That’s a wrap on 2023!

A lot has happened over the past 365 days, or 8,760 hours, or 525,600 minutes… 

No matter how you count it up, the count down to 2024 is over. This annual Wrap Up blog is one of our favorite traditions to end the year.

As a team, we produced 7 videos, 3 webinars, 8 case studies, 3 trade show seminars, and 19 blogs!

We also welcomed 4 new faces to #TeamDU, celebrated the addition of 10 new babies (4 human and 6 fur) and visited 12 countries (mostly by our Controller and HR Guru Josh).

While ALL of that was happening, our main focus was on connection. We are most proud of the relationships we have built and continue to nurture with dealer partners, social platform teams, and industry colleagues. Big shout out to our dedicated team who has kept their sights on creating IMPACT and real results for our clients. 

Lastly, we are so grateful for being able to spend this year with YOU. 

Now, enjoy seeing how we spent 2023!

January

• Three team members started 2023 by adding to their families! Performance Managers Alix and Meg added a corgi named Jӧri and a frenchie named Moose to their families. Kevin, Director of Engineering, adopted two cats named Adventure and Orange. 🐱😸🐶🐶

• 🚘🚘 Two team members purchased new rides of their own! Sandra, Ad Productions, purchased a 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan (she’s been in the VW family since 2008 #brandloyalty) and Carrie, Performance Manager, opted for a 2023 Kia Seltos!
• We published our first Dealership Case Study of the year for Dahl Ford, highlighting their “Market Disruptor” campaign on Meta and TikTok. Click here to see how they matched over 85 sales to their social media ads!

February

• Sandra was promoted to Manager of Ad Strategy! Congrats, Sandra! 👏
• We fueled up attendees at NADA in Dallas with our Herbster Coffee Truck. It’s always amazing to get to see our dealer partners in person. (Hi, Sam and Lindsay! 👋) Looking forward to NADA 2024!

• We published a Dealership Case Study showcasing how Zeigler Subaru of Kenosha drives results on Pinterest! (Psst…a $15.22 Cost Per Lead! 👀)

• Thanks for this awesome testimonial Josh Hall! We love working with KMA Auto.

March

• We published two Dealership Case Studies this month. We showcased Grand Blanc Mitsubishi’s Full-Funnel Meta Ads Strategy and Diamond Valley Honda’s Omnichannel Ads Strategy with Meta, Pinterest, Snapchat, and TikTok ads.
• Did you know that Barbie Custom Ordered a Bronco? Our favorite dealership social media ad for Q1 goes to Pollard Friendly Ford who wanted to jump on “The Barbie Movie” hype!

April

• Cute babies alert! Sarah, Manager of Partner Experience, welcomed her first daughter, Zinnia, and Nathan, UX UI Developer, welcomed his first son, Jonah!

• Two more Dealership Case Studies were published. A Meta Ads Case Study for Steele Chevrolet Buick GMC showed 90 sales matched at <$78 Cost Per Unit Sold; and an Omnichannel Case Study for South Country DCJR showed 10x Results with Meta, Snapchat, Pinterest, and TikTok!
• We celebrated the promotion of Shea to Sr. Account Manager, and welcomed Lauren, Content Marketer, to the #TeamDU marketing crew!

• This month we opened a virtual office using Kumospace! As a 💯 remote company, finding ways to nurture meaningful connections is a big priority. Think of Kumo like Zoom meets “The Sims” – each team member has their own “office” they can decorate, and there are plenty of open meeting spaces for co-working and meeting with dealer partners. It’s been a fun addition to our remote culture.

May

• We were so excited to host a session at Digital Dealer Tampa! You can still get the resources from our session, “The Strategy That Yields More ROI Than Radio, Billboards, Direct Mail & Newspaper Ads Combined” by clicking here!
  

• We hosted a Cinco De Mayo Cocktail contest in Kumospace. In lieu of a taste test, MJ and Meg tied for “Best Name” with their drinks “Strawberry Marj-arita” and “The Large Marge.” Special cheers to Rob Sight Ford who helped Alix win “Most Likely To Reorder” by naming her drink “The Island Delight” 🍹
• This was a really cool Meta + Pinterest Ads Case Study for Healey Brothers Hyundai (if we do say so ourselves). You can download a PDF copy here or watch this video break down of their Social Media Omnichannel strategy producing impressive results.

• Our social advertising services expanded to feature auto manufacturers such as Stellantis, Honda, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi, to provide customized solutions tailored to each brand’s marketing needs and audience.

• Our favorite ad of Q2 was this model comparison Pinterest ad for Zeigler Subaru of Kenosha. The goal of this ad was to educate auto buyers on the Outback’s benefits in order to re-capture market share from the local competitor.

June

• Our SVP, Justin, bought a new house and moved from Massachusetts to North Carolina!
• Alix started a podcast! Check out “Little Too Much with A.K.” wherever you listen online.
• We hosted a Team Jeopardy in Kumo. The questions were generated based on a fun employee survey to find categories like: “First Car,” “Spirit Animals,” and “Growing Up I Wanted To Be A…”

• Launched a new format for our Dealer Case Studies 👉 Check out the interactive Strategy Spotlight: DELLA Chevrolet Leveraged Meta Ads To Reach & Convert Highly Qualified Leads.

• Our first time speaking at CXAUTO in Marina Del Rey, CA. We were so happy to present “The Power of Omnichannel Social Media: Overcoming Six Obstacles”  along with our dealer partner Tim Wilson of El Cajon Ford.

• We turned our Digital Dealer Tampa presentation into a webinar! You can catch the replay of “The Strategy That Yields More ROI Than Radio, Billboards, Direct Mail & Newspaper Ads Combined!“
• HOT OFF THE PRESS! Automotive News Canada featured our case study for Steele Chevrolet Buick GMC! Read “How Steele Auto Group turned social media into sales, at a reasonable cost.”

July

• Ad Strategy Analyst MJ bought a 2024 Kia Seltos!
• Rachel joined the Performance Management Team “DU-CX” (also known as the Mighty DUCX 🦆)

• The Culture Club hosted one of our favorite annual events: a virtual scavenger hunt! The team has 5 minutes to find as many items as they can from around their house like paper clips, a sparkly shoe, or Italian seasoning. 🤣
• Thanks for this five-star review Hugo Marciales! We appreciate the partnership with Anyone Rides.

• TikTok released some major updates that greatly benefited automotive advertising. We covered the new features in a blog, “5 Ways TikTok Is Revolutionizing Car Dealership Marketing.”

August

• Say hello to baby Reed! Performance Manager Meg welcomed her first baby boy.

• Two New Dealer Strategy Spotlights! Check out how Zeigler Honda of Racine leveraged Meta ads to promote a “Summer Sell Down” event that resulted in 8 vehicles sold in under 30 days with only $300 ad spend. 
• Hunt Ford Chrysler’s commitment to innovation paid off… They matched 48% of vehicles sold to their Omnichannel ad campaigns on Meta, Pinterest, Snapchat, and TikTok. Click here to see their ads and watch a quick video breakdown.

• Fun Fact: The average US adult spends more than 6 hours each day watching video content across devices. 😱 👀 Find out how to generate more leads and dominate your market with video ideas you can activate immediately with our “Exclusive Guide: Lights, Camera, Car Sales!“
• 🌟Our most comprehensive resource yet! We published the “Ultimate Guide to Mastering Social Media Ads For Car Dealers.” It’s jam-packed with everything you need to build a Full-Funnel Omnichannel Ad Strategy proven to beat your competition. 

September

• Ad Strategy Analyst Mitch picked up and moved from Arizona to Oregon! 🚚
• Another cute furry friend joined Team DU: say hi to Pixie, Controller Josh’s AussieDoodle

• A virtual corn maze?! Yup. Kumospace has several fun, interactive, templated scenes including a (really hard) corn maze! Our virtual team was scattered around the maze trying to find our way out, and some were faster than others…
• We hosted a webinar to share the Secrets To TikTok For Car Dealers. 🤫🔓You can watch the replay here!

• Our favorite ad for Q3 was this football themed ad for Lasco Ford!

• Did you know that your dealership can maximize your TikTok videos as high-performing ads? Learn all about it in our blog: From Likes to Leads: TikTok Spark Ads For Car Dealers

October

• Surprise, Account Manager Amy: you are the owner of a new kitten! Amy’s husband’s pool cleaning company rescued this cutie in a pool skimmer… Meet Skimmer! 
• Oh boy! Creative Lead Katelyn welcomed her first son, Tucker!

• We met up with the TikTok Automotive team at one of their Florida locations in an effort to continue building a powerful partner relationship, plus learn more about new beta opportunities and best practices (Hint: TikTok Lookalike Audiences!)
• WHO DID IT?! Was it Colonel Mustard with the Candlestick? Or Director of CX Andrew in the Kumospace parlor room?? We hosted a virtual Murder Mystery party and a Costume Contest in our Halloween themed Kumospace office.
• Thanks for the Review Mitch Randall! We appreciate the partnership with Toyota of Warsaw.

• We would bet on this crew any day! Kelly Majauskas, Senior Partner Manager at Pinterest, Lindsay Latsko, Director of Internet & Marketing Operations for Zeigler Auto Group, & Justin Friend, SVP of Dealers United, took the Keynote Stage at Digital Dealer Las Vegas to present “Discover, Decide & Drive: The Road To Dealer Success on Pinterest.” 

• In preparation for a MAJOR announcement in November 👀 we welcomed Dale Hewett, VP of Search, and Melissa Liu, Head of SEM!

November

• Congratulations are in order for two team members on magnificent milestones! Support Analyst Eugene closed on his first home- best wishes on creating happy memories in your new abode. 🏠 VP of Marketing Brooke got married to her fella in a magical ceremony followed by a super magical honeymoon in Thailand! We love all the love. 👰🏼‍♀️♥️

• The #TeamDU Culture Committee planned a company give back initiative by teaming up with Letters Against Isolation. LAI’s mission is to “Fight senior loneliness one letter at a time.” Our team created 62 greeting cards that were sent to 5 assisted living centers around the country! 
• It’s time for our most exciting announcement of the year…🎉 In 2024, we’re going BEYOND social to expand Dealers United’s Full-Service Digital Solutions with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Through the power of best-in-class Search AND Social, Dealers United is ready to double down on digital to provide even more value, more impact, and more results for the auto industry. You can learn more about our Full-Service expansion here.

December (so far)

• Performance Manager Aleena moved from Chicago, IL to West Lafayette, IN! 🏠
• Congratulations to Chaz who was promoted to Sr. Support Analyst! Thank you for all that you do for our team and partners.
• Special WELCOME to Jessie Sigel-Dean who started as a Performance Manager, and Jorge Lafosse who joined as a SEO Manager! We are so excited to have you join Team DU.

• Who doesn’t love a little friendly competition? Our most competitive culture event of the year is our annual Gingerbread House build. The creativity comes out in full force! This year’s winners: 
• Winner Takes the Cookie (1st Place): Andrew’s “Team DUBB Super Bowl”
• Second Best Baked (2nd Place): Aleena’s “Ellie and Carl’s Up House”
• Most Likely To Be Eaten (Get in my belly): Rachel’s “Dunkie Junkie Mojo Dojo Casa House”
• Family Fabrication (Made with your family!): Eric’s “Alice in Wonderland — but make it Barbie”
• Simple Yet Sweet (Not too much, Not too little, Just right): Lauren’s “Winter Wonderland Went Wrong”
• Decorated Those Halls (Most Festive): Shea’s “Palmer’s Log Cabin”
• Unique Treat (They WENT there!): Melissa’s “The Gingerbread Trap House”

WOW! What a year.

With a heart full of gratitude and a tank full of rocket fuel, Team DU is blasting into the new year in a major way. 

We are so excited to expand our digital solutions to provide even more for our dealer partners. No matter what – our lens will always be focused on what is best for our customers and rock star team. 

By the way…we are hiring! If you know someone looking to join a fun remote culture that embraces the finesse of balancing between “work hard, play hard” – send them to www.dealersunited.com/careers

See you in 2024!