AdAgencyOnline.Net

AdAgencyOnline.Net is an automotive advertising resource/networking portal for automotive advertising agencies.  The site hosts a blog talk radio station — WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time.  Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and host of WAAOL announced on today’s blog talk radio show — Lunch With Ralph Paglia Discussing Automotive Advertising –  that he will be hosting a slightly altered show in the same Thursday 12 Noon EST time slot to be titled “Auto Industry Insiders.”  Philip was quick to explain that Ralph Paglia is an established  member of the “Network Of Networkers” that comprise the group known as Auto Industry Insiders featured on AdAgencyOnline.Net.  According to Philip, the contributing members of Auto Industry Insiders have been invited to co-host the show on a rotating basis and Ralph Paglia will still be a regular host on the show.

Philip explained the change in the popular Thursday blog talk radio show.  “The Lunch With Ralph Show has relied on a number of encore presentations recently to accommodate Ralph Paglia’s  hectic schedule.  To keep the shows current and relevant I decided to invite some other professional automotive advertising insiders to fill in when Ralph isn’t available.   The resources linked by the members of Auto Industry Insiders provide a wealth of knowledge that will include the wisdoms of Ralph Paglia and his automotive advertising resource / networking portal http://automotivedigitalmarketing.com  The only change will be that Ralph’s contributions will be  complimented by the other members of the group.  After all, what are friends — and Auto Industry Insiders — for!

Philip recently added the Auto Industry Insiders section to AdAgencyOnline.Net with direct links to other automotive advertising resource / networking sites.  The group of automotive advertising experts share their best practices with automotive advertising agencies and automotive advertising vendors that support AdAgencyOnline.Net to leverage their individual resources and relationships.  Read the rest of this entry »

Automotive advertising agencies don’t know what they don’t know and they are turning to social networking communities like http://AdAgencyOnline.Net to listen and learn about the increasing role of social media in automotive advertising.  Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. — a national network of independent automotive advertising agencies — hosts a blog talk radio station — WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time — where he shares best practices with his affiliated automotive advertising agencies and automotive advertising decision makers that regularly follow his shows and contribute to their shared portal.

Social media is a new phenomenon that allows auto dealers to broadcast their own marketing messages to a targeted audience using established automotive advertising wisdoms, but in a more consumer centric manner and for a fraction of the cost of conventional media.  Technology has always dictated the most efficient means to advertise a product or service and the Internet has opened a new channel with unlimited potential for reach and frequency of message.  Previously, conventional media — such as newspaper, radio and T.V. — was controlled by big business primarily because of the amount of capital that was required to distribute their content.  Philip Zelinger explained his support of social media in a comment on his recent blog talk radio show; “The Internet Super Highway has been built with no tolls — for now at least — and automotive advertising agencies only need to learn the rules of the road in order to travel on it.”

Some of the blog talk radio shows hosted by Philip on WAAOL include Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising - an open business forum with live call in questions from listeners, Lunch With Ralph Paglia Discussing Automotive Advertising - a special platform for Ralph Paglia, the National Director Of Digital marketing for ADP and the host of his own auto industry social networking community http://AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.Com (ADM), and Automotive Advertising Experts where Philip invites automotive advertising insiders to discuss their products, services or unique insights into the future of the automotive advertising industry.  Most recently, the guest on the Automotive Advertising Experts show was L.J. Marhefka, the Program Coordinator for the TARP Lending Program, (Together Automotive Retailing Prospers).  Philip and L.J discussed TARP and their participation in the 2010 NIADA Convention scheduled at Caesar’s Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas June 14th., 2010 through June 17th., 2010. Philip will join the originator of the TARP program, Keith Whann, in a panel on social media to be held on Wednesday morning for the general session at the convention. 

In the week prior to his interview with L.J., Philip interviewed Brian Pasch, the President of PCG Digital Marketing and the host of http://InternetSalesManager.Org.  The pair of automotive advertising experts discussed a new automotive advertising platform introduced by Brian and Sean Wolfington — http://AutomotiveAdvertisingNetwork.Com ,(AAN), that provides leveraged online exposure and resources to develop leads for auto dealers that pay a flat monthly fee to list their inventory. The subjects discussed and the guests that appear on WAAOL are chosen from a diverse group of friends and professional associates of Philip Zelinger who share his philosophy that a rising tide floats all boats. Read the rest of this entry »

The role of automotive advertising agencies is changing along with the auto industry that they serve.  Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. — a national network of independent affiliated automotive advertising agencies and the host an automotive advertising resource / networking portal, http://AdAgencyOnline.Net — has taken an active role to educate automotive advertising agencies and their auto dealer clients about their changing roles in a consolidating auto industry that is shifting onto the Internet Super Highway vs. local car rows.

Philip is a nationally respected automotive advertising expert and highly sought after speaker and supporter of real world venues in the auto industry such as The Digital Dealer Conferences, NADA Convention, JD Powers Conferences, OEM Dealer Meetings, Dealer 20 Groups and automotive advertising classes at Northwood University.  He is also a regular contributor to online social networking communities in addition to his own http://AdAgencyOnline.Net including http://AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.Com ,  http://DealerRefresh.Com,  http://DrivingSales.Com,  http://www.InternetSalesManager.Org, http://Auttr.Com,  http://DealerElite.Net, Dealer Advisor Nation — http://danation.ning.com/, http://www.autodealerpeople.com/,  http://Just-Auto.com/ and Automotive News with their online publication, http://www.autonews.com/; to name a few.

Philip summarized his advice to his affiliated automotive advertising agencies to reinvent themselves and their offered products/services to their auto dealer clients on his recent blog talk radio show, Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising, that is featured on the blog talk radio station hosted on AdAgencyOnline.Net — WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time.  ”The only constant in the auto industry is change.  Of course human nature is also a universal constant, but since that is the fuel that powers most change in the auto industry it is already factored in and considered when I counsel my affiliated automotive advertising agencies to look to consumers for the answers.”

“Radio, T.V. and newspapers are no longer the media of choice for today’s Internet savvy consumers.   B2C messages online are filtered out in favor of C2C conversations in social networking communities that now dot the landscape on the World Wide Web.   Automotive advertising agencies must reinvent themselves as the resource that auto dealers rely on to navigate them onto the Internet Super Highway because that is where their customers are.  Keeping ahead of new technologies and applications that integrate selling processes between the real and the virtual world showrooms and inserting auto dealers into the conversations that make up the online marketplace must be job one for automotive advertising agencies who wish to serve their auto dealer clients in today’s challenging auto industry.  Radio, T.V. and print production has a shrinking role in an automotive advertising agency’s tool box and leveraged online production resources will eliminate them altogether in the near future.  Similarly, agency commissions earned from conventional media analysis and placement are being absorbed into the media providers as value added services for their auto dealer advertisers.  At the same time, automotive advertising budgets are being shifted to online digital marketing platforms with more verifiable sourced R.O.I. that is far superior to conventional media.  The writing is on the virtual wall and automotive advertising agencies must either read it, write it or accept their diminishing value in tomorrow’s auto industry.”

The Internet has empowered consumers to bypass auto dealers and even their most strategically placed marketing message in favor of online information resources that are not dependent on automotive advertising agencies or auto dealers for their content.  Initially, third party aggregators captured online auto shoppers attempting to avoid real and virtual world auto dealerships by collecting inventory from hundreds of auto dealers anxious to get their inventory in front of today buyers for new and pre-owned vehicles.  Consumers quickly realized the limitations of looking at vehicles in this kind of dealer-centric platform and the technology driven evolution of online marketing platforms soon provided more consumer-centric solutions.

A newly emerging online marketing platform that is quickly earning a reputation as a game changer is http://ronsmap that launched their Beta platform on March 01st, 2010.  The site has a unique user interface that mirrors a Google Map using a geo-targeted platform with pins representing every new and pre-owned vehicle for sale in a consumer controlled radius from their home or office.  ronsmap eliminates search engine fatigue by replacing pages of vertical lists of individual vehicles displayed as a result of a typical search on Google and other search engines — and/or on the now dated inventory marketing platforms like AutoTrader.Com — with a horizontal map that displays every vehicle in the same position at the same time. 

An even more unique advantage offered by ronsmap that favors consumer preferences is their ability to allow site visitors to select vehicles to drop into their short list for direct comparisons in price and product.  This new feature places all of the auto dealers and their vehicles on an even playing field with the customer in charge of the process of elimination to select a vehicle — and a dealer — that fits their needs without having to listen to a sales pitch from even a well meaning sales person. 

Finally, ronsmap allows auto dealers to monetize social media with their integrated Ask-A-Friend / Tell-A-Friend feature that invites car shoppers to share their vehicle selections with their online friends and family to assist them in their car shopping experience.   These C2C conversations pushed from ronsmap to Face Book and other social networking communities replace previous unsuccessful attempts by automotive advertising agencies to post B2C messages on the same social media platforms.

Automotive advertising agencies need to know about sites like ronsmap that offer a variety of free services including free vehicle listings and even basic leads with a guaranteed R.O.I. and a way to earn a seat at the social media table  More relevantly, they need to tell their auto dealer clients about them to justify their agency fees!  

Other technology driven applications automotive advertising agencies need to tell their auto dealer clients about that will allow them to sell more vehicles and service for less money and with less staff include DealerMouth.Com with their dealer hosted personal web sites for their staff, TeleTextSolutions with their dashboard tool that integrates telephone and SMS text messaging for more comprehensive and cost effective follow up, SiSTeR Technologies and their Video CarLot that provides an automated video production platform that converts the pictures on an auto dealer’s website into fully indexed and interactive videos using human voice pushed onto the search engines through their dedicated API with You Tube and a Face Book application that allows an auto dealer to display their entire inventory on non-offensive tab within the customers Face Book page, Argistics with their customer interaction platform that allows online shoppers to initiate a two way video conversation from within an auto dealer’s website that can accommodate a turnkey online transaction without having to drop the glass wall that empowers online shoppers to move forward in the negotiation process and GetAutoAppraise which provides site visitors with NADA sourced values for their trade-in while selecting suitable vehicles from the auto dealers online inventory to find a car to replace the one that they are selling.

Any one of these new online conversion and marketing tools can develop a superior R.O.I. to even the best written and placed conventional automotive advertising messages and/or online digital marketing campaigns.  Philip Zelinger summed up the value of these technology driven solutions and their importance to automotive advertising agencies who need to justify their agency fees to their auto dealer clients in today’s consolidating auto industry.  “Investing twenty five years as a General Manager and Auto Dealer Principal followed by operating a national network of independent automotive advertising agencies taught me the importance of protecting the bottom line; first for my clients and then for myself.  Many automotive advertising agencies still operate under the assumption that if they bring enough bodies to the front door then they have earned their fees.  In today’s consolidating auto industry; not so much!”

“Reduced sales volume and profit margins coupled with increased expenses demand that automotive advertising agencies must increase their areas of responsibility to include internal selling processes using systems to increase efficiencies across all departments in an auto dealership in both their brick and mortar facilities and their newly developing virtual showrooms.  You have to be in it to win it and for the foreseeable future the game is being played on the World Wide Web.  The most active lanes on the Internet Super Highway are those that lead to social networking communities that share information between automotive advertising agencies and auto dealers as much as they do for their customers.  After all, what are friends for!”

About Ad Agency Online, L.L.C.

Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., (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. Some of the automotive advertising vendors represented by AAOL include ronsmap, SiSTeR Technologies Video CarLot, TeleTextSolutions, DealerMouth, GetAutoAppraise.com, Argistics – AutoTransaXion, DealMaker.Com, CityTwist.Com, Bulldog Marketing Technologies, Kihon Media, CarFolks.Com, Ai Dealer and Laser Stream Video; with more being added weekly.

About Philip Zelinger

Philip Zelinger is the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and the 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.

For more information on Philip Zelinger, Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., the vendors on AdAgencyOnline.Net or any of the automotive advertising social networking communities referenced in this article and supported by Philip Zelinger contact Philip directly at http://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, or call him at 888-796-2228.  To quote Philip Zelinger, “Help is only a click away!  After all, what are friends for!”  ###

AdAgencyOnline.Net is an automotive advertising resource / networking portal supported by a national network of independent affiliated automotive advertising agencies that are linked by an online communication / distribution system developed by Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., (AAOL).  The social networking site was formed to address the fact most of the member agencies of AAOL don’t know what they don’t know about new technologies and applications being developed to leverage automotive advertising resources on the Internet.  Coincidentally, the very same social media that links the automotive advertising agencies of AAOL provides an even greater challenge for automotive advertising agencies who don’t know how to monetize social media.  However, even armed with that knowledge they are hesitant to apply new technology based solutions to leverage social media as a marketing platform for their auto dealer clients.

According to Philip Zelinger, the President of AAOL and host of the blog talk radio station — WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time — featured on AdAgencyOnline.Net, the solution can be found on the same social networking communities that they are supporting. “There has been an explosive growth in the number of social networking communities sharing best practices with automotive advertising agencies.  I created AdAgencyOnline.Net to follow the traffic onto the Internet Super Highway as a network of networkers who share my philosophy that a rising tide floats all boats.  My personal branding line — What are friends for! — is more than a position statement for my business, it is a way of life built on the power of networking.”

” I host WAAOL to platform new technologies and share best practices on shows like — Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising – that runs Monday through Wednesday from 12 Noon EST to 12:30 PM EST.  Lunch With Phil is an open business meeting for my affiliated automotive advertising agencies and auto industry professionals surfing the web to listen and learn from the automotive advertising experts that join me to answer questions in a problem/ solution forum.  I borrow some of my best ideas from my guests and I often learn even more from my call in audience.  Twenty five years as a general manager and auto dealer principal followed by 10 years in the automotive advertising industry provided me with enough experience to know what I don’t know — and these shows fill in the holes.  I still contribute my own original thoughts, but my role in my organization has been enhanced by my ability to access some of the best minds in the automotive advertising industry in the forums hosted on AdAgencyOnline.Net and the other auto industry facing social networking communities that I contribute to.”

Social networking communities allow automotive advertising agencies to review automotive advertising technologies and applications for their consideration without having to invest in their own trial and error processes.  Today’s Internet savvy automotive advertising decision maker can access a pool of knowledge and experienced successes and failures posted in social networking communities by some of the best minds in the auto industry.  The leveraged power of the pooled online resources provided by the extended network of friends in social networking communities  provide better resources that even the largest independent automotive advertising agency.

Most automotive advertising based social networking communities have unique personalities and profiles focused on specific areas defined by the rules that govern each community.  As a result, automotive advertising agencies are able to select portals to find relevant material in each community that is not duplicated in others.  For example, The Automotive Digital Marketing Network, (ADM), — http://AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.Com — has an earned reputation as an open forum to share best practices across multiple verticals in the auto industry.  Their members include representatives from O.E.M.s, auto dealership General Managers as well as Internet Sales Managers, cutting edge automotive advertising vendors and auto industry insiders who contribute different perspectives on common problems with a variety of diverse solutions.  ADM is often credited as being the source for AdAgencyOnline.net to discover bleeding edge automotive advertising applications that are not yet recognized by the mainstream media which are then reviewed on WAAOL for consideration by the affiliated automotive advertising agencies of AAOL.

Another more specialized social networking community favored by automotive advertising agencies is DrivingSales.Com — http://DrivingSales.Com.  This resource/networking portal focuses on vendor evaluations supported by posts that cover common issues in a problem / solution forum that evaluates key vendor solutions allowing auto dealerships to share best practices and rate their vendors.

DealerRefresh.Com — http://DealerRefresh.Com — is hosted by Jeff  Kershner and Alex Snyder in a more controlled environment described on the site as follows:  “DealerRefresh is for the car dealer Internet sales professional thriving for more information while looking to elevate their game. It’s also for industry professionals looking to keep up with the latest dealer industry news and trends.” 

InternetSalesManager.Org, (ISM), — http://www.InternetSalesManager.Org — is an equally respected site hosted by Brian Pasch, a recognized expert in search engine optimization, (S.E.O.).  ISM is known by automotive advertising agencies as the “Car Dealer Social Network.”  The unique strength of ISM is realized through their extensive use of reciprocal links to other sites that leverage a variety of automotive advertising resources for their online community.  A sister site formed by Brian Pasch, Sean Wolfington and David Boice — the Automotive Advertising Network, (AAN) — http://AutomotiveAdvertisingNetwork.Com — further evidences the power of networking provided by social networking and linked online resources.

Forward thinking automobile dealerships — such as the Kelly Automotive Group — have jumped on the social networking band wagon with their own social networking communities.  Chris Saraceno lead the Kelly Automotive Group in their formation of their own site — DealerElite.Net — http://DealerElite.Net — which is described on the site as follows:  “This community is an automotive dealer, vendor, trainer, manufacturer, car enthusiast, and customer social network. It is a place to share ideas, discuss industry best practices, and connect with other automotive professionals. It is where the best and the brightest in the automotive industry collaborate. Engage yourself now at Dealer Elite!”

New auto industry focused social networking sites are being introduced daily.  Perhaps the most noteworthy addition is a new forum hosted by Keith Whann, Auttr.Com — http://Auttr.Com.  The site features video content hosted by Keith Whann taking on the persona of “The Car Counselor” to share best practices on their featured platform called Auttr TV. 

Auttr describes their T.V. resource channel as follows:  “Now you can view auto industry related videos at the click of a mouse.  Videos featuring industry experts such as Keith Whann, The Car Counselor.  The Car Counselor has answered questions for dealers and consumers from across the country on a wide variety of topics related to motor vehicle dealerships and the car buying process.   You can also watch live presentations on Auttr TV.  And now, here is all of the information in one place for you.  Stay tuned for more information!”

Philip Zelinger elected to use blog talk radio shows vs. video on his automotive advertising resource portal — AdAgencyOnline.Net — http://AdAgencyOnline.Net.  In addition to sharing best practices, Philip reviews automotive advertising vendors and new technologies on several blog talk radio shows featured on the site’s blog talk radio station — WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time.  The shows include — Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising,  Lunch With Ralph Discussing Automotive Advertising and Automotive Advertising Experts.  Automotive advertising insiders are invite automotive advertising agencies, auto dealers, auto industry vendors and O.E.M. representatives to WAAOL to find vendors, applications and technologies represented by AAOL or featured as preferred automotive advertising vendors on AdAgencyOnline.Net.

Other social networking communities that provide resources for automotive advertising agencies willing to listen and learn include Dealer Advisor Nation — http://danation.ning.com/  – Auto Dealer People — http://www.autodealerpeople.com/ — and too many more to list.  Other portals offer information rich content such as Just Auto — http://just-auto.com/ — and the ever popular Automotive News with their new online publication — http://www.autonews.com/.  

A number of the vendors clients of AAOL provide automotive advertising agencies with ways to monetize social media for their auto dealer clients.  These solutions represent just a few of the many technologies and tools that can be discovered on the social networking communities recommended by AdAgencyOnline.Net that are supported by Philip Zelinger and AAOL.

ronsmap is a game changing marketing platform that provides consumers with a more efficient and comprehensive way to shop online for a new or pre-owned vehicle while providing auto dealers with consumer and market intelligence with their integrated application, SellersVantage. In addition to the proprietary inventory posting mechanism utilized by ronsmap, known as ontology semantic extraction, the site relies on direct data links from auto dealers and channel partners that have accounted for over two million six hundred thousand vehicles currently listed on their site.  When coupled with their social networking tool, vBack, and their unique Google Map like user interface, ronsmap allows consumers to find and compare all makes and models in their geo targeted market on one page and to solicit the opinions of online friends and family through linked social networks like Face Book.  Automotive advertising agencies have been searching for a cost effective, scalable method to monetize social networking and ronsmap promises to deliver it.

DealerMouth is a unique web site hosting service that allows auto dealers to manage and monitor the social networking activities of their staff.  According to Philip Zelinger, “Automotive advertising agencies have been challenged by their auto dealer clients to quantify the R.O.I. from social media.  The ability for auto dealers to offer their individual sales people and service writers their own websites to network with their spheres of influence in both the real and the virtual world allows auto dealers to leverage their  limited resources. Auto dealers have been forced to cut advertising budgets and staff to compensate for reduced sales volume and profit margins in a shrinking economy and DealerMouth could not have been developed at a better time.  Of course the challenge is to manage and monitor their staff’s online activities to prevent abuse of company time and/or to limit the contingent liabilities if an employee posts improper content or conducts illegal online activities from the auto dealer’s facilities.  DealerMouth allows the auto dealer and/or their automotive advertising agency to monitor online activities on their provided websites while offering the sales staff an online — why buy here book — to promote the salesperson or service writer to their friends, family and personal customer base.  This method of monetizing social networking fits perfectly into the new business model that Ad Agency Online recommends for our auto dealer clients.”

SiSTeR Technologies offers an automated video production platform — Video CarLot — that converts pictures on an auto dealer’s website into an indexed interactive video with human voice.  In addition to posting the videos on the auto dealer’s website to enhance their conversion rates and S.E.O. they push the videos through their dedicated API with You Tube identified by their individual URLs linked back to the sourcing dealers site as well as posting them on all third party marketing platforms used by the auto dealer.  More uniquely, they leverage social media by applying their vShock platform — a micro-site that hosts and displays similar vehicles from the auto dealer’s inventory to the one selected by the consumer — on a tab posted on the auto dealer’s Face Book page.  This easily accessed link to the auto dealer’s inventory from within Face Book allows the dealer to introduce their vehicles to the online community without having to post them on the wall in an obtrusive manner that is often shunned by consumers in social media.   

TeleTextSolutions is the automotive industries first full solutions Opt In Text messaging system. While this application was not initially designed as a social media tool, their unique mobile application allows automotive advertising agencies to embed their short codes into social media messages to track the R.O.I. for their auto dealer clients to easily source the results from their social networking efforts.  There are two main components of TeleTextSolutions.  The first encompasses using short codes and keywords in all forms of advertising — including social media.  This provides leads to the dealership and the ability to communicate via a web based text messaging system that can integrate with the dealer’s CRM.  The second is an Opt In Text communications for the Service Dept.  The main benefit revolves around dramatically reducing the time it takes to link up with a customer after they have dropped their vehicle off and then a new problem is found.  Phone tag is a major problem for Service departments that text helps to reduce thus increasing work throughput.

About Ad Agency Online, L.L.C.

Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., (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. Some of the automotive advertising vendors represented by AAOL include ronsmap, SiSTeR Technologies Video CarLot, TeleTextSolutions, DealerMouth, GetAutoAppraise.com, Argistics – AutoTransaXion, DealMaker.Com, CityTwist.Com, Bulldog Marketing Technologies, Kihon Media, CarFolks.Com, Ai Dealer and Laser Stream Video; with more being added weekly.

About Philip Zelinger

Philip Zelinger is the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and the 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.

For more information on Philip Zelinger, Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., the vendors on AdAgencyOnline.Net or any of the automotive advertising social networking communities referenced in this article and supported by Philip Zelinger contact Philip directly at http://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, or call him at 888-796-2228.  To quote Philip Zelinger, “Help is only a click away!  After all, what are friends for!”  ###

Automotive advertising agencies have learned that the Internet Super Highway is a two way street as evidenced by the growing number of automotive advertising focused social networking communities being hosted on the World Wide Web.  Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and host of an automotive advertising resource / networking portal — http://AdAgencyOnline.Net –  created his self described network of networkers based on their shared philosophy that a rising tide floats all boats and supported by his personal branding line of — What are friends for! 

Philip explained his reasons for contributing so much of his time to support automotive advertising focused social media in a recent blog talk radio show, Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising, that airs on the blog talk radio station — WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time — featured on AdAgencyOnline.Net.  “I have borrowed some of the best ideas that I ever had.  It took me twenty five plus years as a general manager and auto dealer principal followed by 10 years in the automotive advertising industry to accumulate the shared experience and wisdom of my friends which obviously shaped my own success.  I am not suggesting that I don’t have any original thoughts, but I am confessing that my role in my organization is to find and filter out the best ideas that I can while eliminating the ones that have been proven not to work.  Lessons learned with other people’s time and money vs. mine or my client’s is more efficient than relying on our own trial and error process to review automotive advertising technologies and applications for our consideration.  The next generation of automotive advertising decision makers can now access that pool of knowledge with a few clicks of their mouse to access social networking communities that include some of the best minds in the auto industry.  My personal branding line — what are friends for — has taken on new meaning and leveraged power when applied to the extended network of friends I have made in social networking communities made up of like minded automotive advertising professionals who are willing to listen and learn from each other so we can all presume to teach.”

Many professional social networking communities focus on specific areas within the auto industry allowing automotive advertising agencies to drill down to find relevant data and material in each community that is not duplicated in others.  Ralph Paglia, for example, developed his Automotive Digital Marketing network, (ADM), as an open platform for best practices across multiple verticals in the auto industry.  Representatives from O.E.M.s, General Managers of auto dealerships, Internet Sales Managers, automotive advertising vendors and nationally respected consultants all participate in an open forum with a different perspective on shared issues that benefits the entire community.  New automotive advertising vendors that have developed bleeding edge applications that are not yet on the radar of the mainstream media are able to platform their applications in forums that surface solutions to shared problems.

Other automotive advertising social networking communities are more targeted in their content.  Jared Hamilton’s DrivingSales.Com, for example, focuses on vendor evaluations enhanced by relevant posts that cover common issues in the auto industry in a problem / solution forum that references key vendor solutions allowing dealership managers to share best practices and rate their vendors.

Jeff  Kershner hosts DealerRefresh.Com with more controlled content sourced from him and his partner on the site, Alex Snyder.  The purpose and history of the DealerRefresh is posted on the site as follows: 

“DealerRefresh is for the car dealer Internet sales professional thriving for more information while looking to elevate their game. It’s also for industry professionals looking to keep up with some of the latest dealer industry news and trends. 

Since the very first published article on March 15th of 2004, we’ve been writing and discussing (with even the occasional debate) best practices for leveraging Internet marketing and new age sales processes within the car dealership.  Prior, there was no other site that brought other automotive Internet sales professionals together in one virtual spot. For that reason, DealerRefresh was born; the very first website of its kind, dedicated to the internet sales and marketing professionals grinding away everyday at the dealership.  Over the years, DealerRefresh has grown and matured into what it is today and is now one of the most recognized websites within our industry.

From internet marketing best practices for your dealer, what works with SEO and car dealer search engine marketing, how online video fits into your dealer’s landscape to online reputation management for your dealership; if the topic has not been recently written about, check the archives or submit your suggestion of topic to discuss using Ask/Answer. And just released…the ALL NEW DealerRefresh Dealer Technology Forum.

DealerRefresh also hosts an array of guest postings. We love to hear from industry experts and other Internet Sales Managers that are passionate about their jobs and how they’re elevating their dealer to another level.”

InternetSalesManager.Org, (ISM), is another highly respected site hosted by a nationally recognized expert in S.E.O., Brian Pasch.  This automotive advertising resource portal has proven itself to be a valued resource for automotive advertising agencies billing itself as the “Car Dealer Social Network.”  Many reciprocal links to other sites that provide leveraged resources for members, such as the Automotive Advertising Network recently developed by Brian Pasch, Sean Wolfington and David Boise, also serve to differentiate ISM from other automotive advertising social networking communities.

Automobile dealership groups are also sharing best practices using social media.  The Kelly Automotive Group – with the guidance of Chris Saraceno – formed  a social networking community titled DealerElite.Net.  According to their description of themselves on the site, “This community is an automotive dealer, vendor, trainer, manufacturer, car enthusiast, and customer social network. It is a place to share ideas, discuss industry best practices, and connect with other automotive professionals. It is where the best and the brightest in the automotive industry collaborate. Engage yourself now at Dealer Elite!”

According to Philip Zelinger, “The latest — and perhaps the greatest — social networking site to be added to the World Wide Web is a new forum — Auttr.Com –being created by Keith Whann. The site features a unique platform to share best practices called Auttr TV which combines the value of video with quality content sourced from Keith Whann who has taken on the persona of — The Car Counselor.” 

Auttr describes their unique  T.V. resource channel as follows:  “Now you can view auto industry related videos at the click of a mouse.  Videos featuring industry experts such as Keith Whann, The Car Counselor.  The Car Counselor has answered questions for dealers and consumers from across the country on a wide variety of topics related to motor vehicle dealerships and the car buying process.   You can also watch live presentations on Auttr TV.  And now, here is all of the information in one place for you.  Stay tuned for more information!”

About Keith Whann

Keith Whann, is the founder of the law firm Whann & Associates LLC, located in Dublin, Ohio.

Over the past 24 years, Keith has become a leading national authority on motor vehicle and consumer protection issues.

Keith has conducted hundreds of seminars across the country and appeared as a featured speaker on a wide variety of topics affecting the industry. He has spoken at conventions and meetings for over 50 national and state motor vehicle industry related trade associations and regulatory agencies dealing with complex automobile industry issues. Many of Keith’s presentations have been filmed and broadcast on the NIADA.TV network, including the 2005 and 2006 National Dealer Compliance and Profitability Expos; which Keith developed and moderated. He has also developed numerous training and compliance programs for the motor vehicle industry. He is currently developing a series of tools and compiling various resource materials to assist motor vehicle dealers with business, legal and compliance matters.  For consumers, Keith is working on materials to help them understand how a dealership operates and tools to assist them in the car buying process.

Keith has authored numerous articles which have been published in trade journals including Used Car Dealer Magazine, World of Special Finance Magazine, Ward’s Dealer Business and Used Car News, to name a few. His monthly columns discussing compliance issues and providing legal updates to the industry appear in publications across the country.

In addition to his role as The Car Counselor to the motor vehicle industry, Keith serves as General Counsel for the NIADA (a position he has held since 1996), is CEO and General Counsel for Columbus Fair Auto Auction in Columbus, Ohio; and is the Compliance Officer for Finance Express.

Philip Zelinger hosts his own nationally recognized advertising resource/networking portal, AdAgencyOnline.Net, that reviews automotive advertising vendors and new technologies on several blog talk radio shows featured on the site’s blog talk radio station — WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time.  The shows include — Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising,  Lunch With Ralph Discussing Automotive Advertising and Automotive Advertising Experts.  These online open forums with automotive advertising insiders 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.

Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., (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. Some of the automotive advertising vendors represented by AAOL include ronsmap, SiSTeR Technologies Video CarLot, TeleTextSolutions, DealerMouth, GetAutoAppraise.com, Argistics – AutoTransaXion, DealMaker.Com, CityTwist.Com, Bulldog Marketing Technologies, Kihon Media, CarFolks.Com, Ai Dealer and Laser Stream Video; with more being added weekly.

About Philip Zelinger

Philip Zelinger is the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and the 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.

For more information on Philip Zelinger, Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., the vendors on AdAgencyOnline.Net or any of the automotive advertising social networking communities referenced in this article and supported by Philip Zelinger contact Philip directly at http://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, or call him at 888-796-2228.  To quote Philip Zelinger, “Help is only a click away!  After all, what are friends for!”  ###