Martore said in a press release announcing the latest news.
“Spinning off Cars.com from TEGNA will establish two strong, industry-leading companies that are well positioned to compete and to continue to profitably grow in their targeted markets. Each business will have increased strategic, operating and financial flexibility at a time when the broadcast and digital sectors are both rapidly evolving — presenting both companies with a wealth of opportunities,” Martore continued.
“Cars.com will have the flexibility to invest in further organic growth and to participate in the active digital automotive M&A market, and TEGNA will have a strong balance sheet and cash flow to continue to pursue investment in organic growth and opportunistic acquisitions and to provide an optimal mix of capital returns to shareholders,” she went on to say.
“We are fortunate to have strong CEOs for both companies, and we believe this is the right time to separate in order to unlock potential shareholder value both in the near term and over time as they develop independently as two separate pure-play companies,” Martore added.
When the spin-off is finalized, the company said Alex Vetter still will serve as chief executive officer and president of Cars.com, a position he took back in November 2014
Under Vetter’s leadership, Cars.com has grown to approximately 1,300 employees, and the company serves every local market in the U.S. In his years with Cars.com, Vetter has operated in nearly every capacity, spanning product development, customer service, training, operations and sales.
The company also mentioned Vetter has helped establish a vibrant local marketplace for vehicles, enabling e-commerce activities with approximately 20,000 dealers and every manufacturer, all of whom connect with site users on a daily basis. Vetter also serves on the boards of several digital technology companies, including RepairPal.com, a leading marketplace for service and repair.
CareerBuilder strategic review
In connection with the planned spin-off of Cars.com, TEGNA also said it will evaluate strategic alternatives for CareerBuilder, including a possible sale.
CareerBuilder is a leader in human capital solutions that provides services ranging from labor market intelligence to talent management software and other recruitment solutions. It is one of the largest online job sites in the U.S., measured both by traffic and revenue, with a presence in more than 60 markets worldwide.
TEGNA owns a 53-percent controlling interest in CareerBuilder. Minority owners are Tribune Media and The McClatchy Co.
“At this time, there can be no guarantee that any of the options under review will result in a transaction,” officials said.
Brian Becker has been with Interstate National Corp. for nearly a decade and currently serves as its senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Among his duties are leading marketing and training teams, plus heading up sales and growth strategies.
When asked what makes him most proud in his career, the 37-year-old said: “I am proud of a lot of moments I have had throughout my career. I am proud of being a part of Interstate National’s growth and success and most importantly thankful to the leaders and partners who have had an impact on my success and given me the opportunity to grow.”
Becker enjoys the rapid and continual evolution of the car business, and the challenges that brings.
“I was attracted to the car industry because of the constantly changing and always evolving industry that it is,” he said. “I enjoy the challenge of creating cutting-edge products and solutions to stay ahead of market needs.”
Everyone, it seems, is getting in on digital car retailing.
Tech startups, publicly traded dealer groups, third-party vendors, concierge services. You can add banks to that list, too.
On Thursday, Chase debuted a platform that allows its customers to shop for vehicles and set up financing on their smartphone or computer, then finalize the deal at a Chase-partnering dealership.
Chase Auto Direct, which uses TrueCar technology, is available to Chase customers in 30 states. The company plans a phased rollout to other areas in early 2017.
“Customers today are shopping for everything online, including cars,” Bruce Jackson, head of retail lending for Chase Auto Finance, said in a news release.
“By pairing financing with the online car shopping experience, we can provide more opportunities for Chase dealers, and make it easier for customers to get in the driver’s seat,” he said.
Chase Auto Direct allows consumers to use the online Chase Car Buying Service tool (powered by TrueCar); apply for financing online and then fulfil at the store; or refinance a loan with the bank.
With the Chase Car Buying Service, the customer configures a new car online or searches for a used. The customer also is shown local price comparisons. Once the shopper chooses a vehicle and selects a dealer with that car in stock, he or she applies for financing via Chase.
If the loan is approved, the customer receives a loan approval certificate, and Chase uses Dealertrack and RouteOne to send the approved application details and terms to the store.
The shopper heads to the dealership to buy any aftermarket products they want and sign the paperwork.
Chase then compensates the dealer for the closed deal.
“Chase has been providing auto financing directly to customers for some time — this new online offering showcases our dealers’ vehicle inventory to more than 57 million Chase households in the United States. Dealers in the Chase network will now benefit from new leads that they didn’t have yesterday,” Jackson said. “We want every Chase customer to have a good experience when buying a car, and we’re confident that the dealers we do business with can provide that experience.”
Cars.com has launched a new brand advertising campaign dubbed, “For Every Turn.”
With the recent introduction of tools that cater to vehicle sellers and service seekers on the site in addition to its long-standing shopping platform, Cars.com highlighted that its new campaign focuses on how the site is a one-stop-shop, helping consumers at every turn of vehicle ownership.
“Cars.com has long been the go-to site for car shoppers,” said Jenny Chan, senior director of consumer marketing. “With our new campaign, we’re going a step further to tell the full story of how Cars.com is there for consumers during every milestone in the car ownership lifecycle.
“From the excitement of buying a car, through the repairs, the adventures, all the way to the moment you’re ready to trade it in for a new one,” Chan continued.
The site noted that “For Every Turn” will come to life across a variety of marketing channels so consumers are surrounded by Cars.com messaging while they watch TV and browse the web on mobile and desktop devices. Tactics include:
• TV ads: The new television ads capture highly relatable moments of a family as they go through key ownership milestones with their car, including buying a new one, road trip shenanigans, repairs, the adventure of learning to drive, all the way through the trade-in process when it’s time for a new set of wheels.
• Digital/print ads: Similar to the TV commercials, the print and digital ads will hit on key car ownership milestones, demonstrating how Cars.com helps consumers for every turn of the journey.
• Campaign landing page: A splash page was launched as a destination for fans and visitors to view all of the new commercials and extended, never-before-seen outtakes. Various vehicle shopping tools and resources are also thematically integrated into the page depending on which video is being viewed. The page allows Cars.com to promote relevant editorial content and help guide consumers deeper into the site.
• Social media: An organic, engagement-focused social media campaign was launched across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn to announce the new campaign, share content, drive traffic to the new splash page and encourage fans to chime in with their own personal anecdotes about memorable moments in their vehicle.
With research tools designed to be simple and easy to understand along with reliable expert content and unparalleled platform for consumer reviews, Cars.com chief executive officer and president Alex Vetter said his site is the only "true source" for the total ownership experience.
“The lifetime of your car is actually a reflection of your own lifetime,” Vetter said. “So many memorable moments happen within that space, and Cars.com is there through them all.”
For more information, visit www.cars.com/foreveryturn.
Jumpstart Automotive Group has unveiled a new logo and announced it is changing its name back to Jumpstart Automotive Media.
The changes come on the heels of Jumpstart’s becoming part of the the newly formed Hearst Autos, joining such consumer brands as Car and Driver and Road & Track.
“The formation of the Hearst Autos division presented an ideal time for us to re-invigorate the Jumpstart brand and update our name and logo,” said Jumpstart chief executive officer and Hearst Autos president Nick Matarazzo.
"This new look signifies our evolution from a small advertising technology startup to a leading, media, insights, and marketing company. It also marks a celebration of the culture of innovation we have built over our 15-year history.”
The logo, which was developed in-house, features dynamic design elements and a slightly italicized font, which are meant to convey movement and more of a technology feeling.
“The new brand identity is very reflective in key characteristics, including versatility in a variety of formats, consistency across applications, and a simplistic design that is timeless and representative of the company’s unique value,” said Shaen Poe, creative director. “We also incorporated a fresh take on the Jumpstart ‘swoosh’, which has been the cornerstone of the brand from the beginning.”
The company has also developed an application icon that will be used primarily for Jumpstart’s social media pages.
According to a recent study by the Sierra Club, electric vehicles are not widely available on most lots. The demand is there, but the study informs that dealerships are not keeping electric vehicles in inventory, salespeople are not prepared and educated to talk about them, or the vehicles are not charged or unavailable for a test drive.
The Sierra Club conducted a multi-state study called Rev Up EVs, which examined the EV shopping experience. Respondents visited 308 dealerships across 10 states.
Rev Up EVs also found that:
• Respondents were 2.5 times more likely to find no EV on the lot in the nine other states involved in the survey, compared to California.
• The average number of EVs on the lot in California was twice the average number on lots in the nine other states.
• Respondents who asked to test drive an EV were told at 14 percent of the dealerships that the car was not sufficiently charged.
• Of the visits to dealerships with at least one EV on the lot, respondents indicated that about 33 percent of the time, the salesperson did not discuss the federal and state tax credits and rebates available to lower the cost of an EV.
• Of the visits to dealerships with at least one EV on the lot, volunteers found that 42 percent of the time EVs were either “not prominently displayed,” or were only “somewhat prominently displayed.”
Competitive advantage
Your dealership has a competitive advantage if you have EVs in inventory, especially with National Drive Electric Week coming up Sept. 10-18. The week is a nationwide celebration to heighten awareness of today’s widespread availability of plug-in vehicles and highlight the benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric cars, trucks, motorcycles and more.
If you have EVs, you may want to reconsider how you are marketing that inventory. The Rev UP EVs study found that 65 percent of California drivers surveyed wished there were more purchasing options.
You can also craft specific dealership social media posts around your EV inventory. Consumers are looking for these types of vehicles and it’s important you take advantage of it. A good place to start is by determining how to get your inventory in front of a national audience.
List your electric vehicle inventory nationally on eBay
eBay is a national marketplace that lets you market your inventory to customers all over the country. Your dealership can list inventory on eBay via a national auction or national classifieds.
—National classifieds: eBay has introduced a new option called national classifieds that is gaining traction with dealers. Think Craigslist-style listings, but with a much broader audience. This option is 100 percent hands free and by syndicating your pre-owned inventory to eBay, you can get national exposure for a set monthly fee.
—National auction: Most eBay listings are in an auction-style format. Bidding on items in this format is fun for consumers and gives them more control in the buying process. Dealers like national auctions because every bid is a lead.
Consumers are using eBay
eBay builds consumer confidence with a number of programs to put shoppers’ minds at ease. The site offers free vehicle history reports and financing options, and consumers can even schedule a third-party inspection via WeGoLook.
As you can see from the Sierra Club’s Rev Up EVs study, there is a demand for electric vehicles, but consumers are struggling to find them. Take advantage of this demand and promote your inventory nationally in a place where customers are looking for it.
Adam Goldberg is the marketing manager at LotVantage, a provider of digital marketing solutions for automotive, marine, powersports, RV, trailer and outdoor power equipment dealerships. He can be reached at agoldberg@thatus.com. You can also access more social media tips at LotVantage.com/blog.
On Tuesday, Edmunds launched what the company called Edmunds Ad Solutions, a new mobile-optimized ad product for dealers to target in-market vehicle shoppers on Facebook and Instagram.
Site officials explained Edmunds Ad Solutions uses exclusive first-party shopping data from Edmunds to serve shoppers with highly relevant native ads on Facebook and Instagram to drive buyer traffic directly to dealer sites.
The data also is used to identify and target “lookalike” shoppers — individuals who show similar shopping behavior — on those premium partner sites.
Edmunds explained its engineers worked closely with Facebook’s solutions engineering team to design and build an end-to-end automatic ad-buying system that leverages Facebook’s marketing APIs and dynamic ads platform. As a result, Edmunds Ad Solutions can give subscribing dealers added exposure to Edmunds’ vast audience of highly qualified shoppers.
Officials highlighted that a national pilot found that Edmunds Ad Solutions delivered 20 times more click-through traffic to dealer sites when compared to a Google-rich media gallery display automotive click-through benchmark study from November to December of last year.
Dealers in the pilot program also enjoyed up to a 61 percent increase in new visitors to their sites, as well as a 50 percent increase in overall visitor site engagement.
“Edmunds Ad Solutions is proving to be an indispensable tool for a dealer’s comprehensive digital marketing strategy,” Edmunds.com vice president of dealer sales Scott Fanelli said.
“Not only does it get dealer inventory in front of Edmunds’ rich audience of in-market shoppers, it also gives them exposure to other shoppers who perform similar ready-to-buy behaviors on other sites,” Fanelli continued. “There’s no better way for a dealership to expand its inventory’s digital footprint to an audience of relevant shoppers.”
The site went on to mention Edmunds Ad Solutions is specifically optimized for mobile devices, which have quickly become a popular tool for vehicle shoppers.
According to a Facebook IQ study, 71 percent of all respondents used mobile during the purchase process. And 58 percent say that in the future, their smartphone is likely to be the only device they use for all their vehicle research.
Edmunds said it’s no surprise, then, that early testing found an overwhelming 90 percent of Edmunds Ad Solutions traffic comes from mobile devices.
“Edmunds Ad Solutions is one of the best ways that dealers can keep their inventory top of mind for consumers from the beginning of their online shopping journey, right through the moment they're ready to purchase,” said Mike Miller, digital marketing manager at John Elway Dealerships.
“The product delivers serious and engaged customers who spend far more time on our vehicle detail pages than other paid marketing campaigns,” Miller continued. “The bottom line: Edmunds is helping us to deliver highly targeted ads that are getting the right cars in front of the right buyers.”
With millions of visitors every month, Edmunds insisted it has built a powerful network that both shoppers and dealers have come to trust.
An estimated 59 percent of all new-vehicle shoppers will visit Edmunds at some point in the shopping process, and a study by CDK Global found that shoppers who visit both Edmunds and dealer sites are four times more likely to buy than shoppers who visit a dealer site only.
Dealers interested in subscribing to Edmunds Ad Solutions can reach out to their Edmunds account executive or contact dealersupport@edmunds.com.
Instagram recently launched a completely new feature set called Instagram Stories.
The company describes it as “a new feature that lets you share all the moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile. As you share multiple photos and videos, they appear together in a slideshow format: your story.”
Prior to the update, Instagram was a social network for sharing one 60-second video or one image with your choice of a personalized caption and hashtags i.e. (#ilovemynewcar). Now, you can record video and add it to your story, and it stays there for 24 hours before it expires. The features that Instagram Stories introduced are similar to another popular social network, Snapchat.
Once you create a story, there is a message button that allows your customers to communicate with you. Think of it as a way to have a conversation that leads to conversions and sales.
Make sure you ask questions to elicit responses.
You can learn more about Instagram Stories here.
So how can Instagram Stories benefit your dealership?
Instagram Stories will help your dealership engage with your prospects on the social networks they hang out on every day. Here are five ways you can use Instagram Stories in your overall social media strategy.
1. Happy customers
Are you capitalizing on your happy customers? A good strategy is to take their picture next to their recent purchase and post it on your dealership's Facebook page. “Here’s John, another happy customer.”
A better strategy is to encourage your happy customer to upload a 60-second video using Instagram Stories, which shares their excitement with their friends for the next 24 hours.
That could lead to potential new customers for your dealership. The videos can also be saved and subsequently uploaded to your dealership's Instagram account and Facebook page. Keep in mind you may need to offer an incentive to motivate your customers to take this sort of action. The opportunities are endless!
2. 24-hour flash sales
Is your dealership running a promotion? Make your followers on Instagram feel special by offering an exclusive sale for the next 24 hours just for followers on Instagram. You can film a quick video using Instagram Stories to get the message out. To measure your response rate, make sure to remind them to mention the special they saw on Instagram.
3. Contests
People love to win things, and social media is a fantastic way to facilitate a contest. Encourage your fans to post a picture of their purchase to either Facebook or Instagram and to tag your dealership. For example, you could offer a free oil change or an accessory, but keep in mind, their profile needs to be public in order for you to see their post.
Once the winner comes in to claim their prize, you can post their excitement to your Instagram Story. If you can find a way to engage your customers online, they’re more likely to engage with you offline as well (at your dealership). Again, this is a great opportunity to save these videos and upload them to your Instagram account and business Facebook page.
4. Staff features
People like to do business with people. Showcase your staff by featuring them on your Story. Ask them questions about what they like to do in their free time or what future features or models they’re looking forward to. These are just a few ideas and opportunities to keep you engaged with your audience. The more you can humanize your dealership using social media, the more relatable you become, which will aid in the sales process.
5. Maintenance tips
If you can teach your audience something, they’ll keep coming back for more. Just make sure you keep it consistent and educational. Providing value is a great way to keep your customers and prospects engaged on social media. Solely being sales focused is how you will alienate your audience.
Overall social media strategy
If you think social media is a vehicle for driving sales, you are half right. Social media is also a way to engage your customers in places they are spending their time (i.e. Facebook and Instagram). With roughly 430 million active monthly users (AMU) according to socialnomics.com, they may not be in the market for something now, but if you stay top of mind with your social media efforts, you’ll earn yourself customers in the future.
If you would like to learn more about Instagram Stories, try it out on your personal account before you use it for your dealership. We recommend that you experiment with the application first to avoid mistakes.
Adam Goldberg is the marketing manager at LotVantage, a provider of digital marketing solutions for automotive, marine, powersports, RV, trailer and outdoor power equipment dealerships. He can be reached at agoldberg@thatus.com. You can also access more social media tips at LotVantage.com/blog.
Perhaps it takes a shopper longer to decide which vehicle they want from your inventory than it did for the acquisition of DealerRater by Cars.com to close.
Cars.com announced on Monday that it closed the acquisition of DealerRater, a transaction first announced a week ago.
The companies reiterated that terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We are pleased to bring DealerRater into the Cars.com family of industry-leading products and people as we create the largest dealer review platform in the automotive sector,” said Cars.com chief executive officer and president Alex Vetter, who spent time with Auto Remarketing explaining why this deal can impact dealerships.
“With this acquisition, Cars.com has solidified its position as the leader in online automotive reviews and the preeminent authority for car shoppers and owners on what to buy, where to buy and who to buy from,” Vetter continued.
Since Cars.com launched its reviews in 2011, the company has maintained its transparent model for generating consumer feedback, which better serves shoppers and customers. The addition of DealerRater and its review database further strengthens this value proposition.
“We are happy to be joining Cars.com and are proud to share a similar foundation,” DealerRater chief executive officer Gary Tucker said. “DealerRater is uniquely positioned to lead the industry transition to finding not only the right dealer, but connecting consumers with the right person at the right dealer.”
By now, you may have seen Vroom’s first-ever television commercials, which feature comedic actors John Leguizamo and Rachel Dratch.
Funny and purposefully a bit oddball, one features the pair, as husband and wife “Dick and Peggy,” riding an ostrich and a yak to avoid buying a car.
In the other, Leguizamo constantly distracts Dratch while she’s meditating, sleeping, gardening and watching TV, all the while chatting up Vroom. In addition to being tongue-in-cheek, the ads showcase Vroom’s services and their new delivery trucks.
The ads began airing in the Phoenix and Austin, Texas markets on July 12, and that same day, Auto Remarketing caught up with Vroom chief marketing officer Gaurav Misra to talk about the company’s approach with the new ads.
“It just felt that there’s a levity that needs to be brought back into the idea of used-car buying. It is such a potentially painful and stressful process for a lot of people, and it’s a very time-consuming process,” Misra said in a phone interview.
“And we have this philosophy that car-buying should start out fun, because the minute you realize you want to get a new car, it’s an incredibly exciting thing.”
But as the shopper goes deeper into the process and it gets more complicated, that’s where it can get frustrating, he said.
“We want to juxtapose how absurd car-buying was and how actually easy it is, and I think it’s best done with a bit of lightness and humor,” Misra said.
He later added: “We think car-buying should be enjoyable, and we wanted the spot to just convey that sense of wonder, magic and smiles that car-buying from Vroom can bring.”
(Interestingly enough, Misra said, Leguizamo was already aware of Vroom before the shoot, and was on the website to shop for a car for his daughter.)
This marks the first time that Vroom has invested in a larger offline media spend, Misra said, and if it goes well in Austin and Phoenix, they plan to roll it out nationally.
Beyond those cities, the ads can be seen on YouTube and on the Vroom website.
As for the new trucks — which enclose the cars but keep them visible from the outside — Vroom is looking to “put a bit of a ceremony around that delivery,” Misra said, with the music going and lights spinning.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a Buick or a Bentley. For us, we treat them exactly the same. For you, that’s your car,” he said. “That’s your new car.”
Misra recalled childhood days, when his parents would take off work to buy a new car and the family would go get ice cream. Vroom aims for that same excitement in car-buying today.
“We want that sense of wonderment to still be in place,” he said.
(But if the buyer would rather go the flatbed route, that works too, he said).
Vroom has always provided free delivery in the lower 48 states. Previously, the company was providing all of its delivery via flatbed. It has now converted three of its 10 trucks to the new model. Two of those are in Phoenix, one is in Austin. They will be doing nearly all of their deliveries in those areas with those trucks.
As the company scales out, Vroom will be moving more to the new trucks, which hold two cars.
