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Conference Educates Real Estate, Auto, Insurance & Mortgage Professionals on Social Media and Digital Marketing Innovation; Takes Place Jan. 17, 2019 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL

 Miami, Fla. — Nov. 16, 2018 — Highly successful serial entrepreneur and VaynerX Chairman Gary Vaynerchuk, along with his digital agency VaynerMedia, have just announced an impressive lineup of speakers for the second annual Agent2021, a one-day conference educating real estate, auto, insurance and mortgage agents and brokers about social media and digital marketing innovation.

The list of initial speakers includes Matt Higgins, investor on the ABC show “Shark Tank,” Miami Dolphins vice chairman, and co-founder/CEO of RSE Ventures, a private investment firm that incubates and invests in companies across sports and entertainment, food and lifestyle, media and marketing, and technology. Higgins will participate in the event’s opening fireside chat with Vaynerchuk on Jan. 17 at 8:30 a.m. on the field of Hard Rock Stadium.

Additional speakers include Patty Arvielo, president and co-founder of New American Funding, Gabrielle Garrison, client solutions manager with Facebook; Brad Auerbach, head of Industry, Insurance with Facebook; Ryan Huff, research analyst with Twitter; John Fitzpatrick, president & CEO of Force Marketing & Helix Technologies; Molly McKinley, VP of Marketing, First; Dave Dickman, CEO of Tagger Media; Nicolle Lamb, VP of Production, Dealer Inspire; Pat Kinsel, CEO of Notarize; Denise Casagrande, VP of Marketing, PCG Companies; Dan Moore, president of VistaDash; Andrew Tai, CEO of MotoInsight; Marina Kitgor, regional vice president, Factual; Ace Watanasuparp, VP of Residential Lending, Citizens Bank; Raj Qasar, CEO/owner of the Boutique Real Estate Group; Douglas Jones, managing partner of JAG Insurance Group; Chelsea Peitz, national director of social sales for FNF; Jason Frazier, founder & CEO of The Agent Marketer; Darin Lynch, founder & CEO, Irish Titan; and Bradley Flowers, co-host of the Insurance Guys Podcast.

Speakers from VaynerMedia include Vaynerchuk; Justine Bloome, chief strategy officer; Steve Babcock, chief creative officer; Jeff Nicholson, chief media officer; Lindsay Blum, VP of VaynerTalent; Matt Guerin, VP of Partnerships; Avery Durnan, VP of Media; Jon Morgenstern, VP of Paid Media; David Cortes, VP of Integrated Strategy; and Robbie Deeks, director of Ecommerce Revenue.

The one-of-a-kind conference, which attracts attendees from across the U.S., will feature in-depth information about digital media’s most powerful tools, platforms and tactics. Ticket holders will attend keynotes, panels, and networking sessions focused around actionable advice to grow their businesses, presented by some of the real estate, auto, insurance, and mortgage industries’ most innovative business leaders and brands. Industry panel topics have been released on the event website and include sessions on personal branding, content marketing, digital lead generation, influencer marketing, and much more.

“Having Matt Higgins on board for year two is super fun for me,” said Vaynerchuk. “As a CEO and entrepreneur, Matt has walked the walk and it will be fun to hear him share his successes and challenges to a group of like-minded business executives that love the grind as much as he does. He will drop a ton of knowledge ― I’m excited.”

“We’ve just announced a rock-star lineup of speakers from Facebook, Twitter, RSE Ventures, Citizens Bank, Tagger Media, New American Funding, Notarize, Factual, JAG Insurance Group, and Fidelity National Financial,” adds Kim Garcia, senior vice president of VaynerExperience. “Attendees will benefit immensely from their deep industry knowledge and success in the space. We’ll also have a significant presence from VaynerMedia’s leadership team, who will teach attendees many of the same strategies and tactics we deploy for our Fortune 500 clients.”

VaynerMedia is also proud to announce a partnership with Cole Information, which will engage event attendees through a cabana on the main field of the stadium. Cole Information is a market leader in hyper-local marketing solutions for small to medium sized businesses, specializing in industries including insurance, real estate and mortgage. At the event, attendees will learn how Cole Information’s data technology and integration partnerships are invaluable tools for filling their sales lead channels.

General Admission ticket holders will kick off the conference with a welcome reception on the evening of Jan. 16, while VIP buyers will have access to a private Q&A-style dinner with Vaynerchuk. The conference on Jan. 17 will open with a fireside chat featuring Vaynerchuk and Higgins, and then segue into industry breakout panel discussions led by notable speakers. Those who purchase videographer passes in addition to their general admission or VIP tickets will have the ability to bring a videographer to shadow them throughout the day and capture their experience.

Agent2021 will take place on Jan. 17, 2019, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. on the field of Hard Rock Stadium. Hard Rock Stadium is located at 347 Don Shula Drive, Miami Gardens, FL 33056. Partner hotels for the event are located in Hollywood, and include CIRC Hotel in Hollywood; Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (attendees can use discount code “GAGE19”); and theMargaritaville Beach Resort.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://agent2021.com/. For press inquiries, please email agent2021@dureeandcompany.com.

Editor’s Note: Media interested in attending Agent2021 can submit a formal request to agent2021@dureeandcompany.com for consideration by Monday, Dec. 3. Press badges are limited and all requests are subject to verification. Approved media will be notified no later than Monday, Dec. 17.

About VaynerExperience

Agent2021 is developed and produced by VaynerExperience. Launched in 2017, VaynerExperience is the live events and brand partnerships division of VaynerMedia. We specialize in finding underpriced attention, understanding emerging trends, and capitalizing on cultural moments through owned-and-operated events (including Agent2021 and VoiceCon), built-for-social experiences and B2B activations at industry conferences. For more information, visit vaynermedia.com/service/vaynerexperience/. Follow the conversation on Instagram@vaynerexperience, at Facebook @VaynerExperience and on Twitter @VaynerExperience.

About VaynerMedia

VaynerMedia is a full-service digital agency built for the now. We partner with clients to drive business outcomes with best-in-class modern video production, media planning & distribution, influencer marketing, Google & Alexa voice services, and everything in between.

#RallywithRodi campaign raises $60,000 and awareness to fight prostate cancer

 ATLANTA, Nov. 16, 2018 – Cox Automotive presented its 2018 Community Impact Award to Joe Rodi, national auction manager, Chase Auto, at the 2018 National Remarketing Conference/NAAA Convention during an awards luncheon on November 15. This annual award is sponsored by Manheim, a Cox Automotive brand.

Presented by Julie Picard, regional vice president for Manheim’s West region, this award recognizes a remarketing industry leader for outstanding contributions to the community and the innovative ways they collaborate with community partners to help further their missions.

“Joe’s passion and commitment to make positive differences serving others exemplifies the spirit of the Cox Automotive Community Impact Award,” said Picard. “Community service is a guiding value for how Cox Automotive operates, and we congratulate Joe on his impactful and inspirational work.”

Rodi was diagnosed earlier this year with prostate cancer and made a personal commitment to help raise money and awareness through the Rally with Rodi campaign which supports the T.J. Martell Foundation. The T.J. Martell Foundation has raised more than $280 million since 1975 to fund innovative media research focused on finding treatments and cures for cancer.

“I am truly honored and humbled to receive the Community Impact Award from Cox Automotive,” said Rodi. “When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, I talked with Mark Davidson from Manheim about getting the word out about everyone getting a yearly physical and that men should check with their doctors about when they should get a PSA test. We in remarketing are a close-knit group and need to spread the word and not let this issue fade away.”

As a result of more than 25 Rally with Rodi rallies and fundraisers at Manheim locations, numerous people have made appointments to have prostate, colon and other cancer preventive check-ups and $50,000 has been raised for the T. J. Martell Foundation. Additionally, Rodi is allocating the $10,000 Cox Automotive Community Impact Award donation that he is receiving to the T.J. Martell Foundation.

“I personally couldn’t be prouder that Joe is being recognized with the Cox Automotive Community Impact Award,” said John Urness, executive director, Vehicle Sales for Chase Auto. “His longstanding dedication and commitment to the T.J. Martell Foundation, even before his own diagnosis, is deeply inspiring to not only me, but our whole organization. Chase Auto is honored to #RallywithRodi.”

To participate in the Rally for Rodi campaign, make a donation to the T.J. Martell Foundation: https://donate.tjmartell.org/give/187129/#!/donation/checkout

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling, owning and using cars easier for everyone. The global company’s 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Clutch Technologies, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across five continents and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. coxautoinc.com

Curate and compare a selection of vehicles to further enhance the car buying experience

LOS ANGELES (November 13, 2018) – Today, RelayCars, the virtual reality automotive research experience that puts consumers in the driver’s seat of thousands of vehicles, announced the launch of RelayCars 8. RelayCars 8, features the new RelayCars Garage, an immersive showroom which allows car shoppers and car dealers to select, save and compare a personally curated selection of vehicles.

“With the incorporation of RelayCars Garage, we aim to further enhance the car buying experience by allowing customers to compare their car selection side-by-side and make better informed purchase decisions,” said David Falstrup, RelayCars CEO. “This newest addition to our app is bringing us one step closer to providing users the ability to complete their entire market research virtually, before ever entering a dealership.”

The newly added ‘Saved Search’ allows users to find the vehicles they are looking for quickly and easily, backed by significant enhancements to app performance and stability.

The new RelayCars Garage update will run alongside all of the great features that RelayCars users have come to know.  The RelayCars VR library includes top-of-the-line technology and almost every car and truck on the market since 2015, including exotics, sedans, full-size trucks, hybrids and more. Users have the most up-to-date views of the latest cars in a realistic environment. Models can be viewed by interiors and exteriors and in full 360° stereo.

RelayCars is also able to aid dealers and OEM product managers with the selling process, product design, training and more. The application is available for free now on iOS, Android, Oculus Go, Google Daydream, Samsung Gear VR, Microsoft VR and soon-to-be Magic Leap.

About RelayCars®

Featuring the most expansive and high-quality VR automotive library on the market, RelayCars is a virtual reality suite of apps that allow both enterprise and general consumer users to explore the interior and exterior of thousands of different vehicles via smart phone, tablet, web or VR headset. The app is available for free on iOS, Android, Oculus Go, Google Daydream, Samsung Gear VR and Microsoft MR. RelayCars is the sister-company of EVOX Images, a company best known for providing rapid, large-scale global image creation solutions on demand with a focus on automotive VR and 360 images. For more information on RelayCars, please visit www.relaycars.com or follow RelayCars on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn.

2018 DSES keynote speaker Oli Gardner discussed the importance of clarity on your website. 

How can you make sure your website is organized clearly? What are some tips you have to make sure a web visitor gets what they're looking for?

Volvo XC40 selected as Best New Model in annual prestigious awards

IRVINE, Calif., November 12, 2018 – Following head-to-head testing and evaluation of 2019 model-year vehicles, the experts at Kelley Blue Book today announce the 2019 Best Buy Award winners. Kelley Blue Book’s Best Buy Awards honor the top new model-year vehicles available in the U.S. market in 14 major categories, along with a brand-new category for 2019 – Best New Model – with the Volvo XC40 taking home this top honor.  

To aid new-car buyers in their quest, Kelley Blue Book curated the Best Buy Awards to help shoppers narrow down their new-car consideration list and purchase their next vehicle with confidence, by identifying the best of all available 2019 models, with a special emphasis on value-per-dollar in both purchase and ownership experience.

“Shopping for a new car can be a daunting task, and with hundreds of options to choose from, it is hard to identify what vehicles earn top marks in pricing, ownership costs, expert evaluation, consumer opinion and more,” said Karl Brauer, executive publisher for Kelley Blue Book. “The Best Buy Awards were designed to help consumers shop with confidence by doing the heavy lifting for them and providing clear guidance on which specific car, truck, minivan and SUV models they should be prioritizing and considering for their next new-car purchase.”

Starting with the more than 300 new models available for 2019, Kelley Blue Book’s annual Best Buy Awards are based on a year-long regimen of expert vehicle evaluation and testing of nearly every new vehicle available in America, along with analysis of a broad array of vehicle-related data, including vehicle pricing, 5-Year Cost to Own data (which includes depreciation, insurance, maintenance, financing, fuel, fees and taxes for new cars), consumer reviews and ratings and vehicle sales information. To be considered for Kelley Blue Book’s newest award, Best New Model, the vehicle must be an all-new or redesigned vehicle and offer a strong value proposition to consumers based on pricing, innovation, and available standard technology and safety features.

2019 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award Winners

Best New Model: Volvo XC40

Positioned in one of the hottest segments, the XC40, which starts at about $34,000, offers plenty of usable passenger and cargo space on a compact footprint. The XC40 effectively combines modern styling inside and out (we particularly like the two-tone paint scheme treatment) and cutting-edge technology on both the infotainment and safety front, the latter a traditional Volvo talking point.

Compact Car: Honda Civic

With fuel-efficient 4-cylinder engines, an affordable sticker price, and a history of trouble-free service, the Honda Civic continues to serve up 5-Year Cost to Own numbers that are impressive. All-in-all, its combination of low running costs, competitive pricing and great retained value makes a solid case for the 2019 Honda Civic as the Kelley Blue Book Best Buy among Compact Cars.

Midsize Car: Honda Accord

We said last year the Accord “isn’t just the finest midsize sedan money can buy, it’s the most sophisticated, most advanced and most impressive automobile not wearing a luxury badge.” We stand by that statement and the Accord’s return to the winner’s circle is clear proof of that judgment.

Subcompact SUV: Hyundai Kona

The new Hyundai Kona has won us over with its entertaining driving manners and lively style, not to mention its superb controls, abundant high-tech safety equipment and impressive warranty, highlighted of course by its 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain protection, the best in the business.

Compact SUV: Honda CR-V

Whether you’re looking for a safe, practical, easy-to-drive and easy-to-own car for a younger driver or a leather-laden mainstream SUV that could give some luxury vehicles a run for their money, there’s a CR-V to fit your needs.

Midsize SUV: Honda Pilot

When you buy a Honda Pilot, you get a lot of useful features for the money. As you own the Pilot, you’ll enjoy the comfortable ride – one of many reasons this is a terrific road-trip car -- and the family-friendly attention to detail throughout. The Honda Pilot, the Midsize SUV Best Buy of 2019, offers many forms of value from day one, and little to no compromise in the process.

Full-Size SUV: Ford Expedition

The 2019 Ford Expedition has moved away from the ideas of the traditional full-size SUV, advancing the segment in the process. Like the Ford F-150, the Expedition leverages a generous amount of high-strength aluminum in the body and high-strength steel in the frame, innovations that caused the underpinnings and sheetmetal to weigh less.

Minivan: Honda Odyssey

What makes the Odyssey so good? It all starts with the minivan essentials: a solid chassis, seats for eight, a pair of sliding side doors, a spacious cargo area and cupholders galore. And of course, the 2019 Honda Odyssey is loaded with safety features.

Subcompact Luxury SUV: Volvo XC40

The Volvo XC40 is an all-new vehicle, and it has wasted no time shaking up not just the Swedish automaker’s lineup, but also the burgeoning segment of subcompact luxury SUVs. In shape, style and attitude, the all-new 2019 XC40 goes its own way.

Compact Luxury SUV: Audi Q5

Shoppers have embraced the second-generation Q5, pushing it to where it sits today — at the top of the luxury compact SUV sales chart. Its success in the showroom, and its aptitude to recurrently capture awards, demonstrates its well-rounded balance of interior space, utility, driving dynamics, technology, safety, and luxury.

Midsize Luxury SUV: Audi Q7

Today’s choices in the midsize luxury SUV market abound, but only the 2019 Audi Q7 has risen to the top and earned the distinction of being named KBB.com’s Midsize Luxury SUV Best Buy of 2019. At once attractive, practical and modern, the Q7 exudes luxury through subtle sophistication.

Pickup Truck: Ford F-150

The 2019 Ford F-150, our Pickup Truck Best Buy for the fifth year in a row, continues to offer the features and the capability serious truck buyers need, while providing the creature comforts and modern-day tech everyday commuters want.

Performance Car: Hyundai Veloster N

Three laps around the short course at Willow Springs Raceway and the huge-hearted Veloster N had seduced us, even after mixing it up with the best under-$40,000 sports cars every automaker had to offer. To say the Veloster N held its own is an understatement -- it didn't just change our minds about what a Hyundai was, it completely rewrote our expectations about how much fun a $30,000 performance car could be.

Electric/Hybrid Car: Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid

Starting at just over $34,000, the newest Clarity serves as one car that could please electric-car fans and old-school long-distance road-trippers alike. Best of all, the 2019 Clarity is pure Honda. Imagine your favorite Honda sedan, Accord or Civic for instance, and rest assured the Clarity driving experience is just as rewarding.

Luxury Car: Lexus ES

Completely redesigned from the ground up, the seventh-generation ES sedan is built on the company’s Global Architecture-K platform. Compared to its predecessor, the 2019 Lexus ES is longer, lower, and wider, which translates to a more comfortable and stable ride and a more spacious interior.

For full coverage of the 2019 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards, including full editorial comments about each model, pricing details, videos and more, visit https://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/best-buy-awards/2100000577/.

To discuss this topic, or any other automotive-related information, with a Kelley Blue Book analyst on-camera via the company’s on-site studio, please contact a member of the Public Relations team to schedule an interview.

For more information and news from Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com, visit www.kbb.com/media/, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kelleybluebook (or @kelleybluebook), like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kbb, follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kbb_com/ (or @kbb_com), and get updates on Google+ at https://plus.google.com/+kbb.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry. Each week, the company provides market-reflective values on its top-rated website KBB.com, including its famous Blue Book® Trade-In Values and Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor tool, which provides a range for what consumers can reasonably expect to pay for a vehicle in their area. Car owners looking to sell immediately can also get a redeemable, transaction-ready offer with Kelley Blue BookSMInstant Cash Offer. The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, and governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book launched its first international consumer-facing site in 2017. Kelley Blue Book is a Cox Automotive brand.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling and owning cars easier for everyone, while also enabling mobility services. The global company's 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Clutch Technologies, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across five continents and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. www.coxautoinc.com

Asking the proper questions is essential to identifying the right candidate for your dealership. Often, we ask templated questions that are easy to game. In this clip, we discuss an important tip to make sure you can interview for the competencies you need.

2018 DSES keynote Jay Acunzo sat down with us and discussed effective marketing in a noise world.

Personalized vehicle recommendations are helping dealers find the right Manheim inventory more quickly and easily.

ATLANTA -  Manheim is harnessing the power of AI to create a personalized shopping and buying experience for dealers in its Marketplace. Manheim’s Big Data approach looks at its buyers’ historic activity, recognizes their individual preferences and then recommends relevant inventory to them. With these vehicle recommendations, dealers shopping the Manheim Marketplace can make faster and smarter purchase decisions.

“With the wide usage of sites like Amazon and Netflix, people are used to seeing personalized recommendations and even expect it,” said Dr. Ben Flusberg, associate vice president of Decision Support, at Cox Automotive. “We’re bringing this capability to the wholesale market to help dealers quickly and easily find the right inventory and make faster decisions, which are core to Manheim’s mission.”

Using a variety of supervised and unsupervised machine learning techniques, Cox Automotive’s Data Solutions group built an AI-driven vehicle recommendation engine that learns on its own and improves over time. The technology evaluates a specific dealer’s historical buying and bidding patterns across a wide set of vehicle and market attributes and then scores available Manheim inventory against the dealer’s profile. When generating recommendations, Manheim’s algorithm accounts for dealer preferences across vehicle age, make, model, mileage, condition, seller segment and more, along with a variety of geographic and market factors.

Manheim has been piloting this new solution throughout 2018, so far emailing personalized vehicle recommendations to more than 15,000 dealers. Clients who viewed Manheim’s recommendations have been three times more likely to buy the recommended vehicles and have increased their buying activity by more than 10 percent, proving that Manheim’s recommendations help dealers quickly find the inventory they want.

“This is a great example of how we’re bringing together the best of our technology and data resources to give dealers a real, usable solution that will make it easier for them to buy the right vehicles,” said Ed Berkowitz, vice president of Product Management at Cox Automotive. “With the success of the pilot, we’re excited to make this modern experience available to dealers directly within the Manheim Marketplace.”

Starting in early 2019, dealers will be able to see their personalized recommendations by logging on to Manheim.com. 

About Manheim (www.manheim.com)

Manheim® is North America's leading provider of end-to-end wholesale solutions that help dealer and commercial clients increase profits in their used vehicle operations. Through its physical, mobile and digital sales network, Manheim offers services for inventory management, buying and selling, floor planning, logistics, assurance and reconditioning. With its omni-channel approach, Manheim Marketplace enables wholesale vehicle clients more efficient ways to connect and transact business how and when they want. Approximately 18,000 team members help Manheim offer 8 million used vehicles annually, facilitating transactions representing nearly $58 billion in value. Headquartered in Atlanta, Manheim North America is a Cox Automotive™ brand. For more information, visit http://press.manheim.com.

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