Rumors from the 2010 Vegas Conferences #DD9 #DSES #JDPAIRT

[Kevin Frye]

I have the highest respect for the many great individuals who contribute so much to our industry. It is challenging enough with eCommerce as we go through this transition in our industry, and events like Digital Dealer have been a tremendous asset to many of us. Aside from a lot of folks complaining about "pitching" during presentations, I think most attendees find the greatest benefit in the networking on the floor and interacting with the vendors in the exhibit hall.

With that said, I am a firm believer that competition is always good. I am a bit disappointed at the direction some of this back and forth took, much of which was "under the belt" and could be interpreted as slander. I have to give Kudos to Mike for responding publically here to some pretty strong statements made against him. Bottom line is that Mike got this thing going.

I am also a big fan of so many others who post here, including Gary May (who graciously supported me at DD9), Joe Webb, Brian Pasch, Jared, and countless others. I do hope that speakers are not forced to decide between one conference or another as so many dealers are working with tight budgets and might not be able to attend all conferences, but at least can hear from some of these great speakers regardless of which one they attend. There is room for more than one conference, just as there is room for more than one forum like DealerRefresh (and which we already see).

And my fav quote from Animal House... "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life son..."

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Kevin,

" I do hope that speakers are not forced to decide between one conference or another as so many dealers are working with tight budgets and might not be able to attend all conferences, but at least can hear from some of these great speakers regardless of which one they attend."

Exactly! That's the whole point here. There is ROOM for more than one conference. Competition is what keeps the strong motivated. Some people become very emotional when competition comes about, and react "off the cuff" only resulting in offending and hurting people.

@Ryan - drawing a line in the sand is the exact opposite of what we want to achieve here. Let's remove the line and all work together to better then industry. Isn't that what this should be all about. That was the sole reason for starting DealerRefresh over 5 years ago.

Conferences are to better an industry and the individuals within. It is about education, networking, and discovering new products. When there are millions of people in an industry and only 1,800 attend a particular conference there is room for improvement. And plenty of room for sharing.

Because of the competitive edge being displayed there are old-timers and vendors who have expressed that they feel there is a dividing line. People who say anything bad about Digital Dealer or who attend DrivingSales puts them on some paranoia watch-list and it totally disrupts the nature of what should simply be 3 great back to back experiences in Vegas.

Many don't understand the deeper politics that are wrapped up in this post, and that's ok. Heck - I personally wish I had no understanding nor wish I had ever been on the opposite end of an off the cuff reaction.

@Mike - It's good to see you chime in here and go out of your way to show a different and humorous side. And yes, this is what the internet is for, open discussions. My mother taught me - if you don't have something nice to say, many times it's not worth saying, and if you do say something always know it's possible it will never be "private".

DealerRefresh is about bettering the industry. Sometimes a controversial article is what it takes to get this done, but DealerRefresh is one of the few places that will take the risk to bring things to light. It is hard to be a lighthouse when some of the ships only want to knock it over, but the light shines brightest just before those ships crash on the rocks (yes, this is a cheesy metaphor but we just won the Lighthouse Award).

We don't do this to increase traffic because we're only interested in giving our advertisers some impressive numbers or anything like that. DealerRefresh could close shop tomorrow. This is not our full time job. This is a passion.

Again, competition is healthy but let's not draw a line in the sand here. Let's not make people decide on what conference to support (as we have ALWAYS supported DD and the other conferences here on DealerRefresh) and which one you are"allowed" to speak at.

 

[James Burlow]

” I do hope that speakers are not forced to decide between one conference or another as so many dealers are working with tight budgets and might not be able to attend all conferences, but at least can hear from some of these great speakers regardless of which one they attend.”

DSES and DD should work together to provide a discount for folks who are interested in attending/speacking/etc in both.

 

[Eric Miltsch]

@James - that's a unique thought; a dealer conference "multi-pass" would be interesting.

@Dean - While I'm a self-admitted DSES fan-boy, I do want to clarify my comment on DD being a pitch-fest. This comment was made to me, by other dealers & vendors, due to their perception that I simply didn't need to be "pitched."

If the roles were reversed, and I was a vendor with a killer product to pitch, I would probably be fishing in the biggest pond available as well.

Each level of the resources available plays an important role in the dealership life-cycle - the forums, communities and conferences all contribute to each of us...

 

[ryan thompson (blog)]

Wow this is a lot of drama!! I could only wish we could have a proper conference in Canada. They tried to do one the past April in Niagara Falls but had to pull the plug as it was only vendors and no dealers.

Consider yourself lucky America to have this problem. GO DEALERREFRESH!

 

[LarryBruce]

I am glad to see the comments becomming more rational here.

Digital Dealer and Driving Sales each have their place, dealers you have to look at the agendas and the speakers and decide what fits your dealership level and strategy best and go there.

As for all the personal agendas, take those to your own blog this is a place for constructive debate not personal attacks.

Chris, Kevin & Jeff thanks.

 

[Cliff Banks]

Despite the fact that Mike instructed us not to respond on the blogs to all this nonsense, I've got to weigh in here.

I think I have a unique perspective. I competed hard with Mike longer than most of you have known him. We weren't always nice to each other -- sometimes we talked a little smack, tried to exploit every weakness. But at the end of the day, Mike was always fair – sometimes more fair than I was. And it was a relationship I enjoyed.

As a competitor, Mike invited me to speak at the first Digital Dealer Conference. He even invited me to have dinner with him and his team in Las Vegas a week or so after I turned down a job offer from him.

But I knew the boundaries -- we were competitors. I didn't try to attend his conferences unless I was invited, nor did he try to attend ones we did at Ward's.

The truth is, I would have thrown him or anyone on his team out. Nothing personal – it was business. And guess what? They wouldn’t have complained about it in public – if at all.

Now, I work with Mike. One of you said that I should leave – that if I lie down with dogs I’ll come up with fleas. Believe me, I wouldn’t be here if I thought for one second I was associating with dogs.

Mike has built a first class organization here – and has hired a great team. Do I agree with everything he says or does? No. And he doesn't agree with everything I say or do. But that doesn’t change the fact that Dealer Communications has been and continues to be an organization whose first goal is to provide dealers with the best information possible to help them manage their businesses. And it’s one I’m proud to be part of.

 

[LarryBruce]

Well put Cliff and agreed we don't have to see eye to eye on everything but we do need to keep this professional and compete hard.

At the end of the day its a business.

 

[Glen Garvin]

This has been the most entertaining and engaging conversations I've read on here. Contrast this to the CRM bake-off where one of the "contestants" didn't respond and the converstion died.

After DDS was over, I RT'd a post by George Nenni that mentioned the wonderful job Mike Roscoe has done growing his conference and what an accomplishment that is. Whie I don't know Mike well, this is a significant accomplishment.

Ultimately, this about creating great content for dealers and both conferences are doing this and moving our industry forward.

I love the sense of humor and the engagement from all.

 

[Mike Benavides (blog)]

I have attended every one of all three events since their inception and feel that they each have their place in the automotive digital marketing space. Here is my high-level take on each:

Digital Dealer is a trade show with a huge and diverse curriculum for dealers and their staff. The large expo area offers vendors access to their target audiance and an excellent environment for networking.

The Driving Sales Summit offers a unique curriculum that features speakers from outside the industry that offer a different perspective on current trends and topics -- all in an environment that is more focused on content/education and less on vendor participation.

The JDPA Roundtable is in my opinion is the best networking event in the industry today. Where else can you get OEMs, agencies, ad networks, media publishers, dealership service providers and other affiliated companies in one hallway? It has become the event that breeds many of the partnerships and new products that are born at NADA the following quarter.

Each of these events has their place and I strongly encourage participation in any and all of them that may meet your needs. Now if they could just be spread out a bit so I don't have to spend two straight weeks in Las Vegas, that would be wonderful!