Online vehicle marketing company Autobytel Inc. established a new Media Sales
Division in an effort to step up efforts to connect marketers with the car
shoppers who visit the company’s branded Web sites.
Irvine, Calif.-based Autobytel , which ran into the auto
sales slump right along with the car companies, said the division will also
work to deepen the relationships the company already has with major U.S.
automobile manufacturers that currently advertise with the company.
The company has recently been making a strong effort to come up with
marketing ideas and last month it signed a
deal that lets visitors to Yahoo! Inc.’s automotive area have access to
Autobytel’s network of about 6,700 Internet-connected dealerships.
Brian Hafer, vice president of advertising sales and business development,
and Tom Hernandez, director of advertising, are spearheading the new
division, which is staffed with a team of media sales professionals. Hafer
comes to Autobytel through the company’s
merger with Autoweb.com, where he served in a similar capacity.
Autobytel’s branded sites, which claim a total of 4 million unique visitors a
month, include Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com and Autosite.com.
Meanwhile, in another high-tech launch that may
help out Detroit, Microsoft’s .NET initiative got an
automotive boost today when Reynolds and Reynolds delivered
a new suite of solutions to be built on the technology.
Auto industry information management system provider Reynolds and Reynolds,
based in Dayton, Ohio, calls its new offering the Reynolds Generations
Series.
The company said it encompasses more than 100 applications and services
relating to all aspects of auto dealership operations, including Web
services, contact management, sales management, finance and insurance,
service and parts operations, and business and employee management.
The product suite is aimed at improving integration and cooperation between
auto retailers, car companies and automotive consumers.
