“Opportunity Is A Heavy Burden”…C. Brown
It has now been more than 6 years since The Auto Channel began a self funded pursuit to become the Brand Name “Free to The Viewer” on-line digital media that would provide auto enthusiasts access to in-depth, non-condescending, automotive information and entertainment.
The world has liked what we have offered, we have grown to be rated in the top 50 in the world…with a viewing audience that has grown from zero to many hundreds of thousands.
Our editorial and business philosophies have not wavered these past 7 years…but continue to stay the course; we publish automotive information in the beat medium available…as text, video and audio.
The Auto Channel is acknowledged to be the number one multi-media automotive site in the world, and has accomplished this lofty heady position without the benefit of hundreds of millions of dollars in outside investment.
The Auto Channel’s list of “Internet Firsts” is truly amazing, and many say that we are the prototype of what the Internet can become.
Well…this trip, like most of our lives, has been filled with the ups and downs of, “two steps forward…and one step back” success’ and failures and our quest to reach all of our goals has yet to be met.
The economic perceptions of, the “new era in this new medium”, has brought with it a negativity that it just doesn’t deserve…the Ponzi Schemers and Web Dreamers and just plain dumb investors of the past few years have truly hurt those who “get it”.
There are those who say that an advertising supported, independent publication is an idea whose time has past…we say bull, in fact it has never really come…and may never come if those entrenched incumbents who stand to gain from the lack of competition for the eyes, minds and hearts of the public continue to have their way. For over 6 years sales execs from The Auto Channel have been calling on advertising agencies for the auto makers, trying to convince them that their client’s prospects are right here on TACH, surfing and dreaming about their next car.
Some car makers and their ad agency buyers and planners intuitively understood that what we were saying made good sense, and placed advertising with TACH. But to their own detriment, most car makers (and their ad agency) have not kept up with the times, they do not provide the budgets or leadership to ensure that the car makers product advertising is seen within relevant unbiased automotive content (just like magazines-Duh). Since the inception of The World Wide Web as an advertising and information medium, access to in-depth automotive research has been the major attraction for intelligent web savvy auto buyers and enthusiasts.
Old Fashioned, pitifully limited, and wholly unrealistic "Interactive Budgets" have prevented car makers from economically and efficiently impacting the researchers/prospects who would welcome the opportunity to include relevant car maker advertising as a vital part of their research. We all know that when someone is in the market for a new car or truck they seek out not only relevant editorial information, but also the advertising from car makers that can help them make decisions, or reinforce their purchase choice.
Car makers think nothing of spending $20, $30, $40 or more to mail a single targeted prospect, a cardboard box filled with expensively produced slick print and a video, hoping that the recipient will actually look at the contents…and make an appointment for a test drive…HEY GUYS that cost is more than a $20,000 CPM…and you expect your agencies to pay a thousandth of that for our medium…just what is the cost-per-click-through for those direct mail packages?
Alas and alack, I guess that the limited budgets have forced buyers to buy the safe and defendable Yahoo, AOL and other "mass" reach websites, although I thought that's what TV was for. This is not rocket science or brain surgery, ad agency media professionals need the auto maker’s mandate (and budget) to allow them to place advertising expenditures where they would do the most good!
Bob Gordon, President and Co-Publisher
