Cheers! Anniversary pint glasses are a Cobalt tradition

Every year around this time, Cobaltians start to look forward to a new pint glass.  It’s Cobalt’s unique way of celebrating our March 17^th anniversary.  This year’s anniversary glass reads:

“The year saw the union of Cobalt and ADP, the birth of the Digital Launch Package, and the move to new headquarters – resulting in a bigger brewery and a richer malt. Sweet 16 was sweet indeed.”

Here are sixteen milestones from Cobalt’s history that made Cobalt as sweet as it is today:

Cobalt founders John Holt and Geof Barker in 2000.

1995 – Cobalt is founded on St. Patrick’s Day by entrepreneurs John Holt and Geof Barker, in a small office in the Pike Place Market, with a staff of 7 (including Alex the golden retriever).

1996 – Lexus signs on as Cobalt’s first manufacturer-endorsed dealer website program.  Acura and Mitsubishi soon follow suit.

1997 – Cobalt grows beyond the needs of the tiny office on Post Alley and moves its headquarters to 1^st and Lenora in the heart of Belltown.

1998 – Cobalt’s first generally-available bundled digital marketing service, the Essentials Website Package, is launched.

1999 – Cobalt announces its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and becomes a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ exchange, trading as CBLT.

2000 – Unable to add more desks in hallways in the very cramped Belltown office, Cobalt moves its headquarters to the “Icehouse” in SODO, and launches eCare to better serve its growing customer base.

2001 – Cobalt is taken private by Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm and longtime Cobalt investor, and Cobalt becomes a private company once again.

2002 – Cobalt launches the revolutionary Nitra platform, allowing dealers to customize and edit their own websites online.

2003 – Cobalt acquires the Cowboy Corporation and their CRM tool, Prospector.

2004 – Cobalt acquires the Dealix Corporation, opening a new office in Redwood City, California.

Howard Tullman with a be-tuxed John Holt at Cobalt's 10th Anniversary

2005 – Cobalt gains an endorsement from the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA).

2006 – Procare — a new, personalized and proactive support service for Nitra Website customers – is officially launched.

2007 – General Motors endorses Cobalt exclusively as its provider of digital marketing, including dealer websites, search marketing, and optimization.

2008 – Cobalt opens an office in Lynnwood, its second office in the state of Washington, specifically to house an expanded Services team and support the new business with GM.

2009 – Cobalt and Dealix launch a completely redesigned UsedCars.com to help in-market car buyers find the ‘Right Car, from the Right Dealer, at the Right Price.’

2010 – Cobalt is acquired by ADP Dealer Services and becomes the digital marketing arm of ADP under the continuing leadership of John Holt.

2011 – Cobalt moves its headquarters again, combining both the SODO and Lynnwood offices in one location at 605 Union Station in the International District in downtown Seattle.

Today, as the rest of the world drinks green beer, we celebrate for another reason – happy 16th birthday, Cobalt!

The Cobalt Group

www.cobalt.com
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Though 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

The tables were laid out with clean white tablecloths, pens and USB drives. The room was warmly-lit and inviting. It was Wednesday, November 10, and all was ready for Web Analytics Wednesday with Cobalt playing the host for the evening.

Web analysts from Expedia, REI, Nordstrom, POP, Amazon, Disney, Ascentium, Corbis and other local companies met at the Arctic Club Hotel in downtown Seattle for a meeting of the minds in the Dome Room. As the event started, about 40 people were gathered there, talking to old friends and acquaintances and meeting new ones. After the mingling and networking and food, Joe Megibow, VP of Global Analytics and Optimization at Expedia.com, was there to give a short presentation about how to create a data-driven culture.

“I didn’t want to be an accountant,” Megibow said as he spoke to the crowded room. “Counting stuff? When I was a kid, I wanted to build stuff. And then blow it up.” He descr

ibed the business of web analytics as “competing for the truth,” trying to find the best way to accurately measure results and put those measurements to use in making changes for the better.

He talked about the challenges they faced at Expedia, such as measuring the frequency of users getting to specific error pages, the data received from formfields, and using that data to improve the user experience and Expedia’s profitability. In one case, the d

iscovery of a single form field that confused users led to the quick removal of that field and more successful transactions for Expedia – to the tune of about twelve million dollars per year.

“We paid for a few of our own salaries that day,” he quipped.

His conclusion? Being able to measure results, both successes and failures, in today’s market is not just a useful tool, it’s a critical one. Data analysis for web applications isn’t about accounting. It’s about building stuff and blowing it up – then finding out how you can build it better. This was a message that resonated with everyone in the room.

After Megibow’s presentation, Debbie Pan from Ascentium won an Amazon gift certificate in a drawing, and most in the room stayed a while longer to talk and get to know each other. It was a successful evening with an important message – when you’re competing for the truth, everyone wins in the end. Cobalt is very proud to have hosted Web Analytics Wednesday and hopes to do so again soon!

On the second weekend in September, five Cobalt employees got together and decided to try something a little different. Described as the “ultimate event for thrill-seeking athletes,” the Warrior Dash takes place around the country all year round, taking advantage of unique terrain at each location to build a grueling obstacle course.

Order Manager Jessica Butts described her reasons for going, “It looked like something I couldn’t do,” she said. “I wanted to challenge myself.”

At first glance, it looks like something nobody would choose to do, unless they were suckered into it. That’s exactly the nightmarish experience Web Builder Steve Hensyel summarized. He thought he was going camping and was even promised marshmallows as an incentive.

“I woke up in the woods being chased by a bunch of strange hooligans in weird costumes,” he said. “I was terrified, ran for my life, and only later found out it was a race.”

Thousands, even Steve, registered and participated in the two-day event, near North Plains in Oregon. The course was just over three miles worth of rough terrain with added complications. There were natural obstacles, such as a steep ravine or a maze of mossy trees, as well as man-made obstacles, like knee-high tire stacks, trashed cars to climb over, and the infamous Warrior fires. Finally, runners in the Dash had to crawl through mud and under barbed wire.

“We climbed mountains, dove over logs in the water, jumped over cars, made a leap of faith over fire pits, ran through a tire course and swam through the mud,” said Web Builder Jeremy Helstrom. “We came out on the other side with scrapes, bruises, cuts, mud covering our body so thick that you could hardly tell where my t-shirt ended and my skin began and big smiles on our faces. It was an amazing time.”

Dash runners got a lot out of the event, according to Contract Administrator Jason Denk. They were given “a medal, t-shirt and a sweet warrior hat. Plus a lot of good laughs and photos,” he recalled. “It was a great experience overall and we are looking to doing it on an annual basis.”

Jessica was proud of the accomplishment and what it meant to her. “I haven’t run over two miles since high school. This was a little over three miles with tiring obstacles. I now know this is something I can do and plan on doing more things like it.”

It may seem crazy to some, but to this group of Cobalt friends it was just the weekend they were looking for. Even Steve learned a valuable lesson, “If I ever go ‘camping’ with these guys again, I’m bringing a sword.”

Photos taken by Janaya Fix.

The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

On hearing these words of wisdom, senior ADP HR Business Partner Dale Gordon said, “Throw away the map, let’s use GPS!” Now why didn’t Kermit think of that?

On August 16th and 17th, Cobalt celebrated its own vision. All Cobalt employees were officially welcomed to the ADP family by Steve Anenen, president of ADP Dealer Services and John Holt, the newly-minted senior division vice president of ADP’s Digital Marketing Group, with other Cobalt and ADP leaders. Welcome gatherings were held in Seattle at the Bell Harbor Conference Center on the Seattle Waterfront, the Sofitel San Francisco Bay in Redwood City, and the Four Seasons Columbus in Hilliard, Ohio. In each case, Cobalt employees, now ADP associates, gathered for presentations and celebration now that the deal was done. Be sure to stop by the Cobalt Talent Facebook page to see more pictures of the celebration events.

It was a big day for Cobalt Senior Operations Analyst Melissa Satterwhite, a Cobalt Diehard with more than ten years at the company.

“I remembered the first time I met John, when he interviewed me wearing flip-flops, shorts and a t-shirt,” she recalled. “John was an early pioneer in automotive Internet marketing – some might argue he was the early pioneer – passionately believing that car sales would be radically changed through the Internet. The fact that each of us were sitting in the room yesterday, being greeted as ADP associates, is testament to his vision.

“This is a moment for celebration and reflection,” continued Satterwhite. “We celebrate that our hard work and determination has brought us to this point and reflect on our new opportunities with ADP.”

And John Holt? He’s glad that the deal is done, and he can get back to work. “Congrats to all of us and my thanks as well. This has been a team effort – one thousand plus strong, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to have led Cobalt and have the opportunity to continue in that role,” he said in a message to the company.

“There is a great big home for a kick-ass digital marketing group inside of ADP. I want to run the division that always gets more done than folks think is possible, with vision begetting new vision like a rising tide coming higher and higher on the beach. This is how we’ve done things for 15 years, and I see no reason to stop. The higher you climb the better the view.”

Maybe Kermit did see the solution after all – it was just years before GPS. His advice was simpler. Forget the map, roll down the windows, and enjoy the ride.

The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

As a technical recruiter, he looks for employees to fill specific openings. Some positions he hires for are a senior Perl programmer, Java developer, and data analysts. To do this, he sets up phone interviews with applicants and candidates that he finds on Monster and Dice.

“They [have to] get through me,” he said. “I decide if they go to the next level.” If the applicant gets through the phone stage, he sends the top five performers an online assessment. After that, he schedules an on-site interview.

If you can’t find Poe at his desk, you might have to look all over the building. Part of his job includes touring potential employees around the company. Four to five times a week, a candidate comes to Cobalt for an intensive, four-hour interview.

“I meet with them first, tour, answer high-level questions, and check in,” he said. Poe works to make the process less intimidating and more comfortable for the understandably nervous interviewee. He often arrives an hour early to make sure they don’t have to wait around and shows them Cobalt life. After the candidate get settled, Poe is on the run again, going to the nearby Jimmy John’s to fuel him or her with a sandwich and water for their long interview, after which, he asks the candidate’s first impressions are and walks the person out.

Above all, Poe is a friendly face to new people. He’s the first impression they get of Cobalt, and he wants it to be a good one. “I’m like the first line of defense,” he explained. I try “to be as personable as possible so they feel comfortable.”

Poe tries to get to know the new hires, because “the biggest key is building relationships.” He spent the day chatting with someone who had just been hired and was moving from Indiana. “I’m trying to ease his fears; he’s alone, and I did it,” he said, referring to the move he also made from Indiana six and a half years ago.

“I’ll make sure he gets time and try to make him feel welcome. [We] keep in touch a couple times a week,” he shared. “Any question I don’t know, I will find out the answer.”

If all else fails, and you are still looking for Poe, he often spends time in a conference room. Every day, he and the other hiring managers meet at 4:30 to discuss resumes and possible new employees.

“I work closely with hiring managers and find what they must have,” he said. Sometimes he is consulted in the final hiring.

Although Tyler Poe is always on the move, he is one employee that stands out, and he keeps Cobalt looking toward the future.

Margaret Kahn
Contributing Writer
The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

“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

The event was Seattle Business Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For 2010,” baseball was the theme of the evening, and Cobalt was one of the honorees present.

Zduriencik described a difficult season for the Mariners and a difficult year for business. No need to tell Cobalt about that. The economic downturn was felt keenly for anyone in the automotive space, and Cobalt was no exception.

Zduriencik also spoke fondly of someone he admires who, even at 78 years old, follows a simple mantra: “Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.”

It’s good advice. Even through the rough times, Cobalt stuck to what it does best. That includes treating employees well, thinking around corners, and stopping once in a while to play just as hard as we work.

All nominated companies went through a three-step judging process: a formal nomination phase, an independent analysis by a research firm that compiles and analyzes data from an employee survey, and finally, a selection of the winners by a panel of distinguished judges. Honorees in 2010 were split into four distinct categories: nonprofit, small, medium and large size companies.

At the end of the night, Cobalt was chosen as the second place winner in the Large Companies category. Other finalists named in the same category included PAML and Columbia Bank.

Nicole Walker from Cobalt Services, Keith Zackrone and Deepak Goindwani from Technology, along with the rest of the Cobalt team at the Westin dinner table were thrilled to hear that Cobalt was a finalist.

“It’s wonderful to be recognized by employees and objective business leaders as one of the best workplaces in the state,” said Cobalt’s VP of Human Resources Julia Pizzi, who accepted Cobalt’s award. “Knowing that Cobalt employees are confident in and happy about the work culture that has been created at the company reinforces the company’s ongoing commitment to our workplace values – transparency, dedication to employee career mastery and workplace health. Those are values that make a difference in good times or bad.”

To add to Pizzi’s comments, CEO John Holt said in a message to the company, “To say we couldn’t have done this without you is a bit obvious, but it’s true.” “This gives us lots of feedback about the things we’re doing right and the things we need to improve.”

It just goes to show that the mantra is true, and it works for good business just as well as it does for baseball. No matter what life throws at you, don’t give up.

Never give up.

The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

Cobalt is proud to be named the winner of the TSIA STAR Award for Best Practices in Value-Added Support in the SMB category. Cobalt’s own Dan Dorgan and Juli Howarth were there to receive the award on May 5 at the Technology Services World conference in Silicon Valley.

The STAR Awards recognize technology companies who display exceptional leadership, innovation, and commitment in developing and implementing best practices. This award recognizes Cobalt’s commitment and focus on developing and delivering support offerings designed to help customers increase or accelerate the ROI on their product or technology investment as well as help the company increase overall product sales.

“We’re pleased to recognize Cobalt as a leading service organization that is setting the pace for the industry by pushing the envelope and delivering the strategies and tactics needed to help customers bridge the technology consumption gap,” said J.B. Wood, CEO of TSIA.

Since its inception in 1990, the STAR Awards have become one of the highest honors in the service and support industry, acknowledging the contribution of companies of all sizes to the continual improvement of service and support delivery industry-wide. Winning a STAR Award means that a company and their Support and Services Center have been acknowledged by their peers as being among the best in the business.

“I thank and congratulate each and every one of you for your contributions in making this award possible,” said Mark Dunn, vice president of services at Cobalt, in a message to the Services Team. “Let’s continue to do what we say we will do and exceed our customer’s expectations.”

Cobalt’s Services Team is happy with the addition of this prestigious award and looks forward to adding more to their collection!

Click for information on the STAR Awards.

The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

“The whole concept is to learn how to move at work even just a little bit more, instead of feeling tight and tired at the end of the day,” said Eunice Mendoza, office manager at Dealix’s Redwood City location. “Stella, the Pilates instructor, definitely made the workshop interesting for us, teaching a few Pilates exercises to do at our desks.”

There were several different moves she showed the group, such as learning how to breathe properly. Practicing different breathing techniques correctly has benefits to your core. One example was the “navel to spine” method, also known as the “zipping up your jeans” method. Basically, when you exhale, you should pretend that you are zipping up a tight pair of jeans. Mendoza and other participants found that this one really works.

Other techniques included the “I Dream of Jeannie” seated abdominals, and the “Twist and Reach” movement (like you are grabbing a file, using the same navel to spine breathing) both of which strengthen abdominal muscles and shrink love handles.

“Many of us came out of the workshop thinking how such little movement made such a big impact!” said Mendoza, once she had completed the first workshop.

Dealix is planning another “Fit While You Sit” event in the coming months, just a part of how Dealix and Cobalt helps employees to achieve better wellness and fitness.

The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive