AdAgencyOnline.Net

Consolidations in the auto industry have created a new urgency for automotive advertising agencies to shift automotive advertising online. The rise of the Internet isn’t new news as 92% of car shoppers are said to be cruising the Internet Super Highway vs. their local auto dealer row. However, the need to fill in gaps for manufacturers who have closed thousands of brick and mortar facilities throughout the United States has surfaced problems for some and opportunities for others.

AdAgencyOnline.Net has focused on the opportunities on their free automotive advertising resource / networking site that has earned its reputation as the “One Stop Site For All Of Your Automotive Advertising News and Needs.” The portal’s blog talk radio station – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time – features blog talk radio shows including “Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising,” “Lunch With Ralph Discussing Automotive Advertising” and “Automotive Advertising Experts.” Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and host of the blog talk radio shows on WAAOL has interviewed dozens of nationally recognized automotive advertising experts and respected auto industry insiders to share best practices with his online audience of automotive advertising agencies, auto dealers and automotive advertising technology vendors.

Philip explained the recent accelerated pace by automotive advertising agencies to find customers on the World Wide Web, “The shrinking economy may have warranted the reduction in the number of brick and mortar auto dealership facilities needed to service current sales, however, no business can survive if they only market themselves to today car buyers. Branding messages have always been integrated into conventional advertising to build top of the mind awareness for auto dealers who recognize the need to get on the short list for tomorrow’s car buyers as well as today’s. The problem is that automotive advertising agencies are working with reduced automotive advertising budgets to stay within line item expense guidelines set by their auto dealer clients who can barely cover payroll so conventional media messages must be limited to calls to action to buy today. The solution for both today and tomorrow can be found on the Internet with the use of cost effective Search Engine Optimization plans, monitored Search Engine Marketing campaigns with managed R.O.I. guidelines and the integration of leveraged online automotive advertising platforms like http://EveryCarListed.Com.

“In addition to the extended online footprint offered by inventory based websites like Every Car Listed, automotive advertising agencies are turning to new automotive advertising technologies and applications that improve the conversion of existing online traffic to produce leads in sales and/or service when automotive advertising budgets don’t leave them any alternative. For example, online customer interaction platforms like Argistics with their AutoTransaXion application that provides a two way video dialogue allowing online shoppers to negotiate and even purchase a vehicle online are able to fill in for the missing auto dealership facilities. Similarly, applications like SiSTeR Technologies Video CarLot enhance online presentations to replicate those in the real world by converting still pictures into professionally produced videos placed on the auto dealer’s website as well as on the search engines through their dedicated API with You Tube to facilitate shopping on the WWW vs. at a neighborhood auto dealership.”

“Another impact that the reduction in real world facilities has had on the auto industry is in the servicing of vehicles and the customer loyalty and retention that is tied to it. The inconvenience for customers that have lost their neighborhood auto dealer presents an opportunity for the surviving auto dealers who are fighting to pick up the closed dealership’s service and parts business. Fixed Operations can represent income equal to 85% plus of an auto dealer’s operational expenses. More importantly, as these new service customers mature into needing a new vehicle the profits in the resulting sales are the key to survival in a changing auto industry. Automotive advertising agencies are sensitive to this new audience of potential conquest customers and the best place for auto dealers to find them, or more correctly – to help them find the auto dealer – is to advertise on the Internet.”

AdAgencyOnline.Net has scheduled several new blog talk radio shows in September featuring previous guests including Clayton Stanfield from eBay Motors who will appear on Friday, September 25^th 2009 between 12:00 Noon EST and 12:30 PM EST. Other shows interviewing automotive advertising insiders that have appeared on Automotive Advertising Experts in previous months are expected to include Mike DeCecco from Dealer.Com, Michael Spadafore from R. L. Polk and Tomer Alpert from SiSTeR Technologies. Past guests included Mark Boyd and Mark Dubis from CarFolks.Com, Jared Hamilton from DrivingSales.Com, Dale Pollak from vAuto, David Wassmann from NeoSynergy, Jerry Daniels from Automotive Broadcasting Network, (ABN), Terry Alling from Kihon Media, David Marod from LeadConverter, Brian Ferris and Spencer Sterling from DealMaker.Com, Mike Parsons from Laser Stream Video, Brian Hoecht from Ai Dealer, Ralph Paglia from ADP and host to the auto industry social networking community ADM, Len Critcher from ecarlist.com, Tim Zierden from AAX, Jim Ziegler, motivational speaker and consultant to the auto industry, Jeff Kershner, ecommerce director for The Mile One Automotive Group and host of the auto industry social networking forum DealerRefresh.Com, Jeff Raab from the Detroit Trading Company, (DTX), Ken Schwartz from CityTwist, Kevin Schwartz and Rick Rochon from AdSymetrix, Bruce Cerbone from Argistics, Scott Davis from Bull Dog Marketing Technologies, Matt Watson and Douglas Kinney from VinSolutions, Hal Howard and Don Pollock from New Wave Automotive, LLC, (NWA), Michael T. Fay from Colliers Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate and their C.A.R.S. division, Matt Brown and Zack Powell from TheDealerDashBoard.Com, Mark Burack from Liquid Motors, Pat Ryan, Jr. from FirstLook and Al Cantarella from AutoWebsitePlus.com.

The list is about to get longer according to Philip Zelinger, “The auto industry is consolidating their brick and mortar facilities in response to a shrinking economy and the government directed bankruptcy of General Motors and Chrysler. The solution to serving the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s car buyers can be found on the Internet Super Highway vs. yesterday’s local auto row. Automotive advertising agencies are challenged to replace conventional advertising like radio, T.V., Newspaper with online marketing messages. The key is to provide selling systems and processes that integrate the new “virtual showrooms” with the brick and mortar facilities all linked to the diverse channels available on the Internet to address a targeted audience. That solution is being provided by the automotive advertising vendors that I invite onto my shows.”

About Philip Zelinger

Philip Zelinger is the President of Ad Agency Online, LLC and founder of AdAgencyOnline.Net. He invested 25 years as a General Manager and Dealer Principal followed by his last ten years in the automotive advertising industry learning from the teams that he built so he can now presume to teach on forums like AdAgencyOnline.Net. His role as a “Dealer Coach” is enhanced by his hosting a nationally recognized auto industry social networking portal and blog talk radio station – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time. As the author of two books on the auto industry, including “How To Sell A Car – a Career Guide to The Automobile Industry,” he is a recognized authority on market trends and developing technologies with the responsibility of selecting key vendors and applications for his dealer clients as well as forming strategic partnerships for his vendor clients to leverage their shared resources to help them bring their products and services to market.

About AdAgencyOnline.Net and Ad Agency Online, L.L.C.

AdAgencyOnline.Net reviews automotive advertising vendors and new technologies on several blog talk radio shows in addition to the Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising. Other shows include “Lunch With Ralph Discussing Automotive Advertising” and “Automotive Advertising Experts.” The shows attract automotive advertising agencies, auto dealers, auto industry vendors and O.E.M. representatives that listen to WAAOL to find vendors, applications and technologies to maximize the R.O.I. for their automotive advertising dollars.

AAOL is a national network of independent affiliated automotive advertising agencies linked by an online communication / distribution system developed by Philip Zelinger. The proprietary operating system that powers AAOL was designed to reduce fixed and semi-variable expenses for full service automotive advertising agencies. The developing technologies that enhanced the performance of the independent automotive advertising agencies linked by AAOL has served as the role model for the solutions suggested on AdAgencyOnline.Net and represented by AAOL to their affiliated automotive advertising agencies when serving their auto dealer clients.

Ad Agency Online L.L.C is focused on discovering and representing new automotive advertising vendors not yet recognized by the mainstream automotive advertising industry. Recent automotive advertising vendors represented by AAOL include; Argistics – AutoTransaXion, EveryCarListed.Com, DealMaker.Com, CityTwist.Com, Bulldog Marketing Technologies, LeadConverter, Gumiyo, Kihon Media, CarFolks.Com, Ai Dealer, NeoSynergy, Laser Stream Video and Winked-In.Com; to name a few.

For more information on Philip Zelinger, Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. or any of the preferred automotive advertising vendors previously reviewed on WAAOL auto dealers and automotive advertising agencies should contact Philip through AdAgencyOnline.Net. Automotive advertising vendors, automotive advertising agencies and auto dealers that would like to be considered as a “preferred automotive advertising vendor” on AdAgencyOnline.Net and/or to hire/join Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. to represent them can contact Philip Zelinger at pzads@bellsouth.net, call him at 888-796-2228 or visit AdAgencyOnline.Net at http://adagencyonline.net. To quote Philip Zelinger, “Help is only a click away!” ###

Automotive advertising agencies follow AdAgencyOnline.Net onto the World Wide Web to listen and learn about the latest automotive advertising technologies and applications. The automotive advertising resource / networking portal hosts a blog talk radio station – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time – that reviews cutting edge automotive advertising vendors for the affiliated automotive advertising agencies of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. that anchors the portal. The loyal audience of auto dealers, automotive advertising technology providers and site visitors anxious to stay on top of developing automotive advertising trends that follow AdAgencyOnline.Net describe it as ”The one stop site for all of your automotive advertising needs.”

Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and host of WAAOL, conducts interviews of automotive advertising executives on several automotive advertising focused blog talk radio shows including “Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising,” “Lunch With Ralph Discussing Automotive Advertising,” and “Automotive Advertising Experts.” The shows air weekdays between 12:00 Noon EST and 12:30 PM EST. The shows are often preceded by blog posts and press releases reviewing the guests to build awareness of the unique automotive advertising applications that have earned them an invitation to the show.

Philip announced recently that he is accepting applications from new automotive advertising vendors in advance of his planned speaking engagement at the 7^th Digital Dealer Conference to be held November 1^st through November 3^rd in Nashville Tennessee. “I use automotive advertising venues like the Digital Dealer Conference and the N.A.D.A. Convention to platform cutting edge automotive advertising solutions for my affiliated automotive advertising agencies and attendees of my seminars. The automotive advertising technology sector is growing exponentially in synch with the shift onto the Internet by auto dealers trying to attract the consumers who have been flocking to the WWW to shop for a new or used vehicle. My role on AdAgencyOnline.Net is to find and review cutting edge automotive advertising applications that the main stream media hasn’t discovered yet and that is a never ending search.”

The list of previous guests include many of the most recognized automotive advertising experts in the industry as well as some new entries into the exploding automotive advertising technology sector. Past guests included, Clayton Stanfield from EBay Motors, Mark Boyd and Mark Dubis from CarFolks.Com, Jared Hamilton from DrivingSales.Com, Dale Pollak from vAuto, David Wassmann from NeoSynergy, Jerry Daniels from Automotive Broadcasting Network, (ABN), Terry Alling from Kihon Media, David Marod from LeadConverter, Brian Ferris and Spencer Sterling from DealMaker.Com, Mike Parsons from Laser Stream Video, Brian Hoecht from Ai Dealer, Ralph Paglia from ADP and host to the auto industry social networking community ADM, Len Critcher from ecarlist.com, Tim Zierden from AAX, Jim Ziegler, motivational speaker and consultant to the auto industry, Jeff Kershner, ecommerce director for The Mile One Automotive Group and host of the auto industry social networking forum DealerRefresh.Com, Jeff Raab from the Detroit Trading Company, (DTX), Mike DeCecco from Dealer.Com, Ken Schwartz from CityTwist, Michael R. Spadafore from R. L. Polk & Co., Kevin Schwartz and Rick Rochon from AdSymetrix, Bruce Cerbone from Argistics, Scott Davis from Bull Dog Marketing Technologies, Matt Watson and Douglas Kinney from VinSolutions, Hal Howard and Don Pollock from New Wave Automotive, LLC, (NWA), Michael T. Fay from Colliers Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate and their C.A.R.S. division, Matt Brown and Zack Powell from TheDealerDashBoard.Com, Mark Burack from Liquid Motors, Pat Ryan, Jr. from FirstLook and Al Cantarella from AutoWebsitePlus.com.

The list is about to get longer according to Philip Zelinger, “The auto industry is consolidating their brick and mortar facilities in response to a shrinking economy and the government directed bankruptcy of General Motors and Chrysler. The solution to serving the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s car buyers can be found on the Internet Super Highway vs. yesterday’s local auto row. Automotive advertising agencies are challenged to replace conventional advertising like radio, T.V., Newspaper with online marketing messages. The key is to provide selling systems and processes that integrate the new “virtual showrooms” with the brick and mortar facilities all linked to the diverse channels available on the Internet to address a targeted audience. That solution is being provided by the automotive advertising vendors that I invite onto my shows.”

About Philip Zelinger

Philip Zelinger is the President of Ad Agency Online, LLC and founder of AdAgencyOnline.Net. He invested 25 years as a General Manager and Dealer Principal followed by his last ten years in the automotive advertising industry learning from the teams that he built so he can now presume to teach on forums like AdAgencyOnline.Net. His role as a “Dealer Coach” is enhanced by his hosting a nationally recognized auto industry social networking portal and blog talk radio station – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time. As the author of two books on the auto industry, including “How To Sell A Car – a Career Guide to The Automobile Industry,” he is a recognized authority on market trends and developing technologies with the responsibility of selecting key vendors and applications for his dealer clients as well as forming strategic partnerships for his vendor clients to leverage their shared resources to help them bring their products and services to market.

About AdAgencyOnline.Net and Ad Agency Online, L.L.C.

AdAgencyOnline.Net reviews automotive advertising vendors and new technologies on several blog talk radio shows in addition to the Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising. Other shows include “Lunch With Ralph Discussing Automotive Advertising” and “Automotive Advertising Experts.” The shows attract automotive advertising agencies, auto dealers, auto industry vendors and O.E.M. representatives that listen to WAAOL to find vendors, applications and technologies to maximize the R.O.I. for their automotive advertising dollars.

AAOL is a national network of independent affiliated automotive advertising agencies linked by an online communication / distribution system developed by Philip Zelinger. The proprietary operating system that powers AAOL was designed to reduce fixed and semi-variable expenses for full service automotive advertising agencies. The developing technologies that enhanced the performance of the independent automotive advertising agencies linked by AAOL has served as the role model for the solutions suggested on AdAgencyOnline.Net and represented by AAOL to their affiliated automotive advertising agencies when serving their auto dealer clients.

Ad Agency Online L.L.C is focused on discovering and representing new automotive advertising vendors not yet recognized by the mainstream automotive advertising industry. Recent automotive advertising vendors represented by AAOL include; Argistics – AutoTransaXion, EveryCarListed.Com, DealMaker.Com, CityTwist.Com, Bulldog Marketing Technologies, LeadConverter, Gumiyo, Kihon Media, CarFolks.Com, Ai Dealer, NeoSynergy, Laser Stream Video and Winked-In.Com; to name a few.

For more information on Philip Zelinger, Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. or any of the preferred automotive advertising vendors previously reviewed on WAAOL auto dealers and automotive advertising agencies should contact Philip through AdAgencyOnline.Net. Automotive advertising vendors, automotive advertising agencies and auto dealers that would like to be considered as a “preferred automotive advertising vendor” on AdAgencyOnline.Net and/or to hire/join Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. to represent them can contact Philip Zelinger at pzads@bellsouth.net, call him at 888-796-2228 or visit AdAgencyOnline.Net at http://adagencyonline.net. To quote Philip Zelinger, “Help is only a click away!” ###

The auto industry is consolidating and many auto dealers are looking at their Real Estate from a different perspective. Automotive advertising agencies that used to focus on building traffic and simply selling cars are now focused on helping auto dealers reduce expenses and access their assets to survive in today’s troubled economy. The independent affiliated automotive advertising agencies of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. are uniquely positioned to share their resources through their communal automotive advertising resource / networking portal – http://AdAgencyOnline.Net .

AdAgencyOnline.Net hosts a blog talk radio station - WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time - which features an open business meeting show - Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising – that runs every Monday through Wednesday from 12:00 Noon EST to 12:30 PM EST at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/adagencyonline . Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and host of AdAgencyOnline.Net, will be interviewing Eric Cederstrand, Tom Brown and Leon Titus from Colliers International Tacoma Washington office this Monday, August 17^th 2009, to discuss the newly recognized importance and changing role of Real Estate in the auto industry.

The Tacoma office is just one local representative of a national network of Colliers International Real Estate offices that form an internal division focused on the auto industry – Colliers Automotive Real Estate Services, (C.A.R.S.). Philip Zelinger has a long standing relationship with the South Florida Colliers International Office – Colliers Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate – and he is a member of a four person team that developed the C.A.R.S. division within the Colliers International organization. Other founding members of the C.A.R.S. team include Michael T. Fay, President, Owen G. Cone, Senior Director and Clinton M. Casey, Senior Commercial Associate of the Colliers Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate office. The team has expanded C.A.R.S to include many other local offices that make up the national network who pool their resources to serve their auto dealer clients and investors.

ABOUT ERIC CEDERSTRAND – SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

COMPANY EXPERIENCE – Eric Cederstrand has been involved in Institutional Commercial Real Estate Brokerage and Development for 20 years. He has been with Colliers International for the past 10 years and has specialized in retail and office development. Before joining Colliers International, Eric spent 10 years with CB Richard Ellis. Eric is also President of Commencement Bay Development.

SPECIALIZATION – Throughout his career, Eric has been involved in over $1 Billion dollars in real estate transactions. He is widely recognized in the South Puget Sound as an “expert” in ground-up new construction in retail and office developments. Eric focuses on Landlord representation. He and his team work through identifying market niches, site selection, conceptual design, entitlements, contract selection, tenant lease up, project management and the eventual sale of the asset. Twelve years ago Eric began to focus on the redevelopment of downtown Tacoma. The first project he put together was the historic renovation of the Schoenfeld Building for the DaVita Corporation.

Since then Eric has been involved in nineteen other significant projects in the Tacoma CBD including Thea’s Landing, the Kress/Payless renovation on Broadway, former Woolworth Department Store for AT&T Wireless, and the current renovation of the Old Tacoma Art Museum for Sound Inpatient Physicians. Currently Eric and his team are working on over 1million square feet of office, retail and fl ex-industrial space for sale or lease.

Eric is very active on the political front and has developed strong relationships with the State of Washington Economic Development Office and local County and City municipalities. These relationships are critical in moving projects forward in the current development environment.

PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS – Colliers Northwest Top Performer – 9 of past 10 years, South Puget Sound “Top 40 Business Leaders Under 40,” 2008 Recipient “Union Station Award” for Tacoma-Pierce County

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENTS – Northwest Landing – Dupont, WA – master planned, entitled, leased and sold – 1,000 acre commercial development including a town center, business park and industrial properties, Thea’s Landing – Thea Foss Waterway – Tacoma, WA – 300,000 SF residential mixed-use community Port of Olympia – Tumwater Town Center

CLIENTS – Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company, Quadrant Corporation, Opus Northwest, Panattoni Development Company, Puget Western,

Port of Olympia, Port of Tacoma, Venture Bank, DBSI, City of Tacoma, Matsushita, Davis Properties, Port of Tacoma, Kimco

ABOUT TOM BROWN – VICE PRESIDENT

COMPANY EXPERIENCE – Tom Brown joined Colliers International in 2001 and his primary focus has been on landlord and tenant representation, primarily in the retail and office sectors, with an emphasis on the development and leasing of new mixed-use projects in Pierce and Thurston Counties and the redevelopment of downtown Tacoma Historic properties.

Tom has nearly 30 years of professional achievements as a business owner and manager in the commercial furniture industry, with a strong track record in sales, business planning, space planning, and building, motivating and managing teams of high-level professionals. His commitment to customer service has established positive long-term relationships with his many clients and professional peers.

PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS – Colliers Northwest Top Performer – 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS PROPERTY SALES: Old City Hall – Tacoma, Union Bank of California- Tacoma, Security Building – Tacoma, Park 167 Flex Building ($14 million) – Auburn, Sea Way Industrial Park ($14 million) – Everett, Quadrant Homes Project Office – Dupont, Venture Bank – Northwest Landing – Dupont, Armor Building – Tacoma, Security Building ($6.2 million) – Tacoma, Northwest Landing – Dupont, WA – master planned, entitled, leased and sold – 1,000 acre commercial development including a town center, business park and industrial properties Port of Olympia – Tumwater Town Center

MAJOR LEASING – Dupont Station (retail/office), Barksdale Station, Williamson Place, Industrial Place – Northwest Landing – Dupont, Freedom Pointe Plaza (retail) – Lacey, Venture Bank – South Sound area orizon Pacific – Tacoma, Old City Hall – Tacoma, One Pacific Building – Tacoma, Courtyard by Marriott – Tacoma, Sea Grill – Tacoma, Union Bank of California – Tacoma, Thea’s Landing – Tacoma

CLIENTS – Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company, Quadrant Corporation, Opus Northwest, Panattoni Development Company, Puget Western, Port of Olympia, Venture Bank, DBSI, City of Tacoma, Davis Properties, Linmar Real Estate Investment, Harsh Properties

ABOUT LEON TITUS – ASSOCIATE

COMPANY EXPERIENCE – Leon Titus has been involved in the sales and automotive industry for over 25 years and became a part of the professional sales team at Colliers International’s Tacoma office in 2009. Prior to joining Colliers, Leon was the President of Leon Titus Automotive Group for the past 7 years. He was also the General Manager of Budget Car & Truck Rental and Car Sales of Tacoma-Pierce County, where his team increased sales from $1 million to over $10 million in revenue.

SPECIALIZATION – Leon joined Colliers International to specialize in the sale and lease of Washington’s automotive and marine dealerships and adjacent land. With his prior experience in the automotive industry, he is using his targeted knowledge and skill set to specialize in helping automotive and marine dealers with the sale and lease of their properties. Another aspect of his specialization will include the repositioning of former automotive and marine properties for future use. Upon joining Colliers, he has formed the Automotive Real Estate Group, which is geared towards providing real estate resources and consulting for clients needing showroom and exterior lot space, as well as clients looking to transition their properties towards another use.

The following article that appeared in the Puget Sound Business Journal was provided by the Colliers International Tacoma office to expand on their current market situation and relationship with C.A.R.S.:

Friday, June 26, 2009 Brokers specialize in dealership transactions

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) – by Greg Lamm

With a dozen Puget Sound area car dealerships for sale, and another dozen likely to join them this year, the crash of the nation’s auto industry is hitting local real estate circles. The culling of franchise-holders by GM and Chrysler is also giving stronger dealers a chance to grab better locations,and opening up other car lots for uses such as retail and office space.”The landscape is going to change as we go forward,” said Leon Titus III, a veteran local dealer who recently joined with a pair of real estate brokers to form a dealership property specialty team at Colliers International in Tacoma.

Colliers connected Titus with two veterans of the local commercial real estate world to form a group devoted to selling, leasing and repositioning dealership properties. The specialty team – branded the Northwest Region Colliers Automotive Real Estate Services Group (CARS) – fully expects to stay busy. “Right now everybody is trying to figure out where it’s going and how quickly the change is going to happen,” said Titus, who has 25 years of experience working in the family auto business. “Currently there are about a dozen new-car dealerships on the market in the Puget Sound region,” said Eric Cederstrand, a senior vice president at Colliers International Tacoma, who also is on the CARS team. Some of the dealers have gone bankrupt, Cederstrand said, and some are just shutting down.

Currently, there are about 312 new-vehicle dealers in the state, according to the Washington State Auto Dealers Association. That’s a 9 percent decline since January 2008. The association anticipates another dozen or so dealerships will close in the state this year. Of the 789 dealerships that Chrysler says it is closing, 15 are in Washington, including three in Pierce County. GM has not made public its list of the hundreds of dealerships it plans to close across the nation in the next 18 months. The upheaval has created opportunities for some dealerships looking to grab market share and prime spots in a retail industry that seems to be rapidly consolidating.

In May, Rainier Automotive Group sold two of its three dealerships. One of the buyers was Ford of Kirkland, which purchased Rainier’s Eastside Hyundai dealership in Kirkland for an undisclosed price. In the other sale, Eastside Subaru of Kirkland was sold to Bruce Titus Automotive Group, also for an undisclosed price. Bruce Titus and Leon Titus are brothers. Leon Titus and his team at Colliers were not involved in that deal.

Similar jockeying was on display in February, when Larson Motors Inc. bought property and buildings that housed two dealerships: Nissan of Fife and the Chrysler franchise in Puyallup. Those acquisitions expanded Larson’s dealerships to eight, selling 11 vehicle brands. Larson Motors took over Nissan of Fife from the former owners, including Kevin and Mary Byrne. Larson paid $8 million for the land and the 14,500-square-foot building just off Interstate 5. Some of the dealership sales predate the worst of the current recession. In August, Larson bought the property that houses a former Chrysler franchise in Puyallup. The $7.4 million deal allowed Larson to move to a larger location about a mile away from the former lot. The old Larson site opens up some opportunities for other uses, said Puyallup City Manager Gary McLean. The property is on the city’s River Road, which meanders along the Puyallup River, and could be attractive, McLean said, for retail or recreational use.”It would be nice to take advantage of the riverfront,” McLean said.

Sometimes, the highest and best use of vacant dealership sites might not be another car dealership, said Tom Brown, the third member of the Colliers CARS team. His expertise includes working with commercial landlords and tenants. Location will still drive price, with many dealerships in prime, high-traffic spots. Another factor is the quality of the buildings. GM and other automakers are putting more emphasis on the quality of stores, forcing dealers to maintain “signature” showrooms. That means that owners of older stores are being forced to upgrade or look for newer facilities. One change already happening on the East Coast is that some dealers are locating stores in heavy traffic areas, but choosing to locate service centers out in the hinterlands, where land is cheaper.

In Florida – where the Colliers CARS focus has been in play for several years – brokers are starting to see interest from big institutional investors looking to buy up dealership real estate. That isn’t happening in the greater Seattle area, but there will be more consolidation, Cederstrand said, with large groups controlling more dealerships. “I think the days of the single store may be coming to an end, just because of the capital needed to maintain and upgrade dealerships,” Cederstrand said.

Meanwhile, some of the properties in the Northwest are being marketed with their carmaker brands, which – depending on the make -can add value. But some properties won’t have dealership affiliation. That is where the Colliers team hopes to weigh in, providing advice on valuations for these dealerships, many of which have been owned by families for generations. “We are positioning ourselves in the marketplace to help these dealers out,” Brown said, “to actually give some true value on what their facility is worth with a dealership and without a dealership.”Brown and his fellow CARS team members have been meeting with potential clients in Washington, Oregon and California. They say by building a nationwide network, Colliers will be in a good position to work with potential new players in the market – possibly carmakers from India and China.

About Philip Zelinger

Philip Zelinger is the President of Ad Agency Online, LLC and founder of AdAgencyOnline.Net. He invested 25 years as a General Manager and Dealer Principal followed by his last ten years in the automotive advertising industry learning from the teams that he built so he can now presume to teach on forums like AdAgencyOnline.Net. His role as a “Dealer Coach” is enhanced by his hosting a nationally recognized auto industry social networking portal and blog talk radio station – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time. As the author of two books on the auto industry, including “How To Sell A Car – a Career Guide to The Automobile Industry,” he is a recognized authority on market trends and developing technologies with the responsibility of selecting key vendors and applications for his dealer clients as well as forming strategic partnerships for his vendor clients to leverage their shared resources to help them bring their products and services to market.

About AdAgencyOnline.Net and Ad Agency Online, L.L.C.

AdAgencyOnline.Net reviews automotive advertising vendors and new technologies on several blog talk radio shows in addition to the Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising. Other shows include “Lunch With Ralph Discussing Automotive Advertising” and “Automotive Advertising Experts.” The shows attract automotive advertising agencies, auto dealers, auto industry vendors and O.E.M. representatives that listen to WAAOL to find vendors, applications and technologies to maximize the R.O.I. for their automotive advertising dollars.

AAOL is a national network of independent affiliated automotive advertising agencies linked by an online communication / distribution system developed by Philip Zelinger. The proprietary operating system that powers AAOL was designed to reduce fixed and semi-variable expenses for full service automotive advertising agencies. The developing technologies that enhanced the performance of the independent automotive advertising agencies linked by AAOL has served as the role model for the solutions suggested on AdAgencyOnline.Net and represented by AAOL to their affiliated automotive advertising agencies when serving their auto dealer clients.

Ad Agency Online L.L.C is focused on discovering and representing new automotive advertising vendors not yet recognized by the mainstream automotive advertising industry. Recent automotive advertising vendors represented by AAOL include; Argistics – AutoTransaXion, EveryCarListed.Com, DealMaker.Com, CityTwist.Com, Bulldog Marketing Technologies, LeadConverter, Gumiyo, Kihon Media, CarFolks.Com, Ai Dealer, NeoSynergy, Laser Stream Video and Winked-In.Com; to name a few.

For more information on Philip Zelinger, Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., Colliers International of Tacoma, C.A.R.S. or any of the preferred automotive advertising vendors previously reviewed on WAAOL, auto dealers and automotive advertising agencies should contact Philip through AdAgencyOnline.Net. Automotive advertising vendors, automotive advertising agencies and auto dealers that would like to be considered as a “preferred automotive advertising vendor” on AdAgencyOnline.Net and/or to hire/join Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. can contact Philip Zelinger at pzads@bellsouth.net, call him at 888-796-2228 or visit AdAgencyOnline.Net at http://adagencyonline.net. To quote Philip Zelinger, “Help is only a click away!” ###

AdAgencyOnline.Net reviews cutting edge automotive advertising applications for their affiliated automotive advertising agencies, auto dealer / vendor clients and site visitors. According to Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., (AAOL), and host of the blog talk radio station featured on AdAgencyOnline.Net – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time - Ai Media Group is on the short list to be approved as a preferred automotive advertising vendor on the free automotive advertising resource / networking portal.

Philip interviewed Sergio Alvarez, the COO of Ai Media Group on his blog talk radio show “Automotive Advertising Experts” that aired on May 15^th 2009 to review their unique S.E.M. services. Philip and Sergio discussed best practices in Search Engine Marketing, (S.E.M.) in a problem / solution forum. The show is scheduled to run as an encore presentation today, Thursday, July 16, 2009 between 12:00 Noon EST and 12:30 PM EST and it is available as a downloadable podcast at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/adagencyonline .

Philip explained why Ai Media Group is being considered as a “preferred automotive advertising vendor” on AdAgencyOnline.Net, “I have always prioritized Search Engine Optimization, (S.E.O.), over Search Engine Marketing, (S.E.M.), because of my preference to develop long term branding messages for my auto dealer clients vs. short term digital marketing campaigns. My goal has always been to provide lasting “top of the mind awareness” to a targeted audience to build frequency through consistency to insure retention of the message. That said, I also recognize the need to jump start online marketing campaigns for new accounts through the use of Pay Per Click, (PPC), digital marketing campaigns often directed to specialized landing pages or micro-sites to extend the online footprint for my auto dealer clients who demand instant and verifiable results.”

“My interest in Ai Media Group was sparked by their proprietary software application that relies on an algorithmic formula to manage and monitor PPC campaigns in a scalable fashion providing efficiencies in the process that is not offered by other outsourced S.E.M. vendors that I have used. Of course the process is not completely automated; which is a good thing since the science of S.E.M. is best supported when it is managed and monitored by an experienced professional who knows what to look for when evaluating the volumes of data that is required to conduct a comprehensive PPC campaign. I was impressed by the knowledge and experience of the Ai Media Group’s support team and the diverse background that Sergio Alvarez represents. I have always valued people over product and price and I am confident that Ai Media Group provides the right mix of both.”

About Sergio Alvarez

Sergio Alvarez, COO and Founder of Ai Media Group has led some of the most successful sales teams across the country in the internet sales arena. Mr. Alvarez led the top-ranked sales team in the nation for Verizon’s SuperPages for four consecutive years and was instrumental in training and developing the roll out of the Superpages.com strategy. In 2005 he rolled out Yahoo Yellow Pages in the New York Market as Vice President for Ambassador Media Group where he led Yahoo Yellow Pages in online revenue growth. As EVP at Ambassador Internet Mr. Alvarez launched an internet only sales team and developed an industry first budget and planning tool for his sales force.

More recently Mr. Alvarez has been working with the Automotive community presenting at NADA helping to bring more dealers online with measurable business results previously unattainable. The mapping technology and proprietary algorithmic systems developed by Ai Media has led to the success of dealers across the county, generating leads and business intelligence never before seen.

About Ai Media Group

The exemplary skills of Ai Media Group professionals have been at the forefront of search marketing, from digital advertising to Yahoo Yellow Pages, to bridging the gap into algorithmic search. Ai Media Group professionals have a proven record of providing measurable results to thousands of advertisers. The company’s mission is to educate the marketplace on the newest offerings and act as consultants to enhance business decisions with strategic business intelligence. Ai Media Group’s entire staff is well-versed on all aspects of search and is comprised of the industry’s most knowledgeable and experienced specialists.

Ai Media Group is made up of a team of experienced professionals ready to offer unique digital advertising solutions including “traditional” search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) as well as promotional campaigns for video, mobile, emerging digital media, widgets and social networking.

Ai Media Group is headed by its Chief Operating Officer, Sergio Alvarez, who formerly led the top-ranked national sales team for Verizon’s SuperPages.com. Ai Media Group is 100% employee owned and operated. “In today’s ever changing digital landscape, offering placement on a few networks is already old news,” says Sergio Alvarez. “Advertisers demand more and count on us to help them understand and track new advertising methods. We work with agency needs, whether it’s video, mobile or social networking. It’s not ‘one product fits all,’ rather which products are right for that advertiser.”

Chief Information Officer, Ron Trenka, has over 20 years of experience developing web applications for companies like Olympus America, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Alitalia Airlines, Absolut Vodka and others.”The push for emerging technologies and different methods of advertising keeps us ahead of the curve,” Trenka says. “Our job is to deliver these results in a package that is easily understood while educating our partners.”"Ai Media Group is an ideal choice for agencies, Certified Marketing Representatives (CMRs), and local businesses based all over the nation,” says Sergio Alvarez. “Part of our success comes from working as a team, which in a sales environment can be difficult. We integrate sales and technology into one unit in which independent roles work toward the same goal. In the end, it makes for a comprehensive package for the advertiser.”

The following links provide additional information on Ai Media Group:

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS160581+02-Sep-2008+BW20080902

http://aimediagroup.com/press/yahoofinance_adm.html?.v=1

For more information, visit http://aimediagroup.com/ .

About Philip Zelinger

Philip Zelinger is the President of Ad Agency Online, LLC and founder of AdAgencyOnline.Net. He invested 25 years as a General Manager and Dealer Principal followed by his last ten years in the automotive advertising industry learning from the teams that he built so he can now presume to teach on forums like AdAgencyOnline.Net. His role as a “Dealer Coach” is enhanced by his hosting a nationally recognized auto industry social networking portal and blog talk radio station – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time. As the author of two books on the auto industry, including “How To Sell A Car – a Career Guide to The Automobile Industry,” he is a recognized authority on market trends and developing technologies with the responsibility of selecting key vendors and applications for his dealer clients as well as forming strategic partnerships for his vendor clients to leverage their shared resources to help them bring their products and services to market.

About AdAgencyOnline.Net and Ad Agency Online, L.L.C.

AdAgencyOnline.Net reviews automotive advertising vendors and new technologies on several blog talk radio shows in addition to the Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising. Other shows include “Lunch With Ralph Discussing Automotive Advertising” and “Automotive Advertising Experts.” The shows attract automotive advertising agencies, auto dealers, auto industry vendors and O.E.M. representatives that listen to WAAOL to find vendors, applications and technologies to maximize the R.O.I. for their automotive advertising dollars.

AAOL is a national network of independent affiliated automotive advertising agencies linked by an online communication / distribution system developed by Philip Zelinger. The proprietary operating system that powers AAOL was designed to reduce fixed and semi-variable expenses for full service automotive advertising agencies. The developing technologies that enhanced the performance of the independent automotive advertising agencies linked by AAOL has served as the role model for the solutions suggested on AdAgencyOnline.Net and represented by AAOL to their affiliated automotive advertising agencies when serving their auto dealer clients.

Ad Agency Online L.L.C is focused on discovering and representing new automotive advertising vendors not yet recognized by the mainstream automotive advertising industry. Recent automotive advertising vendors represented by AAOL include; Argistics – AutoTransaXion, SiSTeR Technologies – Video CarLot, EveryCarListed.Com, DealMaker.Com, CityTwist.Com, Bulldog Marketing Technologies, LeadConverter, Gumiyo, Kihon Media, CarFolks.Com, Ai Dealer, NeoSynergy and Laser Stream Video.

For more information on Philip Zelinger, Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., Ai Media Group or any of the preferred automotive advertising vendors previously reviewed on WAAOL, auto dealers and automotive advertising agencies should contact Philip through AdAgencyOnline.Net. Automotive advertising vendors, automotive advertising agencies and auto dealers that would like to be considered as a “preferred automotive advertising vendor” on AdAgencyOnline.Net and/or to hire/join Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. can contact Philip Zelinger at pzads@bellsouth.net, call him at 888-796-2228 or visit AdAgencyOnline.Net at http://adagencyonline.net. To quote Philip Zelinger, “Help is only a click away!” ###

AdAgencyOnline.Net is a free automotive advertising resource / networking portal that evaluates cutting edge automotive advertising applications for their affiliated automotive advertising agencies and auto dealer/vendor clients. The site also has a growing number of visitors surfing the web for the latest and greatest online automotive advertising solutions. Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., (AAOL), and host of the blog talk radio station featured on AdAgencyOnline.Net – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time – reviewed ActivEngage in an on air interview with its co-founder Todd Smith that aired today, June 13^th 2009 between 12:00 Noon EST and 12:30 PM EST.

Todd provided Philip with the following press release explaining the unique products and services offered by ActivEngage that prompted Philip to consider them as a preferred automotive advertising vendor for his affiliated automotive advertising agencies;

Orlando, Florida – (June 30, 2009) ActivEngage, the automotive industry’s premier provider of proactive live chat with business intelligence for dealer websites, today announced the latest release of their proprietary live chat software and services. The new enhancements were made based on direct feedback from dealers, consumer trends and the latest advancements in technology. The new version enables even more personalized communication with consumers, enhanced efficiency in lead management and advanced, consolidated reporting. Expanded capabilities let dealers collect more customer intelligence from site visitors to guide communication, both during and after chat sessions, and move even more shoppers through the sales cycle.

Enhanced efficiencies include sending chat leads to specific departments; parts leads can be sent directly to the parts department, service leads to the service department, new car leads to new car sales, etc. Alternatively, depending on the size and organizational structure of the dealership, all leads can be sent to a single person. In addition, dealers can now survey website visitors. These fully customizable surveys are available for both pre and post-chat, allowing dealers to collect valuable data from visitors both before and after chat sessions. Pre-chat survey information is also included in the chat window, enabling chat agents to use this knowledge to help guide conversations.

In addition, all text from chat transcripts is now available in database format for reporting. For example, dealers can monitor the number of times any particular make or model was discussed in chat. This business intelligence can then be used to inform special offers and promotions, based on what the majority of consumers are looking for at the dealership website. Real-time form-field tracking also lets dealers monitor visitors’ online form entries as shoppers actually enter the information. This data is also captured even if shoppers do not complete and submit the entire form. Further, completed form-field values are now shown in the chat window, along with complete visit details.

Fully customizable reports are also available, allowing dealers to view and mine data in the format best suited for their dealership’s unique needs. Consolidated reporting, across multiple websites, is another new feature of the system upgrade. Reporting is now available in a single location, for dealerships with a single website, or dealer groups with 100 websites. The upgrades also include advanced server detection and tracking that make it easier to identify where shoppers come from. This increases the automated, custom actions that can be performed when triggered from shoppers’ actions at the website.

“We spend a lot of time talking to our dealers and we take their ideas and requests very seriously,” commented ActivEngage co-founder Ted Rubin. “The latest version of our live chat software and services includes upgrades and advanced features that have been rigorously tested and are proven to help dealers move more previously anonymous site visitors through the sales funnel. The enhanced reporting capabilities also increase the business intelligence dealers can use to guide and continuously improve communication, based on what’s working best for site visitors.”

Information on ActivEngage can be found at http://www.activengage..com/MediaHome.shtml or by visiting http://adagencyonline.net or http://www.blogtalkradio.com/adagencyonline and downloading the blog talk radio show – Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising – that reviewed their automotive advertising application.

About Philip Zelinger

Philip Zelinger is the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and host of AdAgencyOnline.Net with 25 + years of experience in the retail auto industry as a General Manager and Dealer Principal followed by 10 years in the automotive advertising industry including 3 years as the C.O.O. for a nationally recognized automotive advertising agency. Philip is the author of two books on the auto industry including one titled “How To Sell A Car – A Career Training Guide To The Auto Industry.” Philip founded AAOL in December of 2001 as an online communication / distribution system that operates as a “paperless” automotive advertising agency linking a national network of independent affiliated automotive advertising agencies, production partners and select vendors using a proprietary operating system that he developed. Philip is the host of AdAgencyOnline.Net, and the site’s featured blog talk radio station – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time. The blog talk radio shows on WAAOL include; “Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising“, “Lunch With Ralph Discussing Automotive Advertising” and “Automotive Advertising Experts.” In addition to handling daily operations at AAOL and hosting AdAgencyonline.Net, Philip speaks at Dealer 20 Groups, is a regular guest speaker to the advertising classes at Northwood University in West Palm Beach Florida and a seminar host at a number of national auto industry conventions including four successive years at the Digital Dealer Conference.

About AdAgencyOnline.Net

AdAgencyOnline.Net was formed by AAOL to find, review and recommend automotive advertising applications and coordinated selling process for their auto dealer clients. Auto industry vendors reviewed on the blog talk radio shows on AdAgencyOnline.Net include; LeadConverter, AI Dealer, Laser Steam Video, NeoSynergy, CarFolks.Com, ADP, BZ Results, Kihon Media, R.L. Polk & Co., The Detroit Trading Exchange, Ebay Motors, Veeple, Dealer.Com, AdSymetrix, Gumiyo, vAuto, AAX, AdTel, ReachLocal, ecarlist, nada-24, FirstLook, AI Media Group and PrimeTyme – among others.

Many of the featured vendors on AdAgencyOnline.Net have engaged AAOL as their automotive advertising agency and/or consultant including but not limited to ; DealMaker.Com, EveryCarListed.Com, SiSTer Technologies-Video CarLot, CityTwist, Argistics-AutoTransaXion and Bulldog Marketing Technologies.

Automotive advertising agencies, auto dealers, auto industry vendors, auto industry networkers and/or bloggers as well as O.E.M. representatives that would like to support AdAgencyOnline.Net should contact Philip Zelinger directly at 1-888-796-2228 or via email at pzads@bellsouth.net or through www.adagencyonline.net. Anyone interested in joining AdAgencyOnline.Net as an affiliated automotive advertising agency, auto industry vendor or auto dealer client of AAOL should also contact Philip or visit AdAgencyOnline.Net. To quote Philip Zelinger, “Help is only a click Away!” ###