Netsertive Launches Dedicated Automotive Dealer Offering

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., May 26, 2011 – Netsertive, a fast-growing online ad technology company, has announced the creation of a dedicated automotive dealer offering. The offering is in response to the growing need for dealers to better target local consumers and be discovered online, even as they primarily do business “offline.” Netsertive’s technology platform, time-tested in several other similar industries, specifically addresses the needs of local dealers and their manufacturers, helping them to reach new customers and promote their businesses with previously unavailable local targeting ability.

According to digital marketing firm Outsell, over 90 percent of consumers say they will search online prior to coming into an actual dealership to purchase a vehicle. Furthermore, according to J.D. Power and Associates, the average new vehicle shopper will spend more than 6.5 hours researching online. Netsertive helps local automotive dealers — and their manufacturers — embrace this new reality by enabling them to more efficiently transform online discovery into offline sales.

 “Online search has become the first step for consumers researching local products and services and this represents an incredible opportunity for local ‘offline’ businesses,” said Brendan Morrissey, CEO, Netsertive. “This is perhaps even more relevant for automotive dealers, given that the vast majority of consumers begin their search for new or used autos online, as well as financing, service and parts. If a dealership is not beating the competition with online presence — and proper targeting — it will undoubtedly lead to missed sales opportunities.”

Netsertive’s system continually refines its proprietary knowledgebase for automotive dealers, delivering search advertising as well as co-branded online display advertising — at a fraction of the cost of many traditional marketing tactics — because it is data-driven and responsive to the specific industry dynamics.

“The competition for local online presence is one of our most pressing marketing challenges,” said Doug Hanenberg, sales and operations director, Mark Jacobson Toyota. “While the vast majority of car dealerships realize the importance of reaching customers online, it’s clear to me that most do not understand how to effectively implement a campaign. Since engaging Netsertive, we have seen our local ‘share-of-voice’ increase to an overall average of 68 percent for high-value searches, while seeing our Internet Cost-Per-Lead reduced to $19. Netsertive has helped us rethink our overall marketing strategy, which has resulted in a more cost-efficient approach with measurable results.”

To support these efforts, Netsertive has added Internet media and marketing veteran Jenny Gomatos as director of business development for the automotive industry. Gomatos is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years of developing and executing cross-media marketing solutions for major brands. She pioneered Batanga Autos in 2005, the first independent, Spanish language website designed to serve the U.S. Hispanic in-market auto consumer. As a founding member of Inter@ctive Week, launched in 1994, the first ever Internet industry trade publisher, Gomatos has been at the forefront of emerging media innovations and looks forward to helping dealers, dealer groups, and OEMs leverage Netsertive’s leading-edge solutions to transform online discovery into offline sales. Ms. Gomatos holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

“Netsertive has chosen to focus on select vertical industries in which we can make a true impact on the bottom line of dealers and manufacturers,” said Morrissey. “We understand the critical importance of having deep working knowledge within a particular industry. Jenny brings this to us for the automotive industry and we are confident she will lead our efforts to help dealers capitalize on the many online marketing opportunities that now exist.”

ABOUT NETSERTIVE

Based in the Research Triangle Park near Raleigh, North Carolina, Netsertive helps small and medium businesses and their product manufacturers attract consumers and increase sales through its patent-pending online marketing technology. The company, backed by prominent venture capital firms RRE Ventures and Greycroft Partners, helps clients transform online discovery into offline sales with its proprietary, data-driven approach to online search and display advertising. Its “learning engine” technology and digital co-op platform ensure that clients acquire the largest number of qualified website visitors for a given advertising budget, using vertical industry data analysis and automated campaign improvements. Netsertive serves a wide range of local businesses in North America and manufacturers who leverage the local businesses for sales distribution.