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Automotive Internet Media Partners with the 2025 Chicago Auto Show

February 7, 2025 by AIM

Automotive Internet Media Partners with the 2025 Chicago Auto Show

by automotiveinternetmedia | February 7, 2025 | Digital Marketing, Chicago Auto Show

Automotive Internet Media and Chocago Auto Show Partnership

Automotive Internet Media (AIM) is pleased to continue our valued partnership with the renowned Chicago Auto Show, taking place from February 8-17, 2025. As one of the premier automotive events in the United States, the Chicago Auto Show provides an exceptional platform for showcasing the latest vehicles, innovations, and industry trends. We are proud to support their digital initiatives for the 2025 show and help power their local vehicle shopping portal, DriveChicago.com.

Driving Results with Digital Marketing

AIM plays a key role in amplifying the Chicago Auto Show’s reach by supporting its digital marketing initiatives and ensuring the event’s presence extends far beyond the convention center. By leveraging our industry expertise and digital platforms, AIM ensures that the Chicago Auto Show’s messaging reaches its target audience, driving excitement and attendance.

CarClicks and DriveChicago.com

In addition to our continued partnership with the Chicago Auto Show, AIM is proud to support the Chicago Automobile Trade Association (CATA) in powering DriveChicago.com. CATA, the organization responsible for producing the Chicago Auto Show, also oversees DriveChicago.com, a key digital platform designed to connect car shoppers with local inventory and dealerships across Chicagoland. AIM plays a key role behind the scenes, contributing to the development of the website. AIM’s CarClicks inventory marketing product also helps DriveChicago.com reach in-market auto shoppers with strategically placed and personalized digital ads.  

Automotive Partnership Supporting Chicagoland

Automotive Internet Media is honored to be associated with the Chicago Auto Show, DriveChicago.com and the automotive industry in Chicago. We greatly value our local partnerships and are happy to support the impactful initiatives the CATA provides to both automotive dealers and the broader community.

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Filed Under: AIM Team, CarClicks Tagged With: Automotive Internet Media, Chicago Auto Show, Digital Marketing

Strategic Marketing Choices

March 17, 2020 by Tony French

Strategic Marketing Choices

Do you know that every dollar spent on advertising does not generate the same results? With so much uncertainty in the world today, dealerships need to make the best choices possible when managing their marketing budget. Making changes to your marketing plan can be a daunting thought but considering the amount of ambiguity over the next couple months, it’s important not to discard marketing that works while retaining the redundant marketing overlap.

Data Driven Decisions

Dealers have always had to build their dealership brand, advertise inventory and sales promotions and build customer loyalty. In today’s turbulent environment, dealers must play a critical new role, they must be strategists, allocating their budget to marketing resources that produce the strongest results.

Rather than “going with your gut,” the better operators are embracing performance data when making budgetary decisions to improve efficiency and create opportunities.

Dealers are used to making savvy business decisions. They understand dealership performance data at a gut level, because that’s what they do every day. They may not know exactly how Google Analytics works and may have never looked at that data, but almost all dealerships have it setup on their website. By putting in the work required to access and understand website metrics, every dealership can make better marketing decisions. There is mounting evidence pointing to a simple fact: data-driven dealerships perform better.

The first step is to acknowledge the effectiveness of using data driven decisions in making marketing decisions. Making decisions using data is not new concept. Dealers have been using their financial statement to make decisions for years but leveraging marking data from tools like Google Analytics when making strategic marketing decisions and allocating marketing budgets is new for most dealers.

Here are just a few of the many questions about your various marketing campaigns that you can answer using tools like Google Analytics:

  • How many visitors did the campaign send to my website?
  • How many vehicles did those visitors look at? Were they visitors or auto shoppers?
  • How engaged where those visitors?
  • Did an increase a budget with a vendor produce better results?
  • What was the conversion rate for that campaign? Was it better than other campaigns?

 

There are many other additional questions that tools like Google Analytics can answer, but these are a few to help you consider the benefits of data driven decision making. Also, dealers don’t need to become experts in Google Analytics, but need to know enough to help them make the best marketing decisions possible.

Law of Diminishing “Third Party Listing Sites” Return

Leveraging third party listing sites like Autotrader.com, Cars.com, CarGurus.com, etc. will get your inventory in front of more auto shoppers. Each of these sites spend millions in paid advertising to bring visitors to their website. Many of those millions are spent buying dealership make and model keywords in the search engines, making your online advertising costs much higher.

Many dealerships leverage several of these listing sites, while ignoring the digital fundamentals of building their own online presence. They believe the more they spend in these sites, the better results they will receive. It may be true that allocating more budget to these sites will produce better visibility, but will the dealerships sell more vehicles?

We need to remember how most shoppers use these sites and how these sites work. They all vary to a certain degree, but for the most part, they are all operate with a similar model. A consumer either searches by style or by a specific make and model (miles, price, equipment, etc.). Then vehicle results are displayed by zip code. Do dealerships need to pay for extra programs like “Dealer Showcase” or “Elite” to get their inventory found by the website shoppers? Is the “upsell” juice worth the squeeze?

At some point, the dealership will find that getting the right visibility will yield the maximum number of leads from each site. If the dealership pays for more visibility, the budget will be less efficient because the proportional increase in cost will not produce more leads or vehicle sales.

This same principal works for third-party sites collectively as well. Do dealerships need to pay to have their inventory listed in Autotrader.com, Cars.com and CarGurus.com? Are these sites hitting the same consumers and not really increasing a dealership overall reach? Since most dealerships don’t have an unlimited adverting budget, it’s always a good idea to measure each channel to ensure that you are getting optimal results for your advertising budget. If you keep pumping more money into multiple third-party sites and you are not reaching different in-market shoppers, at some point your conversion rate will go down and cost per acquisition will go up. It’s probably already too high. As a result, many dealerships have elected to eliminate major third-party listing sites if they are not reaching new and different in-market shoppers.

Summary

Making strategic marketing decisions based on the right data are the specific steps dealerships need to take to deploy the right marketing campaigns. Understanding your highest returning marketing channels helps dealerships make the hard decisions on what to keep and what to let go.

As dealerships look to cut costs and improve operations, many dealership operators are turning to inventory marketing products to increase efficiencies and sell more vehicles. CarClicks Inventory Marketing products leverage multiple marketing platforms to promote the dealership’s inventory and brand. The CarClicks platform allows dealerships to build their online brand and spend less while increasing the visibility of a dealership’s inventory to in-market auto shoppers. All results are 100% trackable in Google Analytics or other analytic platforms and produce high ROI results.

Filed Under: AIM Team, Marketing, Tips Tagged With: Automotive, Automotive Internet Media, Automotive Marketing, Digital Marketing

Dealers Will Shift 60% of Advertising Dollars to Digital in the Next Two Years

July 29, 2019 by AIM

Digital advertising in the automotive industry has increased tremendously over the last decade. Analysts are predicting that the growth will continue for the next two years stating that digital will be 60% of a dealer’s ad spend by 2021 (Maryann Keller & Associates, MK& A Franchise Dealer Advertising Study).

Why the Continued Increase?

A Mobile World
A huge driver causing this increase has been consumers higher usage of mobile devices. Dealership Websites continue to see the percentage of their mobile traffic on the rise. In turn they are allocating more ad dollars to match and dedicating more time to optimize their websites for better conversion on mobile. Mobile traffic will account for 65.1% of auto ad spend in 2019 and 68.1% in 2020 (eMarketer, Mobile Ad Spending by Industry, 2019).

Better Attribution
Another reason why many in the automotive industry continue to raise their digital budgets is that they can better pinpoint what channels are delivering real results. At the dealership level this is extremely beneficial since many owners are dealing with rising operating costs and narrowing profit margins. Dealers can use data to do more with the same or less ad spend and know that it is actually making an impact.

Where Should Budget Be Spent?

If You Are Thinking About a Marketing Budget Increase Consider:

Video
Auto dealers have historically always loved TV advertising however today’s consumers are watching more and more video through means other than traditional cable. If you are thinking of increasing your digital spend, important areas to consider are social media video, pre-roll, connected TV and over-the-top media services (OTT). Focusing on these video channels can get you more impressions, reaching a wider audience, with more tangible results. Learn more about AIM’s video services.

Inventory-Based Display
In addition to video, inventory based display advertising is a great option to maximize your digital marketing dollars. Inventory based ad creative can be served across a variety of platforms and the best part is it can be optimized for each individual consumer so they see your inventory that is most relevant to them. Learn more about our dynamic inventory ad solutions Data Driven Targeting (DDT) and Social Clicks.

Filed Under: Marketing, Websites Tagged With: Automotive Internet Media, Automotive Marketing, Dealership Advertising, Dealership Websites, Inventory Marketing

With CPO Sales Rising, Does Your Dealership See the Same Trend?

July 9, 2019 by AIM

CPO Sales

After what seems like a slower start to the year, certified pre-owned vehicle sales are on the rise in most recent months. This current trend in the automotive industry is great news for dealerships all across the United States.

With approximately 233,540 certified pre-owned (CPO) sales reported in April, the month was up 6% year-over-year. (Data Point Report) The year-to-date CPO sales are up about 2% according to the same report.

So why the sudden trend you might ask? With recent market trends like rising interest rates, credit tightening, and the recent discussions about tariffs, consumers are making a shift to pre-owned vehicles when they are looking for their next vehicle purchase.

Auto shoppers are being pushed toward the used vehicle market, and they like the value that a certified pre-owned vehicle can give them, as well as the price the vehicles are listed at. More dealerships are starting to see the rise in CPO sales this year.

According to an article in AutoRemarketing, “Cox Automotive is expecting to see the CPO sales gains continue to grow further this year with the certified market poised to reach its ninth straight record”. It appears that this trend is not slowing down anytime soon.

Is your dealership not selling as much certified pre-owned vehicles like the trend shows? Try out CarClicks today and see how we can help you sell more used vehicles. Promote your used inventory to more shoppers looking for a CPO and start increasing your sales.

CarClicks Inventory Marketing is a great way your dealership can drive in quality traffic to your website and help you get behind the CPO sales trend for 2019. Take the CarClicks Challenge and start seeing results!

 

Filed Under: AIM Team, Marketing Tagged With: auto marketing, Automotive Internet Media, CPO Sales, Dealer Marketing

Dealers Doing Back Flips

June 26, 2019 by Tony French

Get More Energy from Your Dealership Marketing

Does your marketing feel like it’s moving at a turtle’s pace?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out our marketing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CarClicks dealers are performing full-twisting double back flips.

They have the agility of CarClicks marketing products on their side.

Take the CarClicks Challenge to learn how your marketing routine can score a perfect 10.0!

This is no Hare and the Tortoise folklore tale. It takes as little as 20 minutes to learn the power of CarClicks Inventory Marketing products.

 

Filed Under: AIM Team, CarClicks, Marketing Tagged With: Automotive Internet Media, Automotive Marketing, CarClicks Challenge

Can Your Current Marketing Hack It?

June 25, 2019 by Tony French

We Challenge You to Assess Your Marketing

This lumberjack doesn’t know jack! Don’t be like Jack and work hard but produce less. Keep your axes sharp to make sure you are more productive than other dealerships.

Moral of the Story

You can be lulled into a false sense of productivity by not getting the most out of your marketing budget. Wise dealers are using CarClicks to keep their marketing sharp at all times.

How does CarClicks help dealers dominate their market? With intuitive dynamic inventory advertising across a premium network.

Contact us to schedule an online demo!

It only takes 15 minutes to learn more about how you can increase the traffic to your dealership website!

 

Filed Under: AIM Team, CarClicks Tagged With: auto marketing, Automotive Internet Media, CarClicks Challenge, Marketing Hacks

Need to Add More Muscle to Your Marketing Campaigns?

June 25, 2019 by Tony French

CarClicks Inventory Marketing Will Provide a Fast-Paced, INTENSITY Boost To Your Dealership’s Marketing Strategy!

By using a PERFORMANCE based platform, we promote your inventory to serious, highly engaged in-market auto shoppers. 

CarClicks will help your dealership STRENGTHEN your overall inventory exposure and drive a MASSive increase in traffic to your store!

For serious sales growth, take the CarClicks Challenge to learn how to yield superior results.

Start seeing results and take the CarClicks Challenge today!

Not sure what the challenge exactly is? Reach out to us for a free demo on how to increase your online leads ASAP! We want to prove that CarClicks products are the most effective inventory marketing products in the industry.

 

Filed Under: CarClicks, Marketing Tagged With: Automotive Internet Media, carclicks, Digital Marketing Agency, Increase Your Sales

NADA Convention to Be Held in Chicago in 2025

January 23, 2019 by Tony French

The NADA Convention is the automotive industry event of the year. I have been attending the convention for over 25 years. I’ve missed a few because my wife, daughter and son’s birthdays all fall around the time of year the convention is usually held. Otherwise, I’ve been to most of them.

 

I’ve participated in the convention as an employee of three (3) different companies. My first several conventions were with Pat Ryan and Associates (Resource Automotive). One year while attending, I won a $500-dollar bill for collecting the most leads (which I still have). A few years later, I was working with FirstLook (now Max Digital). I arranged to have the NASCAR Driver Danica Patrick sign autographs at our booth and have dinner with a few select dealers at Morton’s. Yes, she’s hot (and sweet) in person. I remember her husband at the time being a nice guy, not sure what happened there. I guess that’s good for Aaron Rogers though. Something to keep his mind off not making the playoffs. After a couple years of founding my own company, we made the decision to invest in exhibiting at the convention. We participated as an exhibitor for 5 years. Not sure if I’m just lazy or the ROI never worked out, but now I just show up. I must admit, it’s much more enjoyable now.

 

Every year when I walk into the convention, I feel like I’m Bill Murray from Groundhog Day: like time is caught in a loop. Sure, things have changed. For example, Cox Automotive has taken over the show, booth sizes have blown up, new companies have emerged, some acquired, and some have just disappeared. However, for the most part, it’s still the same exact convention with one exception: Bill’s not waking up in Punxsutawney. He’s either in Las Vegas, New Orleans or San Francisco.

 

For years now, the convention has been held in Las Vegas instead of New Orleans or San Francisco. 2013 was the last year it was held in Orlando.  I realize dealers and their employees like to go to Vegas, but I’ve spoken to many of them and even they get tired of the same cities every year. That is probably the reason many dealers do not participate.  There is nothing new to attract more dealers that like to attend the conference.

 

Why not try a great city like Chicago? I’m not suggesting holding the conference in January – March, but what about April? There’s no heat wave in San Francisco this weekend. Today alone the high was 57 degrees, but the low was 45.

 

Other than the convention itself, going out on the town is one of the reasons dealers, their wives, and employees attend.

Here are my reasons why Chicago will be a great city to host the NADA Convention:

  1. Midwest location: Chicago is centrally located enabling more people to attend, particularly from the east coast. The current locations are all “west coast” oriented.
  2. Restaurants: I’ve traveled the world and Chicago restaurants are the best. Period. The food scene is amazing and has something for everyone.
  3. Chicago hotels are amongst the best in the world.
  4. Shopping: Magnificent Mile – 13 blocks of shopping, entertainment and hotels. An indulgence for every passion and every pocket.
  5. Catch a Cubs game (or White Sox if you must).
  6. History, Museums and Architecture: World class attractions like the Shedd Aquarium.
  7. National and International appeal.
  8. The 4am bars and vast number of breweries. You can hear the blues every night of the year.
  9. McCormick Place is a premier convention located just minutes from downtown Chicago.
  10. Friendly people!

 

As the attendees travel to San Francisco and gather into the Moscone Center again, they’ll discover the day’s events are exactly the same. They’ll assume it’s still Groundhog Day and they are trapped in a time loop that only NADA attendees are aware of – living the same convention over and over. That is until 2023 where they escape the time loop and travel to Dallas, Texas.

 

Since the time loop is broken, maybe the 2025 Convention can be hosted in Chicago? What do you think fellow attendees?

Filed Under: AIM Team, NADA Convention Tagged With: Automotive Internet Media, Chicago Auto Show

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