The new car shopper path to purchase is the heartbeat of every automotive discussion happening now.  Over the coming months, Cobalt will work with Google and other thought leaders to bring even deeper insights into automotive shopper behavior-insight that dealers can use to sell more cars by truly connecting with today’s customer.

Today, Google announced that Cobalt has been selected as a Google AdWords Premier SMB Partner. Cobalt is one of the few automotive marketing providers to receive this distinction.

“We are excited to launch the Google AdWords Premier SMB Partner program with hand-picked, highly qualified companies like Cobalt/ADP,” said Ben Wood, Head of Google’s Americas channel sales partnership in a press announcement, “Automotive dealers will not only benefit from Cobalt’s in-depth training, but from their years of relationship in the local market.”

The Google partnership is the latest testament to Cobalt’s sophisticated digital advertising capabilities. Cobalt’s unique automotive paid search program is driven by a Bid Optimization System (BOS) which drives the very best monthly performance for an individual dealer or across a network of dealerships. It is the only system on the market, in any vertical, that manages budgets on pre and post-click performance across multiple channels (i.e. Paid Search and Display).

“We are honored that Google has again recognized the value created by Cobalt’s innovative and unique digital advertising platform,” said Max Steckler, Vice President of Advertising Solutions. “This recognition is further evidence that Cobalt Digital Advertising Solutions are industry-leading in their ability to provide a seamless, integrated experience for consumers throughout their buying journey resulting in qualified buyers to dealers and their manufacturer partners.”

“We are proud to be recognized for our  full spectrum online advertising program,” said Charles Tilton, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Advertising. “Our integrated solution enables us to optimize across channels, deliver dynamic content based on consumer behavior, and gives us access to media that would otherwise be unavailable to the average dealership.”

To learn more about the benefits of Cobalt’s unique digital advertising integration capabilities, watch this video from Google’s “Think Voices” Series, featuring Max Steckler, VP of Display Advertising:

Learn more  about Cobalt’s Premier SMB Partner Status here:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/ads/premiersmbpartner/advertisers-findpartner.html#tab=partner-cobalt-com

That’s just a peek at this awesome dealer testimonial. To find out why Kelly loves her ADP digital tools, and how her ProCare Advocate David Van Fleet provides invaluable expertise, check out the full story.

Pasch elaborated on the dramatic enhancements to ADP Digital Marketing/Cobalt’s digital solution in the printed awards book, saying, “The biggest surprise of this year is the improvements delivered by the new ADP|Cobalt website platform. The design and engineering team at ADP|Cobalt made a strong investment in their website platform that we recognize and reward with their inclusion in the search marketing award list.
The ADP|Cobalt digital marketing platform is rapidly expanding and includes products and services that cover social media, reputation management and enhanced analytics…The dramatic changes in site architecture that have been completed this year are impressive.”

Greg Meyer, Vice President of Technology for ADP/Cobalt responded to the win, saying “I would like to thank our dealer partners who have provided input and review of our new solutions, their insight has been instrumental. This recognition is a significant milestone on the merger of The Cobalt Group and ADP Digital Marketing and a reflection of what is to come as we continue to gain momentum with our ground breaking digital marketing solutions.”

Read the full announcement from PCG Marketing here.

"Who knew there was such a thing as human foosball?"

“Who knew there was such a thing as human foosball?  And who knew ADP Digital Marketing Services associates would be so good at it?”

Monique LaFollette, an instructor on the Learning and Development team, has had a few new experiences in her eight weeks here, but the “tailgate party” for the entire Seattle-based Services organization has to be a highlight so far.  From Account Advocates who work proactively with our customers to website builders, from search engine experts to managers, everyone was invited to shut down their laptops and put their phones on hold to have some fun outside nearby Pyramid Alehouse.

It was the first such gathering since the Services team moved from the Lynnwood office to the new office in downtown Seattle.  Everyone was encouraged to wear their favorite sports team colors, and the festivities included lots of excellent food, root beer on tap, a push-and-pull variation on basketball…and yes, human foosball.

Don’t believe us? That’s OK, we’ve got the pictures to prove it.

Monique, ready to rumble!

Monique, one of the Services organization’s newest members, was there to see it all.

“Every player (and observer) I saw was cheering – and smiling – and pretty much going for it in a full-throttle way. Within minutes, most contestants (even the ones wearing flip-flops, and even the ones who’d just ingested their body weight in brats, burgers, and beverages) were mastering some pretty fine foosball skills – bank shots, lobbed balls, and back-passes to members of their team. Who could have predicted such agility? Who could have foreseen such sporting tenacity?”

Getting a little help from your friends isn't against the rules...right?

“Emotions (and heart rates) were definitely running high as the scores crept toward the cutoff point in the inflatable arena. Watching my co-workers fiercely focus, yanking on their tethered lines while positioning themselves in creative manners to get their toe on the bouncy rubber ball quicker than the opposing team, it was clear that everyone was agreed on one thing: we’re here to have fun, and we’re here to WIN. No matter what it takes!”

“It’s pretty cool, having been here just two months, to see the culture of this organization show up in a crazy game of human foosball. From what I’ve observed, this spirited sense of “can-do” and creative partnership isn’t something unique to the foosball arena. It’s part of who we are. I’ve listened to it in huddles, I’ve seen it play out in meetings, and I’ve watched it as people help each other solve problems on the job. We work hard, we get creative, and we have fun doing it – even if it makes us sweat a little.”

Sports jerseys were the dress code of the day (not strictly enforced, though).

“In fact, a lot of what I saw at the Services tail-gate party isn’t an uncommon sighting in the office: lots of fun, a lot of laughter, lots of mingling, and a very pronounced amount of sports jerseys…especially the sports jerseys.”

“I can’t wait until the next off-site event! I’m already hungry.”

Check out the video too!

Setting out for a 60-mile walk

Five women from Cobalt, one with her daughter, are setting out on quite a journey today. 60 miles over the course of three days – on foot. They’re doing it for a good cause, one we’re all probably painfully familiar with. From today through Sunday, these women are walking the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for a Cure.

Services Coach Erika Myrick was there this morning to see it begin.

Walking through the University of Washington

In the weeks and months leading up to the 3-day walk, these women reached out to family, friends and colleagues to raise thousands of dollars. The five women walking from Cobalt are Account Advocates Angie Weber, Aimee Soileau, and Christine Rockney-Sidhu, Receptionist Keisha Gayles, and Advocate Manager Cindy Scillo. Cindy’s daughter Brianna is also walking with them.

Closing Ceremonies

You can keep up to date with the team’s progress on the “Keeping Abreast” team Facebook Page.

“It is so moving to me – the cause, the team, the stories, we all have them,” Erika said. “My grandmother had Breast Cancer, and we lost her to cancer several years ago.  My dear friend battled and triumphantly beat it!  The list goes on.  These women represent so much for me today.”

In the fight against breast cancer, taking strides like this represents so much for all of us. We’re all proud of you, ladies!

John Holt - ADP Digital Marketing

Now that a year has passed since we sold Cobalt to ADP, I’d like to celebrate the anniversary and give you a sense for how things have gone and what’s coming next.

I have to admit, a year ago was a bewildering time.  Selling Cobalt was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life, and keeping my head straight in the weeks before and after the deal was difficult.

We, all of us, took the high road by opening our arms up and inviting our new colleagues to look over our shoulders and develop enthusiasm for the cool stuff we’re doing. Feeling welcome, ADP’ers have come out here often, to learn and, yes, to take some of the things we do and the ways we do things back home and try them on for size. We’ve benefitted from their influence too as we’ve learned about their approaches to review and planning.

In other words, there’s been two-way osmosis, a true cultural exchange.

Now, a year later, I can say we’ve done just about everything we promised to do. We did a darn good job meeting our financial targets, we launched even more products and services than we said we would, we got way down the road on the key integration tasks, and we have unbelievably interesting and challenging work lined up to do this year and the next after that.

Our new Seattle HQ

We moved to all-new headquarters in Seattle, combining our entire Puget Sound team in a showcase facility that contributes meaningfully to our work and offers compelling opportunities for employees to use public transportation, utilize downtown resources, work out and get healthier, and eat interesting food on a daily basis.

We’ve added dozens of development resources around the world, one of the reasons our product delivery rate has improved, and it should continue to get better as these development resources are still coming online.

Via ADP and BZ Results, we now have an opportunity to serve dealer groups.  There are lots of dealer groups out there and they spend a disproportionate amount of the industry’s ad spend. Getting this right is necessary to fuel our growth, enhance our reputation, and play a key role helping ADP drive its growth in the automotive vertical. I can promise you we will get it right.

Dealix has made significant progress turning usedcars.com and the used car lead generation effort into a major growth initiative.  ADP recognized this diversification and growth opportunity very early last fall, granting Dealix the needed funds to accelerate the development of usedcars.com.  The Dealix team has responded by hitting the mark on every planned aspect of the investment. Within three years, usedcars.com will be nearing the size of one of the top ten automotive portals.

We are going to be a global business.  I’m really pleased to tell you that just last week ADP leaders agreed to fund the globalization of the ADP Digital Marketing platform.  We’re now forming a scoping team and work will begin in earnest this month.

We’re making progress on developing an end-to-end vision that will provide consumers with a seamless shopping and buying experience, dealership personnel with an integrated suite of products and services that will create a seamless and efficient workflow, and insightful analytics that will take the guessing out of what advertising works, and doesn’t work.  Math and science will win, and no one will understand as much about each moment in the purchase funnel than ADP.

ADP Headquarters in Roseland, New Jersey

A final point (though I could go on): we are now employees at one of the strongest and most financially stable companies on the planet.  While the United States has lost its triple AAA-rated status, ADP still has it, and they’re one of four such companies.  There’s just no question that we enjoy safety through diversification of risk that Cobalt didn’t have as an independent company.

As I look ahead, I am very pleased with the road we’ve traveled, but even more excited about what’s coming next.  We are changing how advertising works in the largest consumer vertical on the planet. We continue to do things that have never ever been done before. And now we’re going to have an opportunity to strut our stuff on a global stage with the active support of a company that can make us even more successful, and faster.  I have lots of confidence in our ability to win and win right, but it’s going to take extraordinary commitment and dedication to be the very best.

The men and women of ADP Digital Marketing

As summer winds to a close, enjoy Labor Day weekend. Next week will have a back-to-school feel to it and we’re going to need to step things up a notch now that summer’s over. There’s tons to do and many balls to juggle but I know the men and women of ADP Digital Marketing  – in Seattle, in Redwood City, in Coventry, in Pune, in Bangalore, in Hoffmann, in El Paso, and in hundreds of private homes – will be up to it. And I know we have ADP solidly behind us as we forge a path through this brave new world.

Happy anniversary, thank you, and my best,

John Holt
ADP Digital Marketing