Over the past few months, we have spotlighted the individual and panels who will be leading the sessions that will be held at 2024 Digital Dealer Conference & Expo (#DDCE2024)!
#DDCE2024 brings together automotive dealers, OEMs, thought leaders, and solution providers to power business growth and connections. The 2024 Digital Dealer Conference & Expo is your chance to discover innovative solutions and gain cutting-edge strategies, actionable insights, and new ideas to implement for maximum impact.
To help you navigate the 2.5-day event at MGM Grand in Las Vegas from Oct. 8-10, 2024, below is the schedule for sessions geared to marketing and advertising attendees.
Tuesday, Oct. 8
Keynote: Modern Sales Tactics and Strategies to Navigate the New Normal
08:50 AM – 09:40 AM Keynote Hall
The keynote session Modern Sales Tactics and Strategies to Navigate the New Normal will kick off the event on Oct. 8. Brad Lea, global entrepreneur and host of “Dropping Bombs” podcast, Nelson Lyles, managing partner and GM, Withers Automotive Group, and Sean V. Bradley, president, Dealer Synergy, will be together on stage to equip attendees with the strategies needed to thrive in today’s competitive market.
Bradley, Lea, and Lyles will reveal top sales tactics and best practices to help you dominate today’s evolving automotive market. From innovative recruiting and onboarding strategies to the unconventional yet powerful use of international call centers and BDCs, this session will give you proven blueprints for success you can implement right away.
Four Ways to Attract Shoppers Before They Even Submit a Lead
10:30 AM – 10:50 AM Expo Stage – Booth 101
Dealer.com’s Noah Lee and Autotrader/Kelley Blue Books’ Jade Terreberry. They will explore how to digitally bring your brand and marketing to life to drive real results, and steps to boost sales with intelligent automation and personalization.
Marketing Analytics for Dealerships: Turning Data into Actionable Insights
10:30 AM – 10:50 AM Fireside Lounge – Booth 801
April Simmons of Horne Auto Group and Cassie Broemmer of Car Wars, are hosting a session titled Marketing Analytics for Dealerships: Turning Data into Actionable Insights. They will cover the importance of tracking performance, monitoring key metrics, and analyzing customer data to identify trends and opportunities as well as discuss using advanced analytics to forecast future needs, providing a comprehensive approach to optimizing dealership performance through data.
Digital Retailing Revolution: Transforming the Automotive Sales Experience
11:30 AM – 11:50 AM Fireside Lounge – Booth 801
Lead by Big Al Gillespie of Feldman and Mark Wahlberg Automotive Group and Cassie Broemmer of Car Wars, this session will delve into the key components of a successful digital retailing strategy, from online sales platforms to virtual showrooms and customer engagement tools, and learn how to leverage these innovations to enhance customer experience.
Accelerate Your Dealership’s Growth: Drive Visibility and Demand with Amazon Ads Powered by Revive
01:00 PM – 01:50 PM Keynote Hall
Revive Media’s Alyssa Barford and Danielle Shamos will be joined by Mudd Advertising’s Patrick Dice to inform attendees how dealers can boost brand value and generate leads through Amazon Ads powered by Revive. They will share how to effectively harness Amazon’s extensive first-party data—including ownership data, purchasing signals, shopper attributes, and browsing behaviors—to target in-market consumers.
AI Hackathon
Part 1 01:00 PM – 01:50 PM Boulevard 165
Part 2 02:00 PM – 02:50 PM Boulevard 165
Part 3 03:00 PM – 03:50 PM Boulevard 165
The Ultimate AI Hackathon is a workshop designed by Brent Wees of idea.meet.plan for thinkers and doers! Wees’ program challenges a team to navigate a series of predetermined deliverables, each crafted to push the boundaries of what’s possible with emerging AI tools. Focusing on actionable results and growth, it’s more than just a competition; it’s a masterclass in linear strategic processes.
Engaging Audiences on the Move: How to Fuel Brand Loyalty with Interactive Campaigns and Influencer Partnerships
01:00 PM – 01:50 PM Boulevard 170
Ashley Bales, social media and special projects manger with Mark Miller Subaru, will delve into the strategic execution behind their “You’ve Been Bleu’d” campaign, illustrating the profound impact of seamlessly integrating physical activations with digital platforms to supercharge social media engagement. This campaign, centered around the engaging character Sub Bleu, utilizes miniature figures equipped with QR codes and unique IDs. These elements bridge the physical and digital worlds, inviting participants to a digital map where they can log their journeys and interact with the paths taken by others, creating a shared narrative across social media channels.
How to Transform Incremental Reach into Incremental Results on CTV
01:00 PM – 01:50 PM Boulevard 163
Ali Haeri, SVP of marketing, MNTN, will examine how connected TV advertising resembles traditional TV, but it’s not just for brand building. CTV’s digital backbone lets marketers go beyond just search and social and add a third scalable performance channel. In this session, attendees will learn best practices on how to use CTV alongside their existing TV buys and unlock CTV’s value for full funnel marketing. Backed by case studies and data-driven insights, the session will include a playbook that covers audience targeting, creative, measurement, and optimization to make your marketing mix more effective and efficient.
I Have a CDP… Now What?
01:00 PM – 01:50 PM Boulevard 169
The session lead by Kevin Frye, head coach of marketing with the Jeff Wyler Automotive Family, is geared to helping navigate the process of implementing and utilizing a Customer Data Platform (CDP), revisiting the initial goals for implementing a CDP that he had set for his dealership group at Digital Dealer 2023. Frye will be joined by Atul Patel, Orbee’s Co-Founder and CEO, who brings to the automotive industry 20 years of tangible marketing technology experience gained in starting and scaling martech companies.
Forget the Snake Oil: A Data-Based Approach to SEO
Part 1 02:00 PM – 02:50 PM Boulevard 168
Part 2 03:00 PM – 03:50 PM Boulevard 168
Greg Gifford, chief operating officer, SearchLab Digital, will lead this two-part session. Gifford speaks at digital marketing conferences all over the world, teaching other marketers how Local SEO works. In this action-packed session, he will share hard data from research on over 3,000 dealerships—by far, the most in-depth research into SEO that’s ever been done in automotive.
Selling New Cars Through Truthful TikTok Videos!
02:00 PM – 02:50 PM Keynote Hall
Ligier Store Doesburg’s CEO Paul de Vries will explain to attendees about the fascinating world of TikTok. Ligier Store Doesburg uses TikTok as a means to persuade the younger target audience—those eligible to drive a Citycar (16 to 18 years old)—about the Ligier brand and the Ligier Store Doesburg dealership. They achieve this by creating their own videos with their team members, including their 23-year-old sales representatives and their 59-year-old operational director.
The Value of Advertising in Spanish: It’s Not Just for Texas
02:00 PM – 02:50 PM Boulevard 163
WYN Solutions’ Venus Toro will detail how the Spanish-speaking population is the largest minority market – and growing in the United States. In 2020, the Hispanic market commanded over $1.9 trillion in purchasing power, an increase of 87 percent from 2010. Interestingly, the states with the fastest growth in the Hispanic market are not along the southern border.
TikTok Masterclass for Car Dealers
03:00 PM – 03:50 PM Keynote Hall
Justin Friend, senior vice president, Dealers United, and Julianna Wanner, agency partner manager, TikTok, will help you discover the blueprint every car dealer needs to become a learn how to build advanced advertising campaigns that position you as the go-to dealership in your market. Plus, you’ll examine how to create a high-performing, organic video strategy that increases your dealership’s brand value and get inspiration for your next TikTok video based on what’s working for dealers like you!
Revving Up Your Dealership’s Digital Presence: SEO Strategies for 2024
04:00 PM – 04:20 PM Fireside Lounge – Booth 801
Joseph Cajas speaker Covert Ford/Lincoln’s Joseph Cajas and Cassie Broemmer of Car Wars, will host a session that explores the essential elements of a robust content marketing plan, including creating a content calendar aligned with sales goals, writing engaging blog posts and articles, utilizing video marketing to showcase inventory and dealership culture and effective email marketing campaigns that nurture leads, drive conversions, and methods to measure the success of these efforts.
6 Things About Search You’ve Got Dead Wrong
04:30 PM – 04:50 PM Innovation Lounge – Booth 927
Wikimotive’s director of operations Dave Estey will lead a session to learn what you don’t know about SEO and marketing through Search as well as take away useful concepts that you can employ to self-orient and ask better questions of your Search vendor.
Crafting Compelling Content: Advanced Marketing Strategies for Automotive Dealerships
05:00 PM – 05:20 PM Fireside Lounge – Booth 801
Covert Ford/Lincoln’s Joesph Cajas and Cassie Broemmer of Car Wars will host a session detailing the essential elements of a robust content marketing plan, including creating a content calendar aligned with sales goals, writing engaging blog posts and articles, utilizing video marketing to showcase inventory and dealership culture and effective email marketing campaigns that nurture leads, drive conversions, and methods to measure the success of these efforts.
Wednesday, Oct. 9
Keynote: GA4, EVs & AI, Oh My!
09:30 AM – 10:10 AM Keynote Hall
Join panelists “Big” Al Gillespie of Mark Wahlberg Automotive Group, Kevin Frye of Jeff Wyler Automotive Family, and April Simmons of Horne Auto Group for an engaging conversation moderated by Eliana Raggio from Dealer eProcess. Attendees will hear how this team of automotive marketing wizards is evaluating marketing effectiveness with GA4, developing initiatives for greater EV sales success, and the plans they are making to survive in a cookie-less world, and so much more. Click your heels together three times and join us—because there’s no place like a live presentation filled with innovative strategies, actionable insights, and industry wisdom!
2024 UX Study: Understanding Today’s Shopper
10:20 AM – 11:10 AM Boulevard 168
Join Kevin Frye, Marketing Director, Jeff Wyler Automotive Family, at this session to explore the results from the 2024 UX study conducted this past August where you will learn from recorded answers from a panel of modern shoppers on what specials they would respond to, how they prefer to communicate with you, what catches their eye on your website, and much more. If you want straight facts and some clear directions on how to be the best with your marketing, join this leading-edge session.
AI Analytics Advantage: Amplify Your Data for Marketing Mastery
10:20 AM – 11:10 AM Keynote Hall
A panel consisting of Autograph Analytics’ Bryan Nguyen, Joe Leano and Steve Barker joined by Anderson Auto Group AZ Trey Athay and Randy L. Athay builds on the previous two Digital Dealer Labs and is designed to explore how AI can transform your data into powerful marketing strategies. By simplifying complex concepts, the session identifies the most effective channels and optimizes budgets for maximum impact.
Falling in Love with the Numbers: From Sales Manager to Data Engineer
10:20 AM – 11:10 AM Boulevard 170
Keller Creative Agency’s data engineer Alec Sullivan will present a session unpacking the transformative shift to digital marketing strategies from traditional within the automotive industry. Sullivan will take attendees through a dealership’s journey towards embracing digital marketing and the remarkable 40 percent increase in sales volumes that ensued. Through a blend of storytelling, data analysis, and practical insights, you will gain invaluable knowledge and actionable strategies to redefine their marketing approach and drive tangible business outcomes.
Turn Your First-Party Data into Marketing Gold
10:20 AM – 11:10 AM Boulevard 165
Clarivoy CEO Steve White’s session is tailored provide attendees with a cookieless checklist along with reviewing the implications for their current marketing strategies and the actionable steps needed to not just adapt but excel. Participants will delve into the essentials of building a robust cookieless marketing plan, exploring innovative tactics for leveraging first-party data, enhancing customer engagement through privacy-compliant methods, and gaining a significant competitive advantage in the marketplace.
Fuel Your Digital Strategy: Learn How to Optimize Your First-Party Data
02:20 PM – 03:10 PM Keynote Hall
This session will feature a panel consisting of Horne Auto Group’s April Simmons, BZ Consultants Group’s Brooke Furniss, PureCars’ Hannah Lifson and PCG Digital’s Sarah Ciociola. As industry standards evolve, dealerships must adapt to stay ahead. This session will equip you with the strategies and tools to fully leverage your existing data, turning it into powerful, sustainable practices that drive success and compliance. Discover how to make the most of your first-party data to enhance customer engagement and streamline operations. Join us to refine your approach and excel in a dynamic marketplace.
The Power of Full Funnel: How a Multi-Objective Strategy Drives Results
02:20 PM – 03:10 PM Boulevard 168
People come to Pinterest to plan moments in their lives, from everyday moments to major life events – many of which, like growing your family, moving homes, or planning a road trip, lead to the purchase of a new vehicle. Dealer.com’s Ben Gilbert and Pinterest’s Allison McConeghy will explain how you can structure Pinterest campaigns to maximize impact and convert Pinners into customers. We’ll bring these strategies to life through new automotive research, best practices, and insights from real world examples.
Unlocking the Secrets of GA4 Conversion Tracking
Part 1 02:20 PM – 03:10 PM Boulevard 165
Part 2 03:20 PM – 04:10 PM Boulevard 165
Are you struggling to use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to measure the true ROI of your dealership’s digital marketing? Do visitors slip through the analytics cracks, leaving you clueless about shopping engagement, conversion and attribution tracking? Then this is the GA4 workshop for you. Generations Digital’s George Nenni pulls back the curtain on proven GA4 event and conversion setup, and leverages real-world dealer website examples to demonstrate best practices.
Automotive Marketing 2024: WHO & WHAT is Important
03:20 PM – 04:10 PM Keynote Hall
Automotive Marketing Gurus CEO Jonathan Thompson will host this session with a panel including Riverside Automotive Group’s Mike Cass, Delvan Holdings‘ Jennifer Myers, Auto Boutique Texas‘ Theresa Balk and Clement Automotive Group’s Evangeline Sutton. The session aims to address how to strike the right mix between demand capture and demand creation. By evaluating all channels of marketing—including third-party providers, digital platforms, and traditional media—this session will provide actionable insights on how to lead vendors and teams effectively and how to monitor the results that truly matter.
Personal Branding Crash Course for Your Sales Team
03:20 PM – 04:10 PM Boulevard 169
Jack Feltgen of Frank Kent Motor Company explores how management can outfit their sales staff with the tools to build their own personal brands to increase lead generation, differentiate themselves in the market, and strengthen relationships within their own 4 walls. Learn the benefits, common objections, and how to teach your team to get started using social media content.
Stop with the Fluffy Duffy Crap and Rev Up Your Website Conversions
03:20 PM – 04:10 PM Boulevard 168
In this interactive session, attendees will embark on a journey to uncover the hidden potential within their dealership website. Led by industry experts Horne Auto Group’s April Simmons, corporate internet & marketing director, and Dealer eProcess’s Eliana Raggio, chief marketing officer, this session is tailored for automotive professionals seeking to enhance their online presence and drive greater conversions. The session will explore the various stages of the customer journey and how to optimize website elements to guide prospects seamlessly through each phase.
AI Hacks: Best Practices & Takeaways from AI Hackathon
04:20 PM – 05:30 PM Expo Stage – Booth 101
This session will empower attendees with a deeper understanding of AI capabilities and encourage them to implement these innovative tools and techniques in their marketing strategies. Dive deeper into the tools and techniques that powered the Ultimate AI Hackathon in this immersive Learning Lab. This session is designed to provide participants with a thorough understanding of the AI tools used during the hackathon, featuring interactive demos and discussions led by Brent Wees and the expert table captains.
Thursday, Oct. 10
How to Tame the Wild West of Streaming Advertising
09:00 AM – 09:50 AM Boulevard 170
With streaming advertising is in its infancy right now, Brett Hall, VP of sales and marketing for EMG’s session will show how the medium is ripe with “pros” showing dealerships ways to measure the effectiveness of the different campaigns. However, if you’re being shown impressions and other inflated metrics, it’s time to tame this beast with some truth-seeking measures.
Marketing & Advertising Mastermind
09:00 AM – 09:50 AM Boulevard 164
DealerOMG’s Dave Lemmon and Covert Auto Group’s Lisa Gener will help problem solve, but the questions and challenges discussed will be the ones that the dealers choose and bring to the table. These sessions were extremely powerful last year, allowing discussions around everything digital marketing and advertising related and finding answers that were crowd sourced by the group based on experience and tried and true methodology.
Taking Back the Wheel: Your Gameplan for Winning Inside Google’s New Rules
09:00 AM – 09:50 AM Boulevard 165
Dave Spannhake, founder and CEO, Reunion Marketing; Dennis Gingrich, sales & finance director, The Niello Company, COO of AutoFiPro; and Tiffany Colato, marketing manager, The Niello Company will dive deep into the nuts and bolts of what’s changing, figure out where the new opportunities (and pitfalls) are, and get you set up with a marketing plan that actually works for today’s digital landscape. Expect real talk, actionable advice, and a bit of data wizardry to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your marketing bucks.
Decoding Google’s New Generative Search Results: Strategies for SEO Success in the Age of AI
10:00 AM – 10:50 AM Boulevard 163
CF Search Marketing’s Managing Partner, co-founder Pierre Fiorini and CMO Connie Gundrum will explore with participants the intricate world and impacts of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE). SGE is revolutionizing how search results are curated, emphasizing accuracy, readability, and a profound understanding of user queries from trustworthy sources. As SEO evolves in the era of AI-integrated search, it is imperative to adapt.
Speed to Lead: Dynamic Ad Alchemy
10:00 AM – 10:50 AM Boulevard 170
Dealers face the challenge of keeping their inventory advertising dynamic, engaging, and effective. Dealer Alchemist CEO Shean Kirin’s session is designed to equip automotive dealers with the insights and tools necessary to transform their advertising strategies. This session will delve into recognizing and overcoming the roadblocks of stagnant advertising strategies, mastering the fundamentals of dynamic advertising, optimizing ad setups for peak performance, creating a holistic marketing strategy, and leveraging data for continuous growth.
Building Bridges: Unlocking the Secrets to Stronger Customer Relationships
11:00 AM – 11:50 AM Boulevard 170
Affinitiv’s Dean Martin, VP of marketing, and Michael Cappelli, director of sales support SaaS, session will provide proven tactics to communicate with customers with highly relevant messaging at the ideal time in their purchasing and ownership lifecycle. The session will also explore video and predictive AI as key components of increasing trust to enable customers to make informed decisions about their vehicle needs. By the end of this session, you’ll be equipped with the insights necessary to meet the expectations of today’s customers and drive more sales.
Leverage AI to Maximize Vehicle Merchandising
11:00 AM – 11:50 AM, Boulevard 165
Gunn Auto Group‘s Tony Rhoades and LESA’s Philip Ly will lead a session that gives the perspective of industry insider on how AI tools can be leveraged as part of a multimedia vehicle merchandising strategy. Learn how rapidly evolving AI technology can be used to enhance and automate backgrounds for vehicle photos; make it easier and more efficient to comply with OEM photo standards; help dealers make their vehicle videos more engaging; and improve efficiency by extracting photos from existing videos.
Take the Wheel, Gen Z
11:00 AM – 11:50 AM Boulevard 169
As the automotive industry balances driving short-term profitability while remaining focused on long-term growth through electric vehicles, autonomous technology, and connected services, a new generation has come of age. In this session led by James Johnson, VP, account planning, VDX.tv, learn how to account for the increasing buying power of Gen Z, their automotive shopping preferences, and how to reach them through marketing on their terms.
DDCE2024 Events
Digital Dealer Conference & Expo will include:
- Enhanced networking: more meetups and fun ways to connect throughout the event
- A Speed Networking program, which offers dealerships and vendors a relaxed yet efficient way to explore a variety of innovative solutions
- An expo hall with 120+ cutting-edge auto retail solutions
- 75+ actionable sessions
- Masterminds and interactive labs
- And more!
Digital Dealer offers full conference and expo badge options, as well as an expo hall-only option for Dealerships/OEMs. Digital Dealer Conference & Expo attendee badge types include:
- Dealership (exclusively for dealers and employees of a dealership)
- OEM (exclusively for vehicle manufacturers)
- Allied (anyone that supports, services, or sells solutions to dealerships falls under this category)
Click here to register now.
