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DrivingSales Executive Summit 2012: A To Unmarketing

The 2012 DrivingSales Executive Summit has closed its doors with an amazing, energetic event to show. Congratulations to the entire (growing) DrivingSales team, you have left a higher bar to be measured against, once again. With nearly 1000 in attendance, primarily dealers, the vibe was strong around leading-edge strategies. And the expectations were high…

Opening in one of the Bellagio's main ballrooms, with the shortest intro of the four-year event by Jared Hamilton, emcee Charlie Vogelheim introduced Dennis Galbraith to talk about "big data" for dealerships, emphasizing the importance of executable data-based strategy, followed by Luke Wroblewski, renowned mobile expert. The information shared by the former Yahoo design guru wowed the crowd. While not industry-specific, the impact of traffic and studies was easily translatable to both OEM and dealership tactics. The big question was, why are we not better around mobile strategies? The opening reception definitely reflected the excitement for the event.

Florian Zettelmeyer opened up day two with a deeper drive into "Big Data" with a focus on national brands. Like Luke's presentation the evening before, the practical application into automotive was significant and it turned quite a few heads. Feedback from dealers was overwhelmingly positive, and interesting. So were some tweets: one suggested a drinking game each time "Big Data" was heard, the other coining "Big Data" as the…..well you'll have to find and read it.

Rand Fishkin was next and the SEO oracle delivered. Talking points included off-site, social signals, long-tail and other critical search components. The feedback from the session was that it was top-notch. The SEOmoz founder gave dealers (and many vendors) information points that area critical to success, especially given lots of "enterprise" information that is typically given to the industry.

One of the marquee events of the DSES was next…the Best Idea competition. It's best to watch the videos on DrivingSales TV since this post can't quite catch the passion that the dealers being to the table. Everything, at the end of the day, is about the dealer and the industry moves as the speed of retail. So go watch! After the first round of breakout sessions, it was back into the main ballroom for the Innovation Cup. This year cDemo came out on top. Next year those in the running are going to watch to polish up their presentation and explanation skills….

Cobalt was next with their presentation that was supposed to hit on research and, wait for it…. Data that the industry could use relevant to websites and traffic. Some of the points were relevant while many points were already part of existing marketing for most of the dealers in attendance. Then, the full-capacity crowd was rewarded with a gem of a presentation from Billy Beane. The Oakland A's General Manager, who doesn't make public speaking a regular practice, talked about how businesses must be smart, agile and customer-centric, plus saving some tongue-in-check monologue about Moneyball. The audience paid full attention to his ideas, quotes and stories.

Tuesday opened with Facebook and Google…and a heavy dose of anticipation. The two biggest subjects on the industry's mind, Google reviews and Facebook advertising, were not covered due to both companies request. Tom White did as good as possible a job without a full quiver of questions to ask, still leaving some important aspects to be covered by both the search and social giants.

Then one of the most highly anticipated sessions in the industry in 2012: Jared Hamilton hosted TrueCar's Scott Painter for a one-on-one Q&A. Whether Jared took it easy or was tough on who represented the industry's pariah about a year ago or not is of opinion, there were some great questions and responses with some in the crowd wondering what position TrueCar will play into 2013.

Jim Dance followed with a leadership focused presentation that should immediately impact dealership operation. Rich in examples and strategy, Jim did have a post-lunch audience (always tough) that revealed many taking notes. Packed afternoon breakouts brought the event to the evening's joint keynote with JD Power's Automotive Marketing Roundtable. Mini's marketing head Tom Salkowsky talked about their passionate customers and gave chimerical and video examples of just how dedicated Mini owners are.

Then, Scott Straten of "Unmarketing" fame stepped on stage and gave the packed ballroom plenty to laugh, cry and think about. Between chanting "stop it" in regard to mediocre marketing and technology use to bits of "Awesome", his words danced throughout the mix of dealers, OEMs, agencies, media and portals packed i for the following conference. Sick as a dog, Straten simply engaged the audience with the same style and techniques he begged attendees to use.

Amazing event. What will the DSES team due to make 2013 shine? We only have 12 months to find out…

Special announcements: Jared Hamilton introduced industry veteran Kevin Root as President/COO of DrivingSales and revealed that in April 2013, the DrivingSales Automotive Presidents Club featuring Seth Godin. For dealers who want to attend the New York event, go to www.drivingsalespresidentsclub.com

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

Gary May and Joe Webb Create “A DSES Digest” Session For 2012 Las Vegas Conference

To better assist dealers attending the 2012 edition of the DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES) automotive conference both at the event as well as afterward, Joe Webb (DealerKnows Consulting) and Gary May (Interactive Marketing and Consulting Services) have teamed up to create a new session at the top-ranked event October 21-23 taking place at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

On Tuesday, October 23 Webb and May will conduct a breakout session at 3:55p for the indsutry's most progressive dealers allowing them to best utilize both the new strategies learned at DSES as well as those not capitalized on presently at their dealerships. The forty-five minute session, just before the closing shared keynote by Scott Straten (Unmarketing) for DSES and the J.D. Power Automotive Marketing Roundtable (AMR), focuses on execution, deployment and accountability around digital marketing strategies.

"We want to do something completely different. We want to have them open both their minds and laptops or tablets to get the ball rolling before they get back to their stores. This new breakout will set a precedent and deliver a greater value to DrivingSales Executive Summit participants. And yes, there will be comedy", said Joe Webb in response to having the new format chosen for the 2012 DSES.

"Joe Webb and I share perspectives, operational approaches and a constant drive for accountability that will benefit the dealers. We wanted to offer a change in the way that attendees typically leave the conferences and then first start to formulate their plan(s) by having the foundation for execution happen at the event. We're excited to move the needle for those that are ready at DSES", stated Gary May upon selection by the conference's dealer advisory board.

For dealers not yet registered for the leaing digital automotive conference, the can visit http://www.dses.com and use discount code IMACS12. The discounted book of rooms at Bellagio Hotel and Casino are sold out and the event is expected to reach 750 attendee capacity prior to the October 21 opening.

**DSES UPDATE**

Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) October 02, 2012

DrivingSales today announced that Scott Painter, Chairman and CEO of TrueCar, Inc., will take center stage for a one-on-one interview with DrivingSales CEO Jared Hamilton at the 4th annual DrivingSales Executive Summit(DSES). The DSES, which is the most authoritative profit-building event for innovative dealers, is the only auto conference Painter appears at this fall, and he joins an exciting keynote line-up that includes Billy Beane of ‘Moneyball’ fame, SEO ‘superstar’ Rand Fishkin, mobile experience expert Luke Wroblewski, renowned leadership trainer Jim Dance, prominent Northwestern University marketing professor Florian Zettelmeyer and an exclusive presentation from Facebook and Google.

Painter’s interview with Hamilton takes place on the main stage of the DrivingSales Executive Summit at the Bellagio Las Vegas on Monday, October 22nd at 2:00 pm PT. The question and answer session will cover Painter’s role with, and contributions to, TrueCar, including where the company has been, where it's going and what Painter sees in the future for the auto industry. Painter will also take questions submitted prior to the event by the DrivingSales community.

“We are excited that Scott is joining us for the summit, his efforts have truly aimed to push the boundaries of our industry. All Scott’s auto-related businesses in some way have melded technology, data and car-selling – a theme that we are zeroing in on at this year’s summit,” said Hamilton. “We look forward to a provocative, stimulating and illuminating session with Scott, one that will be of great interest not only to our dealer attendees and community, but also to the industry at large.”