ALBANY, N.Y. – March 16th, 2015 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) today announced that Dave Druzynski, Director of Human Resources at Auto/Mate, will present "Social Media in Hiring and Employment" at the upcoming Innovative Dealer Summit in Denver, CO on April 7th and 8th, 2015. In his presentation Druzynski will share the current laws and practices that impact a dealership's use of social media in the hiring process. Attendees will learn about legal battles involving dealerships because of improper use of social media, along with how to craft a social media policy that will keep a dealership out of legal trouble.

"If a manager at your dealership has ever Googled a job candidate or looked at their Facebook or Twitter page, they may have accessed information that is protected by law," said Druzynski. "Some dealerships are finding themselves on the losing end of lawsuits because of the way they have used social media. However there are ways to take advantage of social media and I will share how to do that without infringing on current laws."

Attendees of Druzynski's breakout session will learn the following:

• The current laws that impact your dealership's use of social media as it relates to job applicants and the hiring process
• The laws as they relate to your current employees. Recent court cases have determined that practices such as disciplining employees for posting disparaging remarks on their social media profiles are illegal
• How courts are currently interpreting these laws and how they affect dealers' decision making
• How to craft a social media policy that will allow a dealership to take advantage of the tools available to them while remaining out of legal trouble

Druzynski has earned the prestigious distinction as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and is a member of the senior management team at Auto/Mate Dealership Systems. He provides strategic human resources planning in the areas of talent management, employee engagement, leadership development, benefits and compensation and legal and regulatory compliance.

For a video summary of Dave Druzynski's presentation, watch here: https://youtu.be/60nRsq9PAt4

For more information or to register for the Innovative Dealer Summit, visit www.innovativedealersummit.com.

About Auto/Mate

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is a leading provider of dealership management system (DMS) software to retail automotive dealerships, typically saving dealers thousands of dollars per month from their current provider. Our Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) is a user-friendly, feature-rich DMS in use by more than 1,100 auto dealers nationwide. Auto/Mate has received the DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Award in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Auto/Mate's employees have more than 940 years of combined experience working in franchised auto dealerships, the foundation of its “Designed By Car People For Car People^TM” slogan. Auto/Mate is committed to winning its customers’ business each and every month with no long-term contracts and free software upgrades. For more information follow us on Twitter @AutoMateDMS and subscribe to our blog at http://blog.automate.com

New York, NY -- March 16, 2015 -- HookLogic, the global leader in commerce search advertising and premium provider of lead-generating incentive solutions for automotive dealers, today announced that Sarasota Ford in Sarasota, FL is averaging a 68 percent show-to-close rate on leads generated from the AutoHook suite of solutions powered by HookLogic. The Ford dealer also averages a 45 times return-on-investment (ROI) from the leads, generating $45 in revenue for every dollar spent on AutoHook's marketing solutions.

Matt Buchanan, Operating Partner of Sarasota Ford, implemented AutoHook's Web2Show program in 2011. When potential customers are viewing inventory on Sarasota Ford's website, Web2Show offers them a $25 incentive to come into the dealership and take a test drive. "It made sense to me because we were paying about that much for third-party leads and many of those people we never even saw," said Buchanan. "So to only pay that much when a person comes into your showroom is a bargain."

Sarasota Ford also relies on AutoHook's Lead2Show to incent customers who submit leads through third-party sites. "You pay for the third-party lead and then you pay again if the person walks in to your showroom, but the extra cost is well worth it as we can close them (Lead2Show customers) more than 50 percent of the time," said Buchanan. "The Lead2Show program adds value to those third-party leads you're already paying for, as they are more likely to choose you over your competitor."

Sarasota Ford averages a 68 percent show-to-close rate on all leads generated from both the AutoHook Web2Show and Lead2Show marketing solutions. The close rate on AutoHook leads is much higher than the store's close rate for showroom ups without an appointment, which averages 20 percent; and significantly higher than the close rate for appointments with leads from other sources, which averages 50 percent.

AutoHook provides dealers with a unique and industry-leading attribution model. Marketing attribution enables dealers to understand which of their marketing channels and campaigns influence customer behavior during the purchase decision process. AutoHook's attribution reports provide dealers with metrics and insights so they can adjust marketing efforts to deliver the greatest ROI.

Buchanan appreciates the transparency of AutoHook's attribution reports as he can easily track the number of leads, shows and sales. In an average month, the Web2Show and Lead2Show programs deliver 94 leads to Sarasota Ford. Of those, 25 people show up for an average show rate of 27 percent. With a close rate averaging 68 percent, Buchanan can directly attribute an average 15 vehicle sales per month to the AutoHook programs. That's approximately six percent of the 250 non-fleet new vehicle sales that Sarasota Ford averages per month.

Sarasota Ford's results are close to the national averages for all Ford dealerships using AutoHook programs. AutoHook partners with IHS/Polk to track and validate its lead attribution from lead conception all the way to the sale. According to a recent report, in one month Ford dealers using AutoHook generated 32,155 leads and 9,838 walk-ins for a 31 percent show rate. Of those, nearly seven in ten bought a car for an average 68 percent show to close rate.

The higher show and close rates help to substantially boost ROI. Buchanan monitors what he spends with every lead provider. "AutoHook delivers the best ROI hands down. If you count all the gift cards plus the fees, for every dollar I spend I get 45 times the ROI," he said. "The national average for most dealer marketing programs is to spend about $3 to make $45."

According to the AutoHook/IHS/Polk reports for all Ford dealerships, the average monthly cost for AutoHook's program including the leads is $597. This breaks down to an average cost per lead of $7.44, a cost per show of $51.88 and a cost per sale of $76.07. 

The low cost per sale of AutoHook leads allows Sarasota Ford to incorporate incentives into other marketing campaigns. Buchanan includes Web2Show incentives in targeted email campaigns to customers, and likes to use Lead2Show for geo-targeting customers on third-party websites.

AutoHook's Lead2Show program incorporates a leading-edge technology called a propensity filter to identify in-market shoppers. When a customer submits a lead through a third-party website, AutoHook is able to determine the likelihood of that customer purchasing based on a number of factors including their previous online shopping behavior.

Lead2Show offers in-market customers who live across town or close to a competitive dealership with higher incentives, such as $50 or $100, to get them to drive to Sarasota Ford. "A couple of times we've had people drive 200 miles just to come see us," said Buchanan. "The higher cost of the card is not an issue because if they're coming this far we'll almost always close them. The amount is not so high that it draws people who aren't serious, because that $100 doesn't amount to much after the cost of gas, lunch and the person's time."

For Sarasota Ford, AutoHook has increased the performance and ROI from its website, third-party and geo-targeting marketing efforts. The Web2Show and Lead2Show programs deliver more leads and increase the value of all leads by increasing the likelihood those customers will come to the showroom. "AutoHook is a show provider, not a lead provider," said Buchanan, "and I really respect the AutoHook team. They put their dealers first."

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About HookLogic:

HookLogic, the global leader in commerce search advertising, partners with the world’s leading retailers, online travel agencies, and automotive companies to provide marketers unprecedented access to active category shoppers and a clear view into resulting sales attribution. The company’s high-performance vertical marketing programs accelerate sales for product brands, marketplace sellers, hoteliers, and automotive marketers. Network partners and advertisers including Walmart, Target, Intel, Asda, L’Oreal, Expedia, Priceline, General Motors, and Chrysler use HookLogic to increase sales and monetize site traffic. Backed by Bain Capital Ventures and Intel Capital, HookLogic is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Ann Arbor, Santa Monica, Atlanta, and London, UK.

(ATLANTA) – ELEAD1ONE, the leader in customer contact management, CRM and
dealership software for auto retailers today announced its pledge of ongoing
donations to support the Oakland California Youth Outreach, Inc. (OCYO)
throughout 2015. The donations help fund case management services provided to
high-risk youth and young adults in the Central and East Oakland areas.

“The OCYO journey to serve the teens and young people of Oakland began during
the mid-sixties. These type of small charitable organizations make a huge difference
in communities across the country,” stated Bill Wittenmyer, partner of ELEAD1ONE,
a division of Data Software Services, L.L.C. “ELEAD1ONE is committed to the future
of OCYO as it moves toward a more vital role in the support and economic
transformation already underway in this beautiful city. It is our honor to provide
assistance to those who serve ‘Street Outreach’ and ‘Men of Influence’ in building
more active relationships within Oakland’s most volatile areas.”

The donations from ELEAD1ONE began in January 2015, and include a percentage of
the company’s monthly sales revenue. ELEAD1ONE continues to volunteer to
Oakland’s diverse younger population for services such as conflict mediation,
improving school attendance and population, and development of personal and
career goals for success.

"We greatly appreciate ELEAD1ONE for supporting our efforts in reducing violent
crime here in the City of Oakland,” stated Geoffrey Godfrey, Executive Director of
OCYO. “Our young people are a great investment and we are doing the best we can
to support them, their families and the communities affected by the violence in our
city."

To learn more about this organization or make a donation, please visit
http://www.oaklandcyoinc.org/contact.

About ELEAD1ONE 
Six of the top ten dealer groups have chosen to partner with ELEAD1ONE, the most
intelligent and intuitive dealership software available in today’s automotive market.
ELEAD1ONE helps dealers achieve unmatched results in increased sales and profit,
lead generation, customer communication, sales process, retention and complete
lifecycle management across all departments. The company’s automotive-only
customer contact management center and CRM are the foundations of their unique
dealer-focused suite of products and profit-building strategies. No other company in
the industry has the resources or ability of ELEAD1ONE to maintain a 100 percent ocus on training, teaching, and support after the sale. For more information, visit
our Website, like us on Facebook, YouTube or follow us on Twitter.

Contact
Melissa Maxey
melissa.maxey@eleadcrm.com
P: 229.469.9903

Finalists, selected by dealer judges from twenty-eight submissions, will compete for
2015 MVI award at DrivingSales Presidents Club conference

Salt Lake City, UT - March 12, 2015 - DrivingSales today announced the finalists of the 2015 DrivingSales Most Valuable Insight Competition, which was created to foster the spirit of progress and thought leadership in the auto industry. Contestants for the award are asked to provide an insight, founded on original research, which can provide significant value to dealership executives.  Twenty-eight organizations submitted insights, from which 10 semi-finalists and 4 finalists were selected to compete for the sole Most Valuable Insight award at the DrivingSales President’s Club on April 1 in New York City.

The 2015 DrivingSales Most Valuable Insight Finalists are (alphabetically by company):

• "Fine Tune Your Fixed Ops Phone Skills: Inbound call handling secrets revealed," presented by CallSource
• "The Next Chapter of Car Buying: Consumer preference will drive radical change in dealership process," presented by Cox Automotive
• "The Importance of Quality Response," presented by SCI MarketView
• "How Pricing Drives New Vehicle Buyer Preference And Profitability," presented by vAuto

This year’s semifinalists, in alphabetical order, were CDK Global, DealerX, DME Automotive, Digital Air Strike, Haystak Digital Marketing, and Pearl Technology Holdings.  All finalists will be featured in an industry insights review in DealerExec Magazine, which reaches nearly 30,000 dealer execs in the US and Canada.

The DrivingSales Most Valuable Insight finalists were chosen by a panel of top Dealer Principals/Owners and General Managers from innovative dealerships across the US.  The submissions were evaluated entirely on their merits, without identifying the submitter.  The Dealer Panel based their decisions on the following criteria:

• Insight usefulness and applicability to a dealership/group
• Topic relevancy to a Dealer Principal or GM
• Magnitude of results or impact of the insight to a dealership/group
• Insight originality

“This year’s candidates for the Most Valuable Insight award will contribute valuable, important and implementable ideas to the dealership innovation conversation at this year’s Presidents Club,” said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton. “Data-based innovation is alive, well and thriving in our industry as evidenced by the fact that we received more applications this year than ever before – and the judges had a tough time choosing just four.”

Each finalist company will present its ‘valuable insight’ on stage at the 2015 DrivingSales Presidents Club. The presentation includes a Q&A with a panel of dealer judges who will score each insight. The finalist company determined to have the Most Valuable Insight will have the opportunity to present findings in more detail at the annual DrivingSales Executive Summit held in Las Vegas in October 2015.

The Most Valuable Insight Competition is part of a high-level line-up at the DrivingSales Presidents Club that includes the former leader of Navy SEAL Team Six, Sonic Automotive’s VP and CMO Rachel Richards, and a keynote, “Winning Consumer Experiences for 2015,” from DrivingSales CEO and founder Jared Hamilton. Hamilton will reveal brand new data from the company’s 16-month, $1 million study on the rapid evolution of auto shopping behavior, as well as offering dramatic new insights into what dealers should, and can, do to make their stores more competitive. Visit http://www.drivingsalespresidentsclub.com for more information and to register for the event.

For more information about the DrivingSales Most Valuable Insight Competition, go to http://www.drivingsalespresidentsclub.com/competition/.

Check out today’s blog on DrivingSales at: http://www.drivingsales.com/blogs/DrivingSales/2015/03/06/2015-most-valuable-insight-finalists-announced.

About The DrivingSales Presidents Club

Held annually on the east coast, The DrivingSales Presidents Club offers dealer principals a place where they can access the right, relevant information to lead their dealerships – profit-building information filtered through those who understand it best: innovative leaders from inside and outside the industry who have built great business strategies; progressive dealerships who are making a difference on the ground, and the forward-thinking general managers and dealership principals who not only know what information matters, but how it matters. The event, which is dealer-designed to cover the topics most relevant to the challenges of dealership leadership today, also emphasizes peer interaction and idea-sharing forums. Discussions and presentations focus on the three foundational assets of successful dealership operations, Capital, Brand and People and the event includes The Most Valuable Insight competition.

About DrivingSales

DrivingSales enables retail automotive dealers to learn, connect, innovate, and prosper in a rapidly changing retail environment. DrivingSales operates three business units geared at delivering actionable insight to dealers; DrivingSales Media, which comprises the DrivingSales.com dealer community, DrivingSales News, DealerExec Magazine, and multiple industry conferences. DrivingSales University, the leading provider of automotive retail education content and certification programs, and DrivingSales Data, the industry’s largest cross-channel data analytics platform.

Founded by a third-generation car dealer in 2008, today DrivingSales is utilized by over 60% of franchised dealerships in North America as a resource to improve their business performance.  To learn more about the DrivingSales community, news, training or performance analytics visit DrivingSales.com, DrivingSalesNews.com, DrivingSalesUniversity.com and DrivingSalesData.com

DrivingSales Media Relations:
Melanie Webber (melanie(at)mwebbcom(dot)com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340
Crystal Hartwell (crystal(at)mwebbcom(dot)com), mWEBB Communications, 714.987.1016

New York, NY— March 9, 2015 –  HookLogic, the global leader in commerce search advertising and premium provider of lead-generating incentive solutions for automotive dealers, today announced that GM car dealers that use Mobile2Show, a best in class mobile targeting and showrooming solution, can now tap the GM iMR (inMarketRetail) turnkey program for matching funds. Mobile2Show targets competitive dealership/brands in the mobile environment, both on the dealer’s site as well as other local and regional sites, and drives prospects away from competitors and into the dealership’s showroom.

GM previously approved two other products from the AutoHook Suite of Solutions: Web2Show, a tool that converts traffic from the dealer’s website into more showroom visitors. Prospects that visit the dealer’s site are invited to choose a free gift, redeemable by visiting their showroom. And Lead2Show, a tool that maximizes the dealers 3^rd party leads using scoring via data partners, such as Polk and Dataium, to immediately identify the highest intent to buy customers.

Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC dealers who use AutoHook’s Suite of Solutions currently drive a very low average cost-per-lead, cost per-showroom visit and a cost per sale. Matching funds drive those costs even lower in real terms, by, in effect, splitting the cost per lead between automaker and dealer.

“We’re pleased that our Mobile2Show, Web2Show and Lead2Show solutions have been approved for GM’s iMR turnkey matching,” said David Metter, president of automotive for HookLogic. “It further validates what thousands of dealers already know: HookLogic drives the highest-intent buyers into their showrooms, making their job of selling a car easier. Even more, having the ability to attribute a showroom visit and a sale back through our Polk attribution reporting gives GM dealers great power.”

Lead2Show intelligently identifies leads that have the highest intent to purchase and then incentivizes those individuals to visit the referring dealership for a test drive. Dealers using Lead2Show have an average Lead to Show rate of more than 30 percent — nearly double the national average. 

Web2Show is an industry-leading tool that intelligently delivers incentives to people who display in-market behavior and meet certain targeting criteria.

Mobile2Show helps dealers to conquest customers away from a competitor’s dealership and into their showroom. Its responsive design enables the display of a call to action on mobile devices or the dealer’s mobile site. Once clicked, the incentive is delivered by email or text message and the customer is promptly connected to the dealership through the e-delivery of driving directions, or via phone.

HookLogic’s user interface has over 19,000 franchised dealerships precisely mapped out, making it an easy process for dealers and OEMs to locate and choose specific competitive dealerships to target with Mobile2Show. When a customer at a targeted competitor searches the dealer’s or OEM’s site, a dynamic offer pushes the customer out of the competitor’s dealership and into the Mobile2Show dealership for a test drive.  Once at that dealership, the customer redeems their offer via a simple 30-second process that precisely attributes the showroom visit and sale back to the mobile offer.  Mobile2Show is the first true automotive showrooming solution tied to HookLogic’s award-winning attribution engine, which can directly attribute sales at the dealership, and in most states, from other dealerships as well.

Should the customer fail to visit the dealership’s website while showrooming, HookLogic’s dynamic incentives enable Mobile2Show to target customers browsing on hundreds of other mobile websites and apps powered by Verve Mobile.  Each dealership and OEM can customize the targeting of customers based on geographic region and local Auto Intenders. Mobile2Show can also retarget consumers that showed interest in an earlier mobile visit, enabling dealers to reach the right customer at the right time with the right offer. “Our dealers and OEM partners can protect their own backyard, conquest around competitor’s dealerships, and even retarget opportunities,” said Metter.

To schedule a demonstration any of the AutoHook Suite of Solutions, visit: http://www6.hooklogic.com/autodemo. And to find out more about this GM iMR turnkey program call: 855-lead-2-show (855-532-3274).

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About HookLogic:

HookLogic, the global leader in commerce search advertising, partners with the world’s leading retailers, online travel agencies, and automotive companies to provide marketers unprecedented access to active category shoppers and a clear view into resulting sales attribution. The company’s high-performance vertical marketing programs accelerate sales for product brands, marketplace sellers, hoteliers, and automotive marketers. Network partners and advertisers including Walmart, Target, Intel, Asda, L’Oreal, Expedia, Priceline, General Motors, and Chrysler use HookLogic to increase sales and monetize site traffic. Backed by Bain Capital Ventures and Intel Capital, HookLogic is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Ann Arbor, Santa Monica, Atlanta, and London, UK.

DealerInspire’s network of dealers now have immediate access to CarStory’s unique reports, which are based on analysis of millions of used vehicle listings and millions of real-world, real-time searches by online shoppers.

Austin, Texas – March 3, 2015 – CarStory, the industry’s largest provider of crowdsourced data and analytics on used vehicle pricing and preferences, today announced another partnership with a leading provider of dealership websites, DealerInspire. An advanced website platform for the automotive industry, DealerInspire has integrated CarStory Market Reports, a free merchandising tool and lead source, into its award-winning website platform. To date, over 3,000 dealers now have access to CarStory Market Reports.

“Today’s auto shoppers use 24 research touch points in their car buying process. Every time a consumer leaves a dealer website to find more information, it is a lost opportunity. Keeping consumers engaged by delivering information and insights from across the market can eliminate this leakage - enabling car buyers to come to quicker decisions, while helping dealers sell more cars,” said Chad Bockius, Chief Marketing Officer of CarStory. “We are pleased that DealerInspire, a truly progressive website provider and one that places a high value on customer experience, has adopted our reports to help their dealers convert more browsers to buyers. “

In a recent survey, CarStory discovered that 67% of consumers want to understand a vehicle’s pricing relative to similar models in their area and 73% of consumers want to better understand the value of the vehicle they are considering. CarStory Market Reports fill this information gap right from the dealer website, offering local, real-time insights on every vehicle on the lot, including detailed market comparisons, mileage assessments relative to similar vehicles on the market, as well as the vehicle features valued most by other consumers. Furthermore, the reports analyze the vehicles consumers are comparing online and intelligently recommend alternatives that are most likely to convert that shopper – an industry first.

“CarStory Market Reports are a great, new solution that help dealers gain customer confidence in the used vehicles on their lots. We believe the reports will shorten the sales process by encouraging faster purchasing decisions and by helping dealers more rapidly move shoppers from online researchers to on-the-lot buyers,” said Joe Chura, CEO of DealerInspire. “We are happy to be among the first website providers to offer our dealers CarStory Market Reports and are convinced the reports will become a de facto requirement for used vehicle listings in the future.”

In addition to the integration on DealerInspire websites, CarStory Market Reports are also available from website providers Wayne Reaves and AutoCorner LLC, both of which specialize in independent dealer websites.

CarStory Market Reports’ insights are generated from a combination of more than four million real-time used vehicle listings and crowdsourced data from over eight million searches a week that help move consumers from online shoppers to on-the-lot buyers. Powered by Vast, the industry-leading big data platform for more than 300 automotive marketplaces, the reports give car buyers the present-day “story” of a vehicle – educating them on the features most valued by other consumers and validating pricing with real-time market data. The reports also serve as a powerful customer engagement tool for dealership sales personnel, providing a virtual walk around of every vehicle on the lot. With multiple pre-owned models, makes and years for sale at each dealership, the reports help ensure that each salesperson has the important details on the vehicle he/she is showing, which, in turn, can help them convert.

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About CarStory

CarStory is the industry’s largest provider of crowdsourced data and analytics on used vehicle pricing and preferences. CarStory Market Reports synthesize over four million real-time used vehicle listings with crowdsourced data from over eight million searches a week to produce unique insights that help move consumers from online shoppers to on-the-lot buyers. By uncovering facts, features and competitive differentiators that make each vehicle unique in any given market, CarStory offers dealers and consumers the confidence they need to condense the sales process and walk away happy. Learn more at CarStory.com

About Vast

Vast is the premier provider of big data solutions for life’s biggest purchases. Vast’s industry-leading big data platform and applications are currently in use at many of the largest automotive, real estate and travel businesses in the world. Vast serves Global 1,000 companies, including AOL and Southwest Airlines, and powers more than 300 automotive marketplaces. Learn more at Vast.com.

About DealerInspire

DealerInspire offers award-winning customized solutions in website building that create sites that are as unique as the companies we serve. Adaptive, responsive technology provides a clean web experience from any device. Some of the largest dealerships in the US have seen increases in lead conversions of well over 50% after switching to the Inspire platform. The analytics dashboard allows administrators to monitor true ROI, SEM, SEO, social and more. DealerInspire is built by dealers, for dealers. Learn more at DealerInspire.com.

CarStory Media Relations:

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (949) 307-1723

Melanie@mwebbcom.com

Cassandra Cavanah, mWEBB Communications, (818) 397-4630

Cassandra@mwebbcom.com

Attendees who pre-register by Friday, March 6th will be entered to win one pair of Red Sox tickets!

ALBANY, N.Y. – March 2nd, 2015 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) today announced it will be hosting a User Summit for its auto dealer customers on Friday, April 17th in Westborough, MA. The User Summit is an all-day event with breakout sessions featuring product experts who will introduce and give in-depth training on the latest and greatest features of Auto/Mate's dealership management system (DMS).

"Due to overwhelming and positive feedback from our first user summit in September, we realize our customers really appreciate being able to meet and network with our own employees as well as other Auto/Mate users," said Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate Dealership Systems. "On our end, the feedback we receive from our customers during the event is invaluable."

There is no charge for Auto/Mate customers to attend the all-day event, which includes a hosted breakfast, lunch and cocktail hour. Space is limited to 150 attendees and will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Auto/Mate's customers who pre-register for the User Summit by Friday, March 6th will be entered to win one pair of Red Sox tickets. The tickets are for two grandstand seats to the Red Sox home game on Saturday, April 18th at 4 p.m. Ticket winners will be announced Monday, March 9th and the tickets will be given to the winner at the summit.

Auto/Mate's User Summit is geared toward dealership executives and managers who want to learn more about Auto/Mate's DMS features and capabilities. Highlights will include:

• Introduction: Auto/Mate's Vision and Future Plans

• New Feature Announcements: Option/Mate mobile F&I menu, Rev/Mate online scheduling and menu building, Rates, Residuals and Rebates, multi-point inspection for mobile service, payroll and accounting updates, auto dispatch, the latest Open/Mate integrations, data security and more.

• Rockin' 101 with Ken Rock: High-level feature overview of every module in Auto/Mate's Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) dealership management system.

• Break Out Sessions featuring Auto/Mate's advanced tech support "Go Team," and a "Town Hall" format where users can ask questions and discuss ideas in an open forum

Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to network with Open/Mate partners and other vendors with the addition of exhibitor tables at this year's event, along with peers to learn what's new in the industry and best practices.

Mark Everly, Controller with the Donley Auto Group in Ashland, OH attended Auto/Mate's September User Summit in Albany, NY. "It was worth the trip! It's obvious that Auto/Mate is working for their dealers...and their dealers' workflow and efficiency in mind. It was nice to hear what's coming in the near future and to talk with other dealers and with Auto/Mate staff."

The User Summit will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at 5400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA. To book a reservation call 800-222-TREE.

Auto/Mate is offering sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities to Open/Mate partners and other vendors. For more details contact Jessica Joralemon, Manager of Events and Marketing Communications, at usersummit@automate.com or 877-340-2677.

For more information, visit www.automate.com/usersummit

About Auto/Mate

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is a leading provider of dealership management system (DMS) software to retail automotive dealerships, typically saving dealers thousands of dollars per month from their current provider. Our Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) is a user-friendly, feature-rich DMS in use by more than 1,100 auto dealers nationwide. Auto/Mate has received the DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Award in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Auto/Mate's employees have more than 940 years of combined experience working in franchised auto dealerships, the foundation of its “Designed By Car People For Car People^TM” slogan. Auto/Mate is committed to winning its customers’ business each and every month with no long-term contracts and free software upgrades. For more information follow us on Twitter @AutoMateDMS 

Huntington Beach, CA – March 2, 2015 – Vboost Inc., (www.vboost.com), a viral marketing company focused on the auto industry, today announced the release of Vboost 2.0.  The new platform dramatically increases dealer flexibility and customer interaction.  Vboost customer video views exceeded the 1 million mark in 2014, and the company has quickly become an Industry leader in digital viral marketing.

Vboost is the first proactive process to bring more referral business to auto dealers by creating positive viral marketing that is delivered quickly and gets shared. It involves a streamlined process via a mobile application and three unique technologies, which collect customer photos at the time of vehicle delivery and convert them to custom music videos. These videos are then sent directly to the customer. As these branded messages are sent during the emotional highpoint of the customer’s buying process, Vboost has found that most buyers are compelled to upload and share these videos with family and friends via Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, email and other social media platforms. Vboost then monitors and quantifies results from each viral marketing campaign and reports the results back to their dealers.

"We’ve had Vboost in our dealership for over two years. We see more referrals and our customers love getting their photos.  Now that it's faster and gives customers more options, we are seeing even higher share numbers than before," said Jared Miller, Vice President & General Manager of Lexus Stevens Creek.

The program, built by automotive experts just for car dealers, is a photo taking process that customer’s love. It is so simple and fast, even low tech team members find it easy to use.  With Vboost 2.0, customers now have the additional option of sharing their customized video or any of their photos taken at delivery. They can also connect directly to their sales rep and dealership sites - post public reviews, and book their first service appointment - all from the new Vboost landing page.  The new version 2.0 also allows dealer personnel to walk customers through online public reviews directly from the Vboost platform on the customers’ cell phones. 

“Since the release of our new platform, we are seeing increased shares, views and interaction with the dealership," said Paul Moran, Vboost CEO.  "We have dealers with customer share rates over 75 percent and individual dealers getting over 1,000 video views every month."

Over 100 dealers have moved to the new Vboost 2.0 platform and are enjoying the results.  With Vboost 2.0, dealers can now add offers for their sold customers through their very first communication, which reaches the customer before they even leave the dealership. Once the message is shared, the offer changes, so as to be more compelling for these new prospects. Vboost is the only product of its kind that targets the "Family & Friends" of every buyer.

"Speed and volume are key.  Our program is so easy that it actually gets used.  When you can send hundreds of viral messages every month, your dealership feels the lift," says Moran.  According to Moran, Vboost works because a message coming from a friend has much more social influence than anything coming from a dealership. 

Future plans for Vboost include the release of a new app in the second quarter of 2015 that promises to bring even more innovative ways to expand dealership branding. 

 To find out more about Vboost play this video:
 

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About Vboost:

Based in Huntington Beach, CA, Vboost, Inc., is the first proactive process to bring more referral business to dealers by creating positive viral marketing that is delivered quickly and gets shared. It involves a streamlined process via a mobile application and three unique technologies, which collect customer photos at the time of vehicle delivery, convert them to custom music videos and sends them directly to the customer. By sending these branded messages to customers during the emotional highpoint of the buying process, we have found that most buyers are compelled to upload and share these videos with family and friends via Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, email and other social media platforms. Best of all, results from each viral marketing campaign are being monitored, quantified and reported back to the dealers. For more information or a demonstration call 800.799.3130 or visit www.Vboost.com

Urbandale, IA--February 24th, 2015--Flick Fusion (www.flickfusion.com) today announced it has released an upgraded version of its mobile apps for iPhone and Android devices. Lot service companies that provide auto dealers with inventory videos can now use mobile devices to shoot high-quality HD video, text or email videos to clients, extract images from videos and upload videos to websites, YouTube, Facebook and other third-party sites.

"Mobile apps make it easy for lot service reps using our platform to speed up the collection process and better service their dealership clients," said Brian Cox, President and CEO of Flick Fusion Video Marketing. "Our upgraded version puts the power of our entire video production platform in a rep's hands."

Flick Fusion's video marketing platform provides lot service companies with a turnkey solution for creating and distributing inventory videos. Lot service reps can use their mobile devices or camera of choice to capture live video. From there they can instantly upload the videos from their mobile device, use a custom built Windows Native application to attach videos to the inventory and send it, or transfer the video files via File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

Once the videos are uploaded, the Flick Fusion platform automatically completes the post-production work and distributes the videos to dealerships' inventory pages, YouTube and other third-party inventory sites. Flick Fusion even adds OEM certifications and Carfax details to the completed inventory videos.

Flick Fusion's recent acquisition of Dealer Fusion expanded its list of relationships with lot service companies including DiamondLot, Redline and Auto Source of Florida. The video marketing platform offers these companies and other network resellers a fast, easy and cost-effective solution for providing dealership clients with high-quality inventory videos.

 The complete list of mobile app features includes the following:

 Communication

• Ability to text or email videos
• Ability to capture a custom video and message it to the client

Capture/Customization

• Record live walk-around videos and audio of vehicles in inventory
• Upload videos instantly from mobile devices to a dealership website, YouTube, Facebook and other third-party sites
• Upload ad videos such as marketing, branding, testimonials, service department, etc.
• Extract images from videos for an inventory photo gallery

Other Features

• Watch videos on mobile device
• View current inventory & vehicle descriptions
• Search for vehicles by stock number
• Save vehicles to a favorite list
• Manage multiple rooftops from one login
• List pending inventory (inventory that still needs a live video)
• Record live videos before the inventory is in the system
• Schedule videos to be uploaded later (if wi-fi is not available)
• Capture inventory videos even if there is no wi-fi connection
• Use Flick Fusion's reporting system to report the video views

Flick Fusion clients can download the new mobile apps for Android and iPhones from the following websites (account info required):

Google play store: http://bit.ly/1CPeVxn

Apple iTunes: http://bit.ly/181TktW

For more information on Flick Fusion's video marketing platform, visit http://www.flickfusion.com

About Flick Fusion

Flick Fusion specializes in creating, managing, and distributing dynamic and cost-effective online and mobile video products. Each video is designed to help dealerships reach and engage with customers, delivering rich content that results in increased sales and ROI. Flick Fusion produces video content for more than 3,000 dealerships and more than a dozen reseller partners. For more information, visit www.flickfusion.com.

Partnership means over 1,000 independent dealers will benefit from CarStory’s unique reports, which are designed to build consumer confidence in used car purchasing process and to help dealers better engage customers online and on the lot

Austin, Texas - February 24, 2015 – CarStory, the industry’s largest provider of crowdsourced data and analytics on used vehicle pricing and preferences, today announced that it has partnered with AutoCorner, a leading website provider for independent dealerships. The partnership integrates CarStory Market Reports, a free merchandising tool and lead source, into the nearly 1,000 dealer websites AutoCorner builds and hosts.

CarStory Market Reports uncover unique insights from a combination of more than four million real-time used vehicle listings and crowdsourced data from over eight million searches a week that help move consumers from online shoppers to on-the-lot buyers. Powered by Vast, the industry-leading big data platform for more than 300 automotive marketplaces, the reports give car buyers the present-day “story” of a vehicle – educating them on the features most valued by other consumers and validating pricing with real-time market data.  The reports also serve as a powerful customer engagement tool for dealership sales personnel, providing a virtual walk around of every vehicle on the lot. With multiple pre-owned models, makes and years for sale at each dealership, the reports help ensure that each salesperson has the important details on the vehicle he/she is showing, which, in turn, can help them convert.

“CarStory Market Reports build consumer confidence in vehicle purchases which, in turn, accelerates buying decisions – a real win for our dealers,” said Albert Dewey, Co-founder of AutoCorner LLC. “We are pleased to be one of the first website providers to give auto dealers a direct feed of CarStory Market Reports. Not only is this a free added benefit but the integration is seamless – no extra time or work is required.”

In addition to critical pricing data, CarStory Market Reports highlight important vehicle information for both salesperson and consumer, such as the number of owners the vehicle has had, if it has low mileage relative to others on the market, whether or not the car is likely to sell quickly, as well as the features and packages that people find most interesting and valuable - something consumers can use to determine if the car will have a high resale value.  And this is information consumers say they want. In a recent survey conducted by CarStory, 73% of consumers said they want to better understand the value of the vehicle they are considering and 59% want to understand its pricing relative to similar models.

“Until now, consumers only had access to a vehicle’s past history and pricing, but CarStory gives them a real-time and more relevant view of that used vehicle. This means less shopping time for consumers and, because they come to a quicker purchase decision, a more rapid sales process for the dealer,” said Chad Bockius, Chief Marketing Officer of CarStory. “AutoCorner dealers should see an immediate benefit from the integration of CarStory Market Reports due to the increased consumer engagement they drive – online shoppers typically spend over three minutes on a Market Report – which ultimately leads to an increase in both leads and sales.”

“CarStory’s independent reports uniquely merchandise every used vehicle on my lot – without any extra work from me,” Abdul Rahimi, owner of Carmart VA, Inc. in Stafford, VA. “The showcasing of the most in-demand features, combined with the virtual walk-around, quickly educates both the customers and my sales team about the value of the vehicle.”

In addition to providing all AutoCorner dealers with CarStory Market Reports, the company is also adding the reports to their newly launched used car marketplace (www.autocorner.com), a site that has been designed to make searching for a used vehicle intuitive and easy. The website is available in both English and Spanish to better serve the growing Hispanic car-buying market in the US.

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About CarStory

CarStory is the industry’s largest provider of crowdsourced data and analytics on used vehicle pricing and preferences. CarStory Market Reports synthesize over four million real-time used vehicle listings with crowdsourced data from over eight million searches a week to produce unique insights that help move consumers from online shoppers to on-the-lot buyers. By uncovering facts, features and competitive differentiators that make each vehicle unique in any given market, CarStory offers dealers and consumers the confidence they need to condense the sales process and walk away happy. Learn more at CarStory.com

About Vast

Vast is the premier provider of big data solutions for life’s biggest purchases. Vast’s industry-leading big data platform and applications are currently in use at many of the largest automotive, real estate and travel businesses in the world. Vast serves Global 1,000 companies, including AOL and Southwest Airlines, and powers more than 300 automotive marketplaces. Learn more at Vast.com.

About AutoCorner

AutoCorner is a turnkey website system for used car dealers that seamlessly integrates with third-party data sources, services and online destinations, providing the dealer an easy-to-use back-end system to manage vehicle inventory, customer leads and more. For the car buying public, AutoCorner powered websites provide a user friendly experience, are lightning fast to load, and offer the best SEO of any system available today. For only $99 a month, the AutoCorner system is not only a great value but outperforms other systems costing thousands more. Learn more at www.autocorner.com

Media Relations: 

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (949) 307-1723, melanie@mwebbcom.com 

Cassandra Cavanah, mWEBB Communications, (818) 397-4630, cassandra@mwebbcom.com