Eric - sorry it has taken me so long to give you feedback.

I have to admit that I was put-off by the length of Ryan's plugs. I timed him, and it was well over 10 minutes before we got to anything beyond an advertisement. I don't mind the plugs, but I would suggest he limit his time spent doing that for future webinars to 2 minutes or less. Both Christine and I had a hard time listening to your opening because we were so put-off by the infomercial.

It was good to see foursquare being acknowledged with a webinar. I agreed with everything you said, and recognize location-based "social medias" as potential advertising platforms. They are far from main-stream, but they're good for building fans and buzz.

Recently, I had a long conversation with my dad who is working to help promote a local concert venue. They get bands like The Who, Stone Temple Pilots, and Ringo Starr - these shows are easy to sell tickets for. However, it is a struggle to get some of the lesser-known shows promoted because the regular ticket sales media channels are so dead: radio, newspaper, and TV. TicketMaster's website is the strongest one that is left, but they only promote their own stuff. How do you find out what concerts are coming?

We talked about facebook, SEM, MySpace, and even iPhone apps ads. When you put all of this together you reach an audience the size of say what the radio used to reach, but it is very hard to track exactly which medium did what. It got me thinking about the true difficulties of advertising today. There is really no way to know what triggered a customer to seek out your brand. So, foursquare becomes another arrow in a larger quiver of numerous advertising medias. Except your bow doesn't shoot one arrow at a time - it is a machine gun. In order to reach your old audiences, you have to blanket the world in your arrows knowing that most won't hit, but the few that do need to go straight for the kill.

Webinars like this, very media-specific (talking about just one arrow) are so valuable today. You did a great job helping people understand how to use foursquare. It would be great if you continued the series: Google Buzz, Whrrl, Yelp!, etc. People need to know how to aim each arrow for the kill.

It went well! I have been procrastinating setting up foursquare and now I have! Just like the other Social Media it will be a long term process!

Thx Alex -

Hope you were able to make it...

@Mike - hope you were able to as well. (and it didn't come off as "creepy" lol)

I'm in! Glad you're putting this on Eric.

This could be an awesome marketing tool if used properly, I've set up our dealership and linked it to my other social networking sites...Jeff, thanks for the article. Always good stuff.

I'm not sure im on board with this program yet, a little creepy?

Thank you! I've been thinking about foursquare for awhile and this post pushed me to join foursquare, set up our dealership, and register for the webinar!

Q: What would a private equity firm want with 25% of AutoTrader.com?

A: To buy them out. ATC's floor management fucked over many employees!!

Autotrader is a cash cow but their business model is not sustainable as the market shifts to a pay for performance model. They know that and are smart enough to use that money to start to buy assets like KBB to create some sort of competitive advantage

I hope one day that the "magazine",will return. Its been a year since it dissolved,and I miss working for one of the best jobs of my life. Only wishfull thinking. Thanks for the memories.

ATC didn't need to sell 25% to an equity investor. Kleiner Perkins could have easily jumped up with more cash (for more equity) if they thought the company was in peril and/or believed it was a good investment. The fact KP didn't jump in for the extra 25% is very telling. Ed Brooks is right for the most part. He spent time with ATC and understands the culture of the company. At the inception of ATC, the board moved people from the Atlanta newspaper company (Cox owned) to run the show. These were died in the wool newspaper people. I believe some of the early years provided slower growth than the investors liked. In the past few years, some of the old newspaper executives have moved on and retired. This has left openings near the top for younger/faster blood.

Take the fact KP didn't want the other 25% coupled with the assumption ATC can get a substantial line of credit from just about anyone. Since KP has been there since the beginning; do they simply not trust the guys with a half billion more(?). There is more here than we're being told. And that's their choice. When you run in the Corporate circles that the executives at Cox run around in...you know a LOT of people with a LOT of money. This could have just been a 'sweetheart' deal. Maybe it's just that simple.

One can do a lot of damage with $525MM. It's my assumption ATC is recognizing the upward shift in the auto industry and they are going into acquisition mode. And why not? That's what I would do. If in fact ATC goes on a buying spree (and chooses the right acquisitions), then I applaud Providence for their investment. ATC has the name recognition and talent pool to pull off some serious revenue and profit generators. I'd look to buy DMS/CRM and mend them into the AT software. Could be an intersting summer.

AutoTrader has to buy Vast.com inc because they have made huge pool against them uniting everybody from KBB to Aol from 'publishers side' and all Autotrader competitors in car inventory... and 525M is in the range of Vast value

KBB or AOL buy Autotrader.com ROFL thats funny! AOL is hardly in business and just how big of a company do you think KBB is?

Autotrader.com is a prfitable company already so does COX really need to sell it?

COX has been having a very hard time selling AutoTrader, they've had them on the market since 2008, and all the major players like YAHOO, Comcast, Google, AOL, MSN, KBB have not been interested.

Jimbo - The differences between the deal announced by AutoTrader.com and the leveraged buyout/private equity deals, like Simmons, quoted in the NY Times story are profound. Most importantly AutoTrader.com will still be controlled by Cox Enterprises.

Perhaps this says more about Cox than about AutoTrader.com. ATC has been profitable for years, but has been been paying back the huge initial investment Cox and it's other investors made at the beginning. This influx of capital dramatically speeds up that repayment. Much of Cox's portfolio is made up of businesses in shrinking segments; Newspapers, TV, Radio, Auto Auctions, etc. AutoTrader.com is a rare commodity for them: A business unit with a growing valuation.

AutoTrader.com has been, and I think will continue to be, a media success story. When other media outlets were seeing drops in advertising revenue during the tough economy, ATC was holding it's own. With a recovery they could easily be back to double-digit growth rates.

They will load it up with debt and cash out while the business will go bankrupt.

For an example, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/business/econom...

Private Equity loves businesses with recurring revenue streams. Companies like pest control, lawn fertilization, cleaning companies, etc. I'm sure that is what is prompting this investment. They probably see some opportunities to cut costs and boost cash flow while maintaining and/or growing the recurring income stream. Should be interesting to watch play out...

AutoTrader has to buy Vast.com inc because they have made huge pool against them uniting everybody from KBB to Aol from 'publishers side' and all Autotrader competitors in car inventory... and 525M is in the range of Vast value

I have a Honda van that was involved in an accident that we did not know of as it wasn't disclosed to us when we bought it used from a dealer...we are now upside down with this car and discovered that at the first time we tried trading it in...we are looking at a $1500 loss in value due to CARFAX's BS!!!!!!! We didn't have the accident .. we are now paying for it..there has to be a better system!

After meeting with our new Carfax Rep today, I was left with the impression that they are not changing their policy on valuations. My opinion is that they should use their resources and manpower to correct the odometer issues from minimum wage Walmart oil change guys before starting a new venture that they know NOTHING about. I will still use them for our CPO vehicles, but I'm calling Autocheck!

We are switching to Autocheck!

Todays Automotive News
http://www.autonews.com/article/20100517/RETAIL04...

I have a meeting with two reps from CARFAX next week. They are very aware of what is going on here as well as other automotive sites.

I clarified my concerns and position and asked that they come prepared to answer "What Book Value" is being used and exactly what criteria is used to establish the + / - values. They understand that if they do not have clear answers to these questions they should not bother having me paged to the showroom.

I think what has taken place here on Dealer Refresh has had a tremendous effect on the industry. I know for a fact that other vendors like Cars.com and Autotrader have been watching this exchange very closely.

Regardless of how this ends up being handled or not handled by CARFAX, a message has been sent that Dealerships have matured beyond having things rammed down their throats or glossed over by software and internet vendors.

We the Internet Directors are the eyes of the dealerships and we take our positions very seriously. We will only accept what is best for our stores and we are communicating with our peers like never before in the history of the Auto industry at any level. We place value in vendor partnerships and expect them to do the same.

hmmm.... sounds like the beginning of an Automotive Vendor Manifesto, jump on and add something if you care to.

Tim,

Great post. You guys in stores need to also press your GMs and Owners to bring this up at 20 groups and state associations too.

Joe Turner

502-230-1563