Latest activity

Brad Burlingham · Friday at 7:42 PM

following. elead reports are the worst. i have to constantly export info and/or manually input the data into my own reports. and no trend reports at all. ugh

Alex Snyder · Wednesday at 2:07 PM

Brian Michael West said:
We've been loving Opus Clip!

gobrien · Tuesday at 4:36 PM

kevinfrye said:
I kept pressing for where they were getting the data from the "3rd party anonymous sites". It appeared to just be retargeting. Curious is someone us using it and looking closely at the behavior on their website (with goals and conversions) as it clicks through. If it is just retargeting, you already paid once to generate the VDP (eg. they looked at that specific car on AutoTrader) and then XVin is just retargeting that specific car wherever the shopper goes. Am I incorrect?

XVIN is just a run-of-the-mill VDP retargeting tactic. We used to call it dynamic inventory ads...the industry now calls it DCO (dynamic creative optimization). DCO is actually a bit of a broader term that includes all manner of dynamic personalization product not just product-level retargeting.

How it works...

Someone goes to your website, gets to a VDP (where xvin has a retargeting pixel) and the retargeting pixel captures which VDP they looked at.

XVIN (or whomever) connects the dots between the viewer and the VDP they looked at and then targets them with an ad that has that same vehicle in the ad in an effort to get the user to re-engage. There's nothing exclusive about it...most auto ad vendors can do the same thing.

From a tech standpoint it's not terribly difficult to do. XVIN has to manage a product catalog with all the info from all the VIN's in it and then the ad tag tells them which vehicle should be displayed in the ad to any given user (past visitor). Could be they built their own product catalog software (it's not hard) or could be they are licensing it from one of scores of DCO tech companies (Smartly, Innovid, Bannerflow, etc.)

From a "how cool is it?" standpoint it's no big deal. My old company was one of the first out with it and that was 2009. The tech hasn't progressed since then. The real issue though is that XVIN (and all DCO vendors) require cookies to track your site visitors and cookies just aren't as prevalent as they used to be. All browsers other than Google's Chrome no longer allow cookies by default and I don't think many people go to the trouble of changing their browser settings so that folks like us can track them across the Internet. Between mobile and desktop that's about 40% of users that cannot be tracked. Then you've increased usage of VPN's and Proxy servers which disallow tracking. And most recently nearly every dealer website has pop-up "Consent Banners" that allow the visitor to be able to allow or disallow tracking. If they "reject cookies" or fall into any of the other groups mentioned, they cannot be tracked and ad vendors cannot do retargeting of any kind.

So...meh. It's still a good thing to do but the ad budgets (if being done properly) associated with this kind of thing should be very, very low.

Tallcool1 · Monday at 6:00 PM

superveloce said:
Correct. Upload into an app, Pick the Scene you want, CarShots takes care of it, you download and post on to your site.

There's an iOS app and a website for desktop usage.

I would be a liar if I told you that this isn't really impressive. I showed this to a couple people that work here and we all agree.

We have really upped our photo game in the past 60 days. It is really hard because the guys that take the photos are working in a 25 minute window to get the exact lighting that they want. Their pictures are honestly about as good as I have seen considering there is absolutely zero editing. Your photos are every bit as good.

I am assuming that you will help us with the "scene" part.

I will send you a PM.

Thanks

Tallcool1 · Monday at 3:13 PM

superveloce said:
Ahh, I get it. For every "raw photo" a dealer gives us of the car, we create reference photos and metadata that allow us to place them into a scene. It's not just removing a background, noting details about the car/photo, but also removing things like glare, sunlight, etc.

Attaching some samples from the SUV above. You can see that the system can handle all different aspect ratios (super wide, normal wide, square, portrait for social media stories, etc.). I tried a bunch of different scenes including the in motion twilight one, dark ones, bright ones, etc. and you can see how it adapts to each one. Specific details like the license plate holder are there too. Anything can be tweaked after, but this is what was done in under a minute. Hope this helps!

View attachment 9614
View attachment 9615
View attachment 9616
View attachment 9617
View attachment 9618

View attachment 9619

Ok, so I take the photos. I send them to you. You enhance them and send them back to me and I post them on my website?

Is that pretty close to how it works or do I just upload them into an app and the new photos come out?

Tallcool1 · Oct 4, 2025

superveloce said:
Took a few minutes today to generate a few shots from this photo. Took under a minute. Also created a "custom showroom" for you with the clocktower logo. Also added an action roller shot.

I get it, but you took an already FANTASTIC picture and edited it. Can you create that Twilight Effect with this broad daylight photo?

ggarvin · Oct 2, 2025

superveloce said:
It's still using the original car image. In simplified terms - We extract out the car and clean it up from that original image, then we make use of it in each scene.

Think of it sort of like Photoshop where someone removes the car from the original image and then places it into another photo. To make it look right, there's a lot of work that person has to do to properly place it into the scene.

Hope this explains it!

I understand how that is setup but that action roller shot has wheels turned and you can see a hand on the steering wheel plus the license plate brackets are gone as well. Are you adding a driver plus those other changes?

ggarvin · Oct 2, 2025

superveloce said:
Took a few minutes today to generate a few shots from this photo. Took under a minute. Also created a "custom showroom" for you with the clocktower logo. Also added an action roller shot.

On the "action roller" shot - this isn't the original image, so how are you creating that?

joe.pistell · Oct 1, 2025

Coming soon: AI Content = SPAM

Much like 'banner blindness', its logical that AI gen content will become so... everywhere, that'll the only wow factor will be real ppl creating real ppl content.

Alex Snyder · Oct 1, 2025

Super cool seeing all the activity! We knew we'd pull some customers who didn't hit the equity thresholds out, and that is absolutely happening. Seeing those deals close blows me away at how much negative equity some customers will roll into a new vehicle :eek3:

Kevin McKillop · Sep 29, 2025

Brad Burlingham said:
In talking with them i dont think they understood how much we use GA4 to optimize our campaigns. Not to mention the fact that GA4 will lose all attribution as soon as they exit our site and go to tier 1. a good visit would be classified as a bounce in that case.

Set up GTM to fire a GA4 event on outbound clicks to audiusa.com. You'll lose attribution afterwards, but you can start measuring how much traffic is headed for Tier 1, vs. just 'gone'.

Tallcool1 · Sep 26, 2025

carshopper said:
I've talked to them several times, in person too. Explanation is
"yes, attached insurance product and financing contract is in the agreement, but it does not apply, because we are not financing".
- Then should we strike it out if it doesn't apply?
"No, we dont modify agreements".

What they say to me doesnt make sense.

If you don't trust them then find another dealer.

To me, the story you are getting is 100% bullshit, "We don't modify agreements"? That document shouldn't exist.

Just move on to a dealer that you can trust. This sounds like too much brain damage.

Tallcool1 · Sep 26, 2025

carshopper said:
I'd love to, but will I get a chance to pay and get the receipt? The way it is on paper, I could very well get "you dont owe us cash, wait for terms of financing".

Please don't take this the wrong way, there is just no other way for me to say this.

Why are you asking this question in a forum rather than calling the dealership and asking them? Every dealership and computer system handled things differently. Unless someone from THAT dealership sees this post then there is no way anyone here can have your answer.

If you are concerned about it then call the dealership and ask them.

Tallcool1 · Sep 26, 2025

I have such mixed emotions about the AI Photos. On one hand, it is so convenient. However, what I have found while playing around is that it is really hard to compete with a natural photo taken in good lighting conditions.

I am attaching a photo that was taken a couple days ago with an iPhone 14 that is 4 years old and absolutely no filtering or editing. If I could create this photo using AI rather than shooting photos in a 30 minute window of perfect lighting, I would consider it.

joe.pistell · Sep 26, 2025

This is the dawn of a new era in Creative Merchandising.
Login to view embedded media Domain experts in auto will create a portfolio of new car shopping UX's. Still-to-video is the tip of the iceberg.

[shameless plug]
AutoMagic Labs is an innovation lab seeking partners that want 1st to market wow factor.

joe.pistell · Sep 26, 2025

superveloce said:
why doesn't their VDP page have all of this?

Because Dealers DEMANDED leads, leads and more leads. Any vendor that cannot deliver MORE LEADS got defunded.

WHY did Dealers demand more leads?
1. The internet began as a separate department (that SHOPPERS forced them to create).
2. The variable ops payplan shifts store performance down to the sales rep. All a manager has to do is GET MORE LEADS.

THis is why the entire auto retail industry has low to no innovation and it's tech is many years behind.

Carvana's CEO sales grew +40% YoY and did it with less leads and more sales per rep.

It's that simple.

jscole86 · Sep 25, 2025

carshopper said:
I am buying car (new sedan) with cash in full. Price is very good. Large dealership, certified for major brands.
Asked to review draft of full paperwork before signing.

In agreement OTD price is on the line "total to finance"

Nothing to the effect "paid in full"

Agreement refs "conditional delivery agreement", which says I am entering "finance agreement" (not in paperwork, at least yet) and "purchase is not finalized", "transaction is conditional on final approval"

Why is this in cash deal? They say "standard language", refused to alter. I walked out.
Am I overreacting?

Yes, you are overreacting. Go buy the car you want. Get a receipt for the cash you paid. It's that simple.

Brad Burlingham · Sep 23, 2025

Alex Snyder said:
Adobe??? Wow. One of the analytics companies Audi uses is down the street. Let me see if I can get one of them to lend a hand.

axis?

Brad Burlingham · Sep 23, 2025

In talking with them i dont think they understood how much we use GA4 to optimize our campaigns. Not to mention the fact that GA4 will lose all attribution as soon as they exit our site and go to tier 1. a good visit would be classified as a bounce in that case.

Brad Burlingham · Sep 23, 2025

Ryan Everson said:

I believe I've heard they plan to add support for ASC events in the future, but in the meantime you can recreate many of them yourself using Google Tag Manager and pulling from Adobe's data layer. However you can't track anything that happens on the tier 1 site.

Here's an example GTM script that can be used on VDP urls to make vehicle data accessible so an asc_item_pageview event can be fired:

Code:

<script>
(function(){
  // Safety net to ensure GTM's own dataLayer array exists
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  var maxAttempts = 30; // e.g., poll up to 30 times
  var intervalMs = 1000; // poll every 1 second
  var attempts = 0;
 
  // Set up an interval that runs repeatedly
  var checkInterval = setInterval(function(){
    attempts++;
   
    // Confirm adobeDataLayer is defined and see if there's a vehicleData object
    if (window.adobeDataLayer && window.adobeDataLayer[0] && window.adobeDataLayer[0].vehicleData) {
      var v = window.adobeDataLayer[0].vehicleData;
     
      // Push data into GTM's dataLayer
      window.dataLayer.push({
        event: 'adobeVehicleData',
        item_id: v.vin,
        item_number: v.stockNumber,
        item_price: v.price,
        item_condition: v.inventoryType,
        item_year: v.modelYear,
        item_make: v.make,
        item_model: v.modelName,
        item_variant: v.trim,
        item_color: v.exteriorColor,
        item_type: v.bodyType
      });
     
      // Once we find it, stop checking
      clearInterval(checkInterval);
      console.log('vehicleData found and pushed to dataLayer!');
    }
    else if (attempts >= maxAttempts) {
      // After 30 seconds total, stop polling
      clearInterval(checkInterval);
      console.warn('vehicleData not found after 30 attempts.');
    }
  }, intervalMs);
})();
</script>

thanks for the response ryan! i'm pretty saavy with gtm, but when it comes to actual scripts and coding, you lose me

. i have a meeting with them tomorrow to try to figure out a solution

joe.pistell · Sep 21, 2025

I want to run into this thread and holler...

lol

Alex Snyder · Sep 19, 2025

Adobe??? Wow. One of the analytics companies Audi uses is down the street. Let me see if I can get one of them to lend a hand.

joe.pistell · Sep 18, 2025

Alex, our pal @Bob George of DDC is a shooter at ipacket.

Brad Burlingham · Sep 18, 2025

We just moved to the new required Audi OEM-built website. It is built on Adobe and they arent supporting Google Analytics or ASC events. Curious if anyone else is in this boat and if they have any advice on building GA4 events manually for these websites.

One of the big features is a seamless integration between tier 1 and tier 3 site, but I'm wondering how i can track that cross platform tracking in GA4.

I thought this might be a place to discuss any issues or questions Audi dealers are having with the new platform.

Alex Snyder · Sep 18, 2025

DecisionLinks said:
I appreciate the advice, we'll get to the drawing board some more on how to not come off like that.

My intention wasn't to send you back to the drawing board, but to give you a little perspective that could help you tune things.

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