A SPEAKER AND EXHIBITOR SHARES A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE DIGITAL DEALER CONFERENCE & EXPO IN TAMPA
Robert Karbaum, National Digital Strategy Manager at Dilawri Group of Companies, presents on social media and advertising at the Digital Dealer Conference & Expo
It was a bounce back spring show for the Digital Dealer Conference & Expo. Many attendees who descended on Tampa, Fla. for this past April’s event would find a marked improvement over the one held the previous year in Atlantic City.
Now in it’s eighteenth installment, this year marked a brand new experience for me, as I had the good fortune of attending as an exhibitor and speaker!
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Tampa was a new venue for the show, and I am pleased to report the logistics of the hotel layout to the conference centre were perfect. A small bridge separated the hotels from the conference centre, allowing for attendees to get to and from sessions or events.
The venue was a welcome change from the dated and dark environment that greeted us in Atlantic City last spring. Local amenities were also within walking distance. If you haven’t been, Tampa is a lovely city and has a ton of local flare and flavour.
Full marks on coordinating the great weather that arrived Tuesday morning for the start of the show!
Dealers who decided not to take in the early sessions filled the expo and were engaging the vendors. While those setting up may have felt the pressure to wrap things up, it was a productive morning for our team as we had isolated time with many dealers who decided to visit our booth.
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
As the host of Canadian Digital Dealer events held by the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association, I get to sit back and take in all of the presenters as my job is to moderate discussion and manage the flow of the day.
Throughout the year I attend different events with the privilege of having a lot of free time to catch speakers and sessions as I please. Fast forward to Tampa, and there are only three of us manning our small booth.
Once the doors to the expo opened, there was little time to get out.
I was lucky enough to take in several sessions, and here’s what stood out.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS STILL HOT
Robert Karbaum, National Digital Strategy Manager at Dilawri Group of Companies, presented, “The Hard Truth: Social Media is Advertising” to a full room.
Karbaum wove a compelling argument that shone a light on social media just being yet another advertising platform, while showing the audience how it can be leveraged.
Many may contest this approach but I have always appreciated the level of detail and research Karbaum will put into a presentation.
The audience live tweeting the event definitely seemed to find key takeaways for their stores, regardless of which side of the debate they fall on.
Continuing to focus on social media in a more tactical light, Kate Frost of Kate Frost Inc. and A.J. Maida of Papa’s Dodge Chrysler Jeep also provided a unique look at how AJ’s store approaches its social media strategies.
A.J. Maida of Papa’s Dodge Chrysler Jeep (left) and Kate Frost of Kate Frost Inc. (right)
OEMs want dealers to have homogeneous websites, but social media shows a dealership’s personality and what they give to the community. Both Frost and Maida are seasoned presenters, and always deliver engaging, insightful sessions.
It’s no surprise that dealers and vendors alike filled the room to hear what they had to share.
MOBILEGEDDON IS UPON US
The day the conference started, Google released a significant new mobile- friendly ranking algorithm that’s designed to give a boost to mobile-friendly pages in Google’s mobile search results.
This news had been circulating for some time. Many speakers either spoke directly to mobile optimization (like yours truly) or the topic crept its way into many panels and keynotes throughout the conference.
Your dealership’s mobile strategy is more important than ever, and while we all mature in this new “mobile age,” it’s imperative to properly educate yourself on what will best benefit your store.
Notable presentations on the mobile space this year were delivered by Mathew Koenig of Buscador de Autos, as well as a dynamite panel moderated by Dean Evans that included Subi Ghosh, Bill Simmons and Joe Webb.
Being one of the few Canadian presenters at the conference I tried to bring a twist to my session, “You Have Your Responsively Designed Website, Now What?”
I did turn some heads with my decision to present in shorts and flip flops, but I believe I was successful in using Kraft Dinner and Jet Puff Marshmallows to demonstrate how the technical side of a mobile website operated. Never one to blow my own horn— it’s best to read the tweets:
“That’s 8 marshmallows in @ KevinFrye1’s mouth… Cause he’s helping @ BrentWees do science… #dd18 ” @GregGifford
“I love how Brent Wees is taking complex technology and making it simple when looking at mobile optimization @BrentWees #dd18 ” @KevinFrye1
IT’S STILL ALL ABOUT THE DATA
Industry veterans Kevin Frye of the Wyler Automotive Family, and Tony Rhoades, VP of Product at AutoAlert presented on how to best use Google Analytics and data mining to enhance your business practices.
Both of these gentlemen are two of the most approachable folks you’ll ever meet, and their passion to help educate their peers is immense. Their presentations were full of practical take aways and key insights as the core buying audience and marketing tactics evolve.
Rhoades focused on the fact that dealers are already good at mining their customers’ data to find future sales, but then fall short with fully understanding what to do with it.
Frye’s session, “Finding Your Optimal Marketing Mix with Google Analytics” focused on how to use Google Analytics from a dealer’s perspective to best identify who is performing —and who is not — with your digital marketing mix.
I’m pretty sure folks started squatting in the room Kevin was presenting in several sessions in advance just to ensure they had a seat!
A GOOD TIME
This was the first U.S. Digital Dealer Conference & Expo Liz Cabigon attended.
“My first Digital Dealer in the U.S. was a great experience jam packed with advice from industry leading experts. An unofficial tool to help select sessions was #DD18 on Twitter that acted as a highlight reel of the presentations, allowing me to glimpse into the session next door without leaving their seat. An added bonus at the event was the Peer Networking Round tables where dealers could compare and contrast various strategies, offering a chance to look at dealership issues through an unbiased person’s perspective,” said Cabigon, from the TADA.
“With the excellent turnout of exhibitors, dealers were able to get the most current offerings and information on tools which, when coupled with the information received from the sessions, can be a powerful next step for a dealership. I look forward to the next Digital Dealer Conference,” Cabigon added.
The other great aspect of the U.S. Digital Dealer Conference & Expo is the social gatherings.
Every night you could attend small intimate gatherings or get a little loud and sing your brains out at the always impromptu, never disappointing karaoke party.
The Digital Dealer Conference & Expo in Tampa provided our entire team some great connections, a bit of sleep deprivation and valuable insights that we hope help us continue to build better working relationships throughout our industry. I look forward to connecting with all of you at Digital Dealer 19 in Las Vegas on Oct. 5-7, 2015!
