It’s business as usual at Cobalt, and everyone in the company knows that means change.
“I’m 53 years old, and I’m still learning,” said CEO John Holt while addressing the company on the morning of July 9. “Change is constant. You can either close yourself to it or open your arms to it.”
Holt had announced that Cobalt, the company he co-founded over 15 years ago, is now in the final stages of being acquired by ADP, one of the world’s largest providers of information technology. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and 
is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010. Until then, ADP Dealer Services and Cobalt will operate as independent businesses.
Once the acquisition is finalized John will lead the new ADP Digital Marketing group within ADP Dealer Services from Cobalt’s offices in Seattle. The new group will include all of the digital marketing capabilities of ADP, including BZ Results, Cobalt and Dealix. This organization will be uniquely positioned to deliver a comprehensive set of digital marketing solutions that will help transform the ways manufacturers and dealers market and sell vehicles and related services.
It’s going to be an exciting time, especially since Cobalt will still be Cobalt – the company’s vision and brand in the marketplace will continue. And Holt will still be here to lead the ADP Digital Marketing group onward to new ideas.
The company meeting was clearly a poignant moment for Holt, as he expressed his pride in the Cobalt’s accomplishments to the packed Seattle auditorium by videoconference to meeting rooms in Lynnwood and at Dealix and Integralink as well as by phone to hundreds of employees over the Internet.
“We’ve come a long way together, but we still have a lot to do,” he said.
Founded 15 years ago at the start of the Internet era, the company has grown its customer base and its capabilities to become a market leader – not just in websites but also in integrated digital marketing solutions for auto manufacturers and their dealer networks. ADP’s existing model complements Cobalt’s, since ADP solutions helps dealers convert opportunities created by Cobalt’s digital marketing capabilities into sales.
ADP’s financial strength, global footprint and capabilities in social media and other technology areas are expected to open up new doors for Cobalt employees and customers. Cobalt will remain laser-focused on building brand awareness for its customers and driving traffic to their stores.
“Some things will change, for sure,” Holt told employees this morning. “But many things will be the same,” he assured. He then entreated everyone watching and listening to keep doing what they’ve always done by sticking to the four C’s: Curiosity, Commitment, Creativity and Community.
“Stay curious,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to commit completely, with a full heart and mind. Be creative, even in the face of things that seem ‘the way they’ve always been.’ Keep community alive; it takes a community to have a company, and this fact is core to Cobalt’s success and spirit.
“I see life as one learning curve after another,” Holt said. “If you embrace them rather than run from them, you can drive yourself to personal achievements that may surprise you. Because of the things I tackled and learned, last year was the best year of my life. It’s daunting to try to make this year even better, but with this announcement it’s off to a pretty good start!”
Like we said – business as usual.
What’s next for John Holt, Cobalt, and Dealix? We’re not done yet. Not even close. Stay tuned.
The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive
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A Message from John Holt – Giving Thanks
November 24, 2010 — aspeyerThough most of us are pretty far removed from the effort and activity of growing things, Thanksgiving still celebrates the blessings of the harvest. Joined by friends and family, and perhaps someone who has nowhere else to go, it’s a day without appointment, one where the clock moves at a different pace. Without a schedule to race around, there’s simply nothing to do but cook and prepare the meal, sit with people you like, and simple pleasures.
I love the fact that the world has forgotten about Thanksgiving, leaving it alone for the meaning we want to give it. As I watch the folks around me head off to see their moms and dads, it’s easy to fast forward and think about my daughters, coming home to wherever Susan and I are. Perhaps someday with children of their own. It makes me think I should be heading east to see my mom.
Apart from my family, there’s nothing as important to me as Cobalt. The enterprise has fed, clothed and roofed my family for 15 years, and I am enormously thankful for that. The company provides these same benefits for more than 1,000 people and their families and friends, and of course we help create commerce for thousands of dealerships and tens of thousands of their employees – a pretty big impact.
It’s been a twisty, turny year and we’re still going through lots of change and challenge as we adapt to life inside ADP, but the big picture view seems A-OK to me. I feel like we’re almost through the initial steep learning curve and vocabulary lessons, and I can see a path forward to assemble all the various digital marketing assets and initiatives we now own and provide even more value to our customers. As important, I see ways we can create considerable value for ADP that I didn’t necessarily understand when we agreed to the transaction.
As I think ahead, I have tremendous anticipation for what’s coming next. Moving to our new HQ will be exciting. The views are great and it’ll be good to be back in the downtown core. More than anything, I am going to like having so many of us under one roof. It will draw our community even tighter, making us even more defined and forceful. I love the fact that the folks on the phones talking to customers are just a few stairs away from the folks making the stuff their customers are using. Apply agile methodology to real-time customer feedback and it may be hard to go home at night to sleep.
More important is the opportunity we’re going to have to understand how, why, when and where advertising works, then multiply these findings times millions of shoppers on behalf of thousands of dealers.
When we announced the sale to ADP, I told Steve Anenen we would be the fastest-growing part of ADP Dealer Services. I absolutely believe this today, exactly 100 days later. We have some very good things going on, and that’s before we harness the true power of our combined assets and the breadth and width of ADP’s industry knowledge, scale and access. We’re going to do our bit and more.
I think we’re getting through to the other side where the water will be smooth and flat, like the leeward side of the 520 on a stormy day. Knowing it’s still pretty choppy, I will give my biggest Thanksgiving THANKS to the men and women of Cobalt, for their patience, their steadfastness, their optimism, their integrity, their thoughtfulness, their effort and their maturity. We have kept our eye on the prize in the midst of considerable change. That’s the right thing to do, but not everyone is willing to rise to that standard. We have and are, and that’s my Thanksgiving thought.
I hope the next few days are great days. When you smile, stretch your cheeks. When you exhale, lower your shoulders. If you’re walking, stop, pause and turn 360 degrees. Look up. Think a thought, and take it a step further. We have much to be thankful for, and it would dishonor our good fortune to not acknowledge the plenty we enjoy. If you can, find a way to share it, extend a hand and pull another forward. Goodness creates goodness.
Happy Thanksgiving.
The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive