Autobytel Debuts Innovative, Cost-Effective Local Marketing Opportunity for Nation’s Dealers
SAN FRANCISCO & IRVINE, Calif.--Autobytel Inc. , a leading automotive Internet marketing services company, today announced the launch of LocalConnectsm, its new customized online local advertising program for auto dealers. Leveraging the innovative new search technologies of Autobytel’s new flagship consumer site, MyRide.com, LocalConnect offers dealers the timeliness of newspaper classifieds combined with the rich content and targeting specificity of the Internet. In addition to MyRide.com, dealers who advertise with LocalConnect benefit from the extensive reach of Autobytel’s network of co-branded online destinations such as ESPN Cars (http://espn.myride.com) and EarthLink.
“Clearly, consumers are turning to the Internet, and away from newspaper classifieds, to make their vehicle purchasing decisions,” said Jim Riesenbach, Autobytel president and CEO. “With LocalConnect, dealers can easily market their weekly specials to in-market car shoppers in their local area with far greater specificity and at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising.”
As traditional classified ad spending continues to drop, analysts concur that local online advertising will continue to grow as local businesses seek more cost-effective ways to generate traffic to their dealerships. A recent Nielson/Netratings survey found that 86 percent of consumers use the Internet to find a local business from which to shop1 and, according to J.D. Power and Associates, 2007 marked the first year that the Internet surpassed all other shopping methods in locating the vehicle a buyer ultimately purchases2.
Many of the industry’s most innovative dealer groups, including Asbury Automotive and Van Tuyl Group, Inc. have already signed on to the LocalConnect program.
“As more and more consumers look to the Internet instead of newspaper classifieds to make their purchase decisions, it is critical that dealerships have a way to target and deliver their retail messages directly to these shoppers,” said Steve Stauning, eCommerce Director, Asbury Automotive. “LocalConnect provides an easy way for dealers to stay in front of consumers while they are researching new and used vehicles.”
“LocalConnect provides another way to reach the online automotive consumer with a targeted retail message,” said Cassie Broemmer, director of Customer Retention and Marketing, Van Tuyl Group, Inc. “We are excited to have another online marketing solution that brings us even closer to potential customers.”
Riesenbach also noted that AdMission Corporation, a dynamic display advertising technology company that marries dealer branding with targeted, live auto inventory, has been selected to support the LocalConnect program. Using AdMission’s sophisticated technology platform, LocalConnect is able to automatically generate relevant local dealer advertising to consumers who are shopping for a dealer’s specific brand, whether they are shopping for a new or used vehicle.
How LocalConnect Works
For new vehicle dealers, the ads displaying special offers (updated weekly) are exclusive to each dealership brand in the consumer’s area and are targeted to appear at relevant points during consumer research activity. For example, if a consumer is researching the brand the dealer carries, the local dealership’s marketing messages and an 800 number that dials directly into the dealership will automatically appear, together with the opportunity to click through to view special offers as well as customized video demonstrations and slideshows spotlighting specific dealer inventory. Each ad’s effectiveness is tracked with detailed activity reports including amount of time spent viewing the ad, click-throughs, emails and phone calls with playback.
For used vehicle dealers, LocalConnect automatically uploads the participating dealer’s inventory and displays selected vehicles based on dealer preferences. Each dealer ad will be displayed in a “slide show” format that expands when the consumer clicks on a vehicle, and includes a link to the entire dealership used car inventory.
LocalConnect’s MyRide.com platform
MyRide.com is Autobytel’s new flagship consumer site, which is designed to make it fast and easy for vehicle shoppers and owners to find information on “all things automotive” – including multi-party reviews, millions of used car listings, accessories, parts, local service providers and wide-ranging enthusiast content. The site has been designed to create significant new marketing opportunities throughout the entire automotive ownership cycle.
About Autobytel Inc.
Since launching the first car-buying website in 1995, Autobytel Inc.’s mission has been to empower automotive consumers with the tools and information they need to make smart, well-informed vehicle purchasing and ownership decisions. The company has helped millions of car shoppers and generated billions of dollars in car sales for dealers. Today, the company’s innovative, consumer-driven flagship site, MyRide.com, expands the company’s mission across the automotive purchase and ownership life cycle to meet the wide-ranging auto-related needs and interests of today’s Internet-savvy automotive community. As the first vertical search experience for the automotive marketplace, MyRide.com delivers relevant, well-organized search results from across the web, integrated with entertaining multi-media and user-generated content on topics ranging from purchasing and aftermarket, to ownership and enthusiasm.
By providing a convenient and comprehensive automotive consumer experience across the purchase and ownership lifecycle, Autobytel provides new value and touch-points for automotive marketers. Through MyRide.com and Autobytel’s marketing network, the company connects dealerships with a steady, diverse stream of motivated, serious shoppers, while providing both dealers and manufacturers with precision-targeted brand and product marketing opportunities. The company's advanced web-based advertising and marketing programs also help dealers and manufacturers build relationships with customers, as well as help them to efficiently manage and convert online business.
1 Nielsen/Netratings for WebVisible 2007
2 J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Used Autoshopper.com Studysm release