Podcasts

Everything in the automotive industry is about providing a great customer experience. And someone who really understands customer experience is John Clavadetscher of Outsell. He’s spent years studying consumer shopping trends and how retail is categorizing and marketing to the individual customer. There’s a lot packed into this interview, from helping to grow Cars.com to the “automotive itch.”

Without Ryan Osten, there might not be an Automotive State of the Union. That’s right. Paul and Kyle were introduced in a marketing room hosted by Gubagoo’s former marketing director, hired by none other than Ryan Osten. Ryan shares the unique ways that Gubagoo is solving problems, and reflects on how chance encounters really can change the trajectory.

Connection matters. And ActivEngage is all about making a connection, through their chat platform to their TikTok accounts. Carol Marshall, their COO, found her first dealership job as a GSM, coming right from retail. She joins us to talk about acronyms, conversation and what today’s customers are looking for when they shop.

We have that ‘Friday feeling’ as we’re prepping to roll onto ASOTU CON. But first, we’re talking about the Queen’s epic taste in cars, the wholesale price index in August seeing some sinking numbers, as well as a bold move by retailer Lowes in its reorganizing marketing and merchandising.

We have a special show for you today as we welcome special guest, Jamie Oldershaw, GM of DealerRater. We also talk about changes to primary care, as well as your closing window of opportunity to weigh in on the new FTC proposed rules for Dealers.

Dan Moore helps us come back down to earth. It’s easy to get caught up in the world of reports, gut feelings and keeping up with the Joneses. But Dan Moore of Vistadash has a way of seeing through the buzzwords and talking about what actually matters. Be prepared for metaphors, laughs and great insights into the world of business intelligence.

Holiday week means it’s already Wednesday as we give a power purview from across the spectrum of uses. We also talk about the unintended negative effects of service CSIs, as well as the return to Steve Jobs’ Theater for the latest Apple event in Cupertino, CA.

Some people have seen it from both sides. Anthony Jingoli of Effectv is one of them. When he started working for Comcast over 20 years ago, cable television was the disrupter. But then as digital and streaming exploded, cable TV was the one being disrupted. Now, through changing the perspective and evolving, television advertising is moving back to the disrupter spot. Today’s interview covers targeting specific segments, audiences and geography, the power of a story based brand, and continuing to learn from those around you.

This Tuesday we’re taking a look into the future of Dealer threats, the past of auto pricing, as well as talking about the now when it comes to new EV charging infrastructure pop ups.

Welcome to Friday, friends. Today we share what we’ve been learning from talking to Dealers all week. We also cover California’s power shortages, Netflix taking the expensive route for advertisers, and the much anticipated ‘edit tweet’ button.

7 hours online before they visit a showroom. CARS.com has a lot of consumer data, and is seeing many trends and disconnects in the automotive industry. CEO Alex Vetter joined us on Auto Collabs to talk about the digital customer experience, trust reservoirs and giving power back to the small business owner.

There are a lot of excuses for why a company doesn’t invest in social media. Nathanael Greklek has a counter for every single one of them. As the Chief Digital Branding Leader for Mohawk Auto Group, Nathanael has built an organic social media presence that gets millions of impressions a month. They’re able to track sales back to those impressions, and are a machine of content creation, averaging 500 pieces of content per month.

If there was an Oscar for dealership commercials… Brian Ortega would probably have one. He’s the Creative Director at Valley-Hi Toyota, home to some of the most creative commercials in the industry. The team creates a new story-based 30 second commercial every month, with Brian as one of the star actors. It’s been successful in building Valley-Hi’s brand and ingraining them deep into their community.

The computer on the Starship Enterprise that crew members could talk to. R2-D2. Jarvis. Science fiction has been showing us AI and digital assistants for years. And Josselyn Boudett and the team at Stella Automotive AI are bringing them to life. Stella is a phone answering AI that books service appointments while helping customers get loaners or talk to specific employees. It’s unlike anything on the market today. Josselyn explains how Stella came to be and how digital voice assistants will become more prevalent in the future.

A digital retail perspective. Doug Miller has helped some significant brands make big digital transitions. Ever heard of Ticketmaster? Doug was there when they sold their first ticket online. What about Expedia? They started by faxing orders to hotels. So when it comes to the automotive industry, an industry that Doug started in, he’s confident about the digital/physical hybrid future. He’s the President and Chief Commercial Officer of CARS.com, and we are grateful to be able to spend time with him on Auto Collabs.

Happy Thursday Troublemakers. Today we are talking about the longest permitting process ever and why it needs to change if EV Automakers will be able to keep up. We also talk about the premium price that is about to come with Netflix new ad service, as well as a fact-checked $30k EV battery replacement.

Do you have someone in your organization that touches every department? For DeNooyer Automotive Family, that person is Erin Sparks. As the marketing director, she has a lot on her plate and a lot of tabs open on her computer. But she makes it her responsibility to read reviews, walk the service lane, check in on the BDC team and more. She does all of this to break down barriers and bring the teams together, all as she tells the story of the dealership.

Transportation is freedom. Mike Darrow, President and CEO of TrueCar, recognizes that automotive can often live in the space between supply and demand, where a dealership is looking to purchase cars in order to meet the needs of customers. And TrueCar has a lot of experience in that position. This conversation jumps around a bit, from the chip shortage to serving dealers to serving consumers to tracking the shopping journey to building community. The threads that tie it together are that transportation is freedom, and the car business cares about people.

Welcome to Wednesday as we cover ACV’s recent lawsuit filed against major and minor auction houses, a recent story on NPR covering the so-called ‘stealership’ phenomenon, as well as retailer Nordstrom’s strategy to move product offerings upmarket.

A marketer turned developer now marketing a marketing tool. After working in the industry for several years, Jeff Gonzales saw a need for dealers to quickly be able to do their own marketing and ad campaigns. The tool that he developed, AET Automotive, incorporates all of the compliances that dealers face with their marketing. A punk rock vibe, some crazy stories and some insight into the future of marketing made for a fun interview.

Building a product strategy based on target audience. AutoLeadStar is playing the long game. They are developing products to address the entire industry, not just the needs of one or two dealers. And that means they are focused and innovative. Ilana Shabtay is the Director of Marketing for this Israel-based tech company and she joins the Auto Collabs crew for a thoughtful conversation.

Tuesday offers us a vague and precise picture of our future as we cover some highly audacious EV goals from Elon, a new way to do navigation (you’re gonna love it), as well as some stats on how fast people are watching your YouTube videos.

Sometimes you meet someone for the first time on a Zoom call. This was the experience interviewing Sarah Carter of Upstart Auto Retail. Sarah has 20 years of experience in the industry, and she has a good perspective on the intersection of digital and physical, from the way leads are handled to how other countries are ahead of the US digitally. Plus, Cirillo considers skiing, and Paul learns what push/pull integration is.

Auto is BIG. You never know where a conversation with Darren Doane will go, but it will keep you thinking long afterwards. Darren is a director, first of music videos and now of documentaries. He’s been around many types of business and sees things from outside of the automotive industry. And he is impressed with how big auto is. That makes it able to try things in a way that other industries can’t. Today’s conversation talks about scrap metal, Newsies and yes, how Michael Cirillo is Seth Rogen’s doppelganger.

We’re set to take off this Monday with some investigative journalism around Carvana’s claims, Google gets very helpful in their recent search update, and the US is going back to the moon (ish) today.