26 August 2006
VEHIX PROVIDES NEW TELEVISON ADVERTISING STRATEGY FOR AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS
First-of-its-kind Cross-Platform Strategy Re-Engages OEM Brands With TV, Delivers Direct Mail and Internet Sales Capabilities And Measured Results

SALT LAKE CITY – August 26, 2006 – Vehix.com, a leading national online automotive portal, has created the industry’s first cross-platform offering that fully meets the advertising performance needs of automotive companies. Automotive companies need to reach the consumer at different phases of their automotive shopping experience, in addition to delivering a quantifiable return on investment. 

Vehix.com connects automotive marketers with consumers at every level of the car purchasing decision. The content is designed and optimized to reach consumers at multiple buying stages in the car purchasing cycle. Vehix.com is able to deliver the right advertising content at the right time.

Consumers go through four phases of automotive shopping; awareness, research, shopping and buying. Vehix.com provides all the tools and research a consumer needs to make a smart purchasing decision; however, their information needs change during each of these phases. The content on Vehix.com changes to mirror each of these phases in order to provide the most relevant information to consumers at the right time. 

This customization allows manufacturers to focus on awareness (branding) and research (vehicle type needs evaluation); dealer associations to focus on shopping (brand and model comparison) and local dealers to focus on buying (vehicle purchase).   Vehix uses this model to help cable companies orient sales opportunities as the allocated advertising dollars are completely different for each phase.   

Vehix’s cross-platform offering allows video content to be distributed to more consumer access points by cross-purposing it to multiple distribution platforms including VehixTV and broadband cable company portals and Video on Demand (VOD).   Automotive manufacturers want TV to provide the same capabilities provided by Internet and direct marketing—the ability to measure performance and complete accountability for performance in impacting sales at the local dealership. With more than 75 percent of consumers using the Internet when purchasing a car, it’s not surprising that automotive marketers will continue to shift money away from traditional media to the Internet.  

“Our advertising sales solutions are tailored for automotive manufacturers, dealers and dealer groups on a national and local level,” said Derek Mattsson, CEO of Vehix.   “For example, we have local zip code search capability, which allows consumers visiting Vehix.com to add a zip code and they will be directed to a site that will offer relevant local dealer advertisements. This drives consumers to local automotive dealers and creates sales opportunities.

According to Mattsson, many markets are having great success selling banner ads for local dealers in the new, used and advanced search paths on Vehix.com. This fall, the company will offer two local sales opportunities to meet dealer’s needs for online and video promotional tactics.   The advertising sales opportunities include local dealer videos and local banner ads in inventory search results pages. 

The power of Vehix.com resulted in participating dealers selling more than 60,000 cars in 2005. Vehix.com now hosts and represents more than 1,500 dealers with 500,000 automobiles. Vehix.com includes the widest range of multi-media content and video programming including 85 video test drives, 10 buying guides, new vehicle showrooms, test drives with 360 degree interior and exterior images and crash test videos. 

Vehix has developed a unique marketing relationship with the largest cable television companies in the nation that has helped spur the growth of the Vehix.com site. Today, Vehix represents 1,500 dealers in over 60 markets, hosting a real-time, online inventory of over 500,000 new and used vehicles. Vehix.com is one of the most trafficked automotive resource websites on the Internet. It helps hundreds of thousands of individuals find the car of their dreams. Vehix.com also powers more than 600 individual automobile dealership websites on the Internet.

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