Automotive Social Media Leaders Meet in Las Vegas

If you have not yet signed up for the DrivingSales Executive Summit to be held on October 18-20th in Las Vegas, I'll give you one more reason to do that today. If you use the code BP100 you can save $100 off your registration fee.

If you want to expand your knowledge about social media trends, strategies, and applications for the automotive industry, this is a must attend event. The keynote speakers and work group session leaders are the very best in the industry.

The DrivingSales Executive Summit is unlike any conference you have attended in the past. The event attracts the most successful car dealers in the country as well as the true thought leaders in sales, marketing, communications and digital marketing.

To register visit: http://drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com/registration/

DrivingSales Agenda

Monday, October 18th, 2010

2:00-5:00pm Onsite Registration

4:00-4:30pm Welcome Remarks

4:30-5:00pm Welcome Keynote

Managing Innovation: Jared Hamilton

5:00-6:00pm Keynote Presentation

Scott Monty, Head of Social Media for Ford Motor Company

As Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager at Ford Motor Company, Scott heads up the company’s social media function. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more.

He is also an active blogger and podcaster at his ‘The Social Media Marketing Blog’ (www.scottmonty.com) and The Baker Street Blog. He has been featured in numerous news and business publications, in over a dozen books, and on a variety of broadcast media from podcasts to NPR to national television. Scott coined the Oxford Dictionary of English-accepted term “tweetup.”

6:00-8:00pm Welcome Reception

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

7:30-8:30am Onsite Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:30-9:00am Welcome Remarks – Charlie Vogelheim

9:00-11:30am Keynote Presentations

Getting Your Company Ready for Social Business: Jeremiah Owyang

Renowned social media analyst, blogger, and web strategist, Owyang’s popular blog, Web Strategy, focuses on how corporations connect with their customers using web technologies, and is read by 70,000 unique visitors monthly, ranked 27th in Ad Age’s “Power 150” top blogs.

Owyang will prepare dealers for the organizational shifts that must take place to successfully utilize the evolving web, providing actionable strategies to leverage social/new media in ways that are
relevant to the dealership business, and realistic to implement. Open Q&A to follow

Foundations of Innovation: Core Marketing Tactics

• Advanced SEO strategies: it’s not enough to be the first; how to dominate the WHOLE space: Brian Pasch
• Location Based Media – virtual involvement that creates physical traction: Eric Miltsch

11:30am-12:30pmBreakout Sessions 1,2,3

12:30-1:30pmLunch

1:30-2:30pm Breakout Sessions 4,5,6 (Three separate rooms will host short presentations followed by Q&A)

2:30-3:30pm Breakout Sessions 7,8,9 (Three separate rooms will host short presentations followed by Q&A)

3:30-4:30pm Roundtable discussions

4:30-6:00pm Dealer/Vendor Innovation Cup

Who has 2010’s best ideas and technologies? Watch as the most innovative products and best dealership strategies are presented to summit attendees, and are then judged and voted on by a panel of dealers. Each presenter has 5 minutes to wow the panel and attendees, and then must answer questions from the dealer judges. Awards will be presented to the top ranked innovators.

6:00-8:00pm Cocktails & networking reception

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

8:00-9:00am Continental Breakfast

9:00-11:00amKeynote Presentations

Dan Zarrella, award-winning social, search, and viral marketing scientist and author

Dan is an award-winning social, search, and viral marketing scientist and author of the O’Reilly Media book “The Social Media Marketing Book“. He has a background in web development and combines his
programming capabilities with a passion for social marketing to study social media behavior from a data-backed position and teach marketers scientifically grounded best practices. Broadly quoted in today’s top media from The New York Times to TechCrunch, he was awarded Shorty and Semmy awards in 2009 for social media & viral marketing.

John Holt, President & CEO of the Cobalt Group

John Holt co-founded The Cobalt Group in 1995, based on his belief that the Internet would bring significant change to the way people advertised and bought and sold goods and services. Under Holt’s
guidance, Cobalt has become a major partner to the North American automotive industry, providing marketing services to more than half the auto dealers in North America and nearly thirty automobile
manufacturers. Holt has helped Cobalt raise more than $100 million from some of the world’s leading private equity firms, including Warburg Pincus, ABS Capital Partners, and Oak Investment Capital.

Dale Pollak, Chairman & Founder of vAuto

Dale is the chairman and founder of vAuto, Inc., a company that provides retail auto dealerships with a better way to appraise, manage and price their pre-owned inventory. Prior to founding vAuto, Dale was the VP of Sales and Business Strategy at Digital Motorworks and has over 25 years dealership experience – including 12 years as a Cadillac GMC dealer in Illinois. Pollak has just released a book on best practices in successful used vehicle operations. “Velocity: From the Front Line to
the Bottom Line” is a guide for used car dealers that compiles his more than 20 years of observations, best practices and strategies.

11:00-11:45am Keynote Panel

11:45-12:30pm Closing Remarks and Awards

Announcement of winners of the 2010 DrivingSales Innovation Cup

Breakout Topics suggested by multiple dealers thus far:

• Digital marketing for Fixed Operations
• Mobile apps and their place in the marketing food chain
• SEO tactics for dealers
• Dealership case study in accessory sales
• Dealership case study in digital marketing (three dealer panel)
• The evolving finance office
• Social strategies, how to execute
• Micro site strategies for brand domination
• How much social media can you out source? – Panel discussion