New Panda viral film

It's nicely wierd, but I'm not wholly convinced that they want to be associating themselves with tortoises...

New French Micro Site for Citroen C2

Pretty standard - and video diary clips of Heloise and Lea are very slow to load.

VW promote Polo by creating an ice car
There are few cars today which are so cool
they can turn heads in the street
But Volkswagen’s Polo Twist does. Because as part of a forthcoming advertising campaign for the special edition Twist version, which comes ‘chilled’ with free air conditioning, Volkswagen created a life-sized model of the Polo, and parked it outside the Saatchi Art Gallery in South Bank in London.

The sculpture was made from 9.5 tonnes of ice imported from Canada, by a company which specialises in ice carving, The Ice Box. The Polo took around 350 hours to create, and was hand-carved by three sculptors in a freezer at minus 10 degrees Celsius. The final carving weighed around 8.5 tonnes, and was transported in 100 individually wrapped sections by ‘freezer freight’. Had the sculpture been allowed to melt naturally, it would have taken around 36 to 48 hours to disappear.

Managing Director of The Ice Box, Philip Hughes, commented: ‘We have worked on hundreds of projects for major brands throughout the UK and Europe, mainly for live communications and events. However, the Polo Twist is the largest project for a specific shoot and single piece of advertising.’ The images of the ice car will be used within a national press advertising campaign which breaks on Thursday 27 May and will run for four weeks.

The Twist is a best-seller in the Polo range, offering customers excellent value for money. Prices start at £9,185 RRP on the road for the 1.2-litre three-door model, and the Twist has air conditioning, distinctive 14" alloy wheels and the choice of metallic or pearl effect paint as standard.

This comes in addition to the Polo S model’s already comprehensive list of standard features, including electric front windows; ABS anti-lock brakes; driver’s and front passenger’s airbags with front seat side airbags; central locking; and electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors. A chrome ‘Twist’ badge on the tailgate further distinguishes the new model. A range of four advanced and efficient engines is available for the Polo Twist: 1.2-litre 65 PS and 1.4-litre 75 PS petrol units, and 1.9-litre SDI 64 PS and 1.4-litre TDI 75 PS diesel powerplants.

Ford Cross-Media Campaign Results in New Dynaic Logic Study

Interesting figures on Ford. But why did they use the launch of a pick up and not something more interesting?

Ford, Verisign, And Universal To Share Cross-Media Case Study Results
By Tobi Elkin
Executive Editor
Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Ford Motor Co., ING, Universal Studios, and Verisign are poised to release the results of cross-media optimization studies (XMOS) at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Leadership Forum today. The studies mark the latest in a series of media analyses organized under the auspices of the IAB and conducted by Marketing Evolution, an independent brand consultancy.

The purpose of the studies--which began more than two years ago with Microsoft Corp.'s MSN and Unilever's Dove brand--is to bring attention to the question of determining the optimal media mix, reach and frequency, and budget allocation. The studies also have gone to the heart of return-on-investment--often they have highlighted the fact that a brand would have had a better return on investment if it had increased online media weight, shifting dollars from offline media.

Online media is getting a lot more attention these days as traditional marketers begin to shift dollars away from network TV and into cable, online media, and a host of below-the-line media vehicles including public relations, event marketing, product placement, and branded entertainment programs.

Ford Motor Co. was set to offer a detailed look at its launch of the F-150 pickup truck in late 2003 as an example of a successful use of online media for a major vehicle launch. Ford used TV, radio, print, outdoor, direct mail, and online media. Online media used included leaderboards, rectangles, and skyscrapers that ran on leading auto-related sites. The online effort, via J. Walter Thompson, Detroit, employed page takeovers of major portals and auto sites and portal "roadblocks."

"The online roadblocks literally shook the screen--exactly the type of creative reinforcement of 'rugged and tough' that the F-150 was after. Online was by far the most cost-efficient media, and presents a very attractive opportunity going forward," said Rich Stoddart, Ford Division, marketing communications manager, in commenting on the breakthrough campaign.

Ford, through partners Marketing Evolution and Insight Express (for data collection), found that while TV generated the greatest level of absolute reach and purchase intent impact, it was much less cost-effective compared to other media. The online ads on auto-related sites were the most cost-effective at raising purchase intent, and the portal roadblock ads and magazine ads were the most expensive in raising purchase intent compared to in-market online ads--but both represented a good value in terms of cost-per-impact compared to TV.

"From a TV standpoint, you can see how quickly TV's effect can decay," said Rex Briggs, principal, Marketing Evolution, recalling data from previous cross-media studies. "You have to spend more to stand out. It's a challenge and a problem ... The price of television has been bid up so much, there are challenges and tradeoffs."

Briggs conceded that Ford, a big TV spender, "didn't really see diminishing returns in television. Instead, what we saw is that you spend and spend and spend and your brand levels go up; the second you stop, it drops," he said, adding: "[TV] has a very fast decay-type pattern."

Notable Ford Results: *49.6 percent of all Internet users were exposed to the online ads during the course of the campaign: 39.2 percent to the portal home-page roadblocks and 8.5 percent to the ads on car sites; 1.9 percent were exposed to both, according to data from comScore Networks.

*Overall, 6 percent of F-150 sales could be tracked directly to online ads (without click-through) during the study period. Click-through tracked sales were responsible for a large number of additional sales beyond the 6 percent.

*The return on investment for every dollar spent online was more than double the return on investment of any of the offline media.

*Research found that 10 percent of all buyers of the F-150 had visited MSN's Auto Section.

For the Ford study, Marketing Evolution examined more than four months' worth of sales data on the F-150, representing more than 30,000 buyers, and merged it with online behavioral data from more than 360,000 members of comScore Networks' panel of Web users.

Universal Studios' "E.T." Universal Studios released a DVD version of "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," and TV advertising was 94 percent of the budget, with only 6 percent spent on banner ads and less than 1 percent devoted to rich media units.

Universal found that of those target consumers who were exposed only to the TV ad, 19.9 percent said they would probably buy the DVD, versus 22.7 percent who also saw a banner ad and 25.4 percent who saw the TV and the rich-media ad overlay. Key brand messages were mostly likely to be remembered by viewers who had seen both the TV ad and the rich media executions. For example, 39.4 percent of TV viewers knew that the DVD included never-before-seen footage compared to 43.5 percent of TV and banner-ad viewers. And that's compared to an even higher percentage--48.1 percent--of viewers who saw the TV ads plus the rich media overlay.

The upshot--Marketing Evolution recommended that Universal could have achieved even better results by allocating its media budget to reach 25 percent of its target audience via the rich media overlay ads, 2 percent via banners, and 72 percent by TV. The revised plan might have increased purchase intent by two points and awareness by 12 points without adding more dollars, according to Marketing Evolution.

"There were quickly eroding expectations and a lack of sustainable position," Briggs noted. "TV creates an expectation, but doesn't generate as much goodwill as we would have expected. Some of the effect of TV is a lot more ephemeral than we previously thought," he added in reference to the Universal finding.

Toyota to use more Viral

Pretty dull story, and US only, but it's interesting that the budget is quoted at $10m, and that it's seen specifically as a way of reaching men aged 24-30

TOYOTA NAMES GROUND ZERO FOR VIRAL MARKETING
$10 Million Campaign to Lure Young Consumers
May 03, 2004
QwikFIND ID: AAP59L
By Alice Z. Cuneo
SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) -- Toyota Motor Sales USA, seeking to boost sales among younger consumers, today named independent agency Ground Zero to handle an estimated $10 million youth-targeted viral marketing campaign.

The campaign, running from July through September, will promote the automaker's Corolla XRS, Celica, Matrix XRS and new 2005 Tacoma pickup truck. The effort will emphasize the "style, sportiness and fun-to-drive performance" of Toyota's youth-oriented vehicles, the automaker said in a statement. Internet, direct mail and event marketing events are planned.

Deborah Wahl-Meyer, Toyota's corporate marketing communications manager, said Ground Zero was selected over the automaker's general-market agency, Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi, Torrence, Calif., and Publicis & Hal Riney, San Francisco.

Ground Zero is based in Marina del Rey, Calif.

Toyota's other youth brand, Scion, targets trendsetters and is being handled by another independent agency, Attik, in San Francisco. Toyota's U.S. sales are on the upswing, but the company wants to improve its reach of men ages 24 to 30.

Ford Sponsor UK Talksport Breakfast Radio Show

Taking over from John Smith's. But don't believe the numbers quoted... Very male audience, and ties in well with the Destination Football theme. Plus Sky have an investment in TalkSport

Ford is to sponsor TalkSport’s Breakfast Show in a deal believed to be one of the car manufacturer's biggest ever radio sponsorships, reports Hilary Way.

The sponsorship, which was negotiated by MindShare’s sports and entertainment division, Performance, begins in May and continues until the end of the year.

Ashley MacKenzie, national sales director of talkSPORT’s parent company, The Wireless Group, said: “Ford is the largest consumer brand in sport. That they have chosen to work with talkSPORT says it all.”

Ford’s link with TalkSport follows the tradition of investing in leading sports brands including Sky Sports, The UEFA Champions League, Jordan Racing and The World Rally Championships.

Jon Fisher, Ford’s commercial marketing manager, said: “TalkSport provides an excellent medium for topical interaction with Commercial Vehicle operators and drivers, enabling effective communication of the strengths of the Transit brand and building on the rich Ford Transit heritage in Britain.”

The breakfast programme is presented by ex-Spurs footballer Alan Brazil and former-Fleet Street journalist, Mike Parry.

Listeners number 1.6 million men, 460,000 of whom are aged between 16 and 34, according to the controversial GfK measuring system.

More about the Scion and Youth Marketing

Good examples of other initiatives. Seems to be a US focus so far. Space for someone in Europe to take the initiative?

Young riders

Car makers zooming in on youth

By Matt Nauman

Mercury News


Outside of True, a hip-hop clothing store on once-hippie Haight Street in San Francisco, 18-year-old college student Thomas Estrada stepped forward to check out the new car designed for his generation.

Gen Y, meet Scion.

Scion, from Toyota, targets Generation Y -- the emerging group of consumers now 9 to 23 years old. It's just one of a new breed designed for the younger crowd.

What makes a Gen Y car?

They're smaller, cheaper, faster and -- with a lot of speakers -- louder.

``I think it's cool, something different,'' said Estrada, who drives a 2001 Nissan Xterra sport-utility.

Scion, which goes on sale in California next week, tries hard to be trendy without seeming to try too hard. Other car makers are building heavily accessorized cars, like those featured in the ``2 Fast 2 Furious'' film sequel that opens today.

Both are aimed squarely at a generation -- of 63 million -- that buys only 5 percent of new cars now, but will buy 25 percent by 2010 and 40 percent by 2020.

``Boomers have long been the dominant generation that most marketers have targeted during the past 20 to 30 years,'' said Brian Bolain, Scion's sales promotions manager. ``That's all about to change.''

While Toyota's multimillion-dollar Scion experiment is the most radical move -- it's a new franchise but the cars will be sold through existing Toyota dealerships -- it's certainly not the only push toward hooking Gen Y buyers.

Other efforts

• Honda, already one of the most popular brands with young buyers due to its affordable, reliable and easily customized Civic, put the Element sport-utility on sale earlier this year. Billed as a dorm room on wheels, its ungainly profile allows maximum flexibility inside.

• Dodge added horsepower to its Neon compact sedan, creating the SRT-4 that is sold as the quickest production car under $20,000.

• Mazda just released a 2003.5 version of its Mazda Speed Protege, a $20,000 small sedan that seems to have emerged from a tuner shop with its loud stereo, rear wing and fancy wheels.

Researchers identify several car brands -- VW, Saturn, Hyundai, Jeep, Suzuki, Nissan, Mazda and Pontiac -- as doing well with the youngest buyers, mainly because they offer affordable products with at least a bit of cool quotient.

Toyota, which sold more cars than anyone except Ford in 2002, is seen as moving in the wrong direction.

``Our cars tend to be more Mom and Dad cars,'' said Steve Cornelius, a San Jose Toyota dealer who started selling cars in 1976. ``The big concern was we were turning into Oldsmobile.''

So, next week, Cornelius will open Stevens Creek Scion in a separate facility from his Toyota store. It'll have the high-tech look and feel that will be Scion's signature, with computer kiosks to provide information and a 50-inch plasma TV to set the tone with music and images.

Toyota has spent much time and money in researching Gen Y. It quickly found that they don't like to be marketed to, said Bolain. So, working with the San Francisco office of Attik, a British advertising agency, Toyota executives created a plan heavy on not being heavy-handed with a strong Internet component, plenty of so-called guerrilla marketing and lots of partnerships with trendy magazines.

``It's critical that Gen Y buyers be allowed to discover things, like new brands, at their own pace,'' Bolain said.

That's why nobody stepped in front of Estrada, the San Francisco State student, when he walked on Haight Street. He wandered over to see what was up with these cars he hadn't seen before.

The people doing the talking didn't look as if they worked for a big car company, like Toyota.

One had dreadlocks. All wore Adidas shirts, jackets, shoes and pants that look right in step on the street.

``It totally makes sense for them to come out with a car for their future generation of customers,'' said Barbara Coulon, vice president of trends at Youth Intelligence, a New York market-research firm focusing on the under-35-year-old market. ``Mitsubishi and VW already have that hipper, younger feel.''

Echoed Mike Bush, who edits the Youth Markets Alerts newsletter, ``The less it feels like marketing, the better chance a company has with striking a chord with this group.''

That's why a Scion was on display when music-magazine XLR8R (pronounced ``accelerator'') celebrated the holidays at a Colma bowling alley.

Toyota seems to understand that they need to make the Scion desirable, said Andrew Smith, XLR8R's publisher.

`Beyond function'

``It's got to go beyond mere function if you're talking about reaching a hip, urban crowd,'' Smith said.

Something bigger is going on with the birth of Scion -- the evolution of branding, said Chris Cedergren, analyst with Iceology, an automotive research firm in Thousand Oaks.

Two decades ago, it was thought that a strong brand would stay strong with each passing generation.

``That's no longer the case,'' he said. ``Brands now have to continue to evolve their image not only to keep loyal buyers, but to attract new buyers.''

B.J. Birtwell, Chrysler's youth marketing manager, applauds Toyota for trying Scion but says his company's Dodge SRT-4, a fast, affordable car is an equally valid approach. The success of ``The Fast and The Furious'' proves it. The mostly young owners of sport compact cars spent more than $2.3 billion on parts (not including wheels) in 2002, up 440 percent since 1998, and automakers want in on that action.

``The brands that are going to be on top will have a unique and complete understanding of this future consumer,'' Birtwell said. ``As popular culture continues to embrace cars as part of who the youth is, I see this market continuing to grow. It used to be just about growing fast. Now it's going fast and looking good while you're doing it.''

Automotive Marketers Still Ignore Women

Lots of good examples:

Automakers still ignore women motorists when marketing vehicles


By Ann Job / Special to The Detroit News

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The woman who’s being called the godmother of Volvo’s YCC — Your Concept Car — is still waiting for the auto industry “to get it” when it comes to marketing to women.

So am I.

Here we are, at one of the most intensely competitive times in the industry, and I can scarcely believe how timid automakers are in going after women car buyers.

They seem to eagerly hide behind the old saw that “you can sell a man’s car to a woman but you can’t sell a woman’s car to a man.”

They need to hear from Martha Barletta — author of the 2002 book, “Marketing to Women.” It was her presentation at Volvo last year that so inspired some women employees that they asked to design the YCC and thus make automotive history by becoming the first all-female concept car team.

Barletta agrees that men don’t want a woman’s car. Women don’t want a woman’s car, either. But she says women are often good at communicating and engineering new-car features and benefits that are useful for men and women. This doesn’t make a vehicle a “chick car.”

Automakers need to recast their marketing. And not just for diversity’s sake, either. I’m talking money.

A car company with “smart marketing” to women “can get women away from the competitors, she said. “Women are going to buy the car of the smart marketer.

“According to J.D. Power, women are already buying 68 percent of the vehicles. It’s just that nobody has done a full court press.”

Consider General Motors Corp.’s months-long “Women in the Driver’s Seat” effort.

The outreach campaign to women provides some car-buying tips and safety information and now offers a sweepstakes, too. Winners can get $10,000 toward a new GM vehicle or a trip to a spa or other prizes.

But “Women in the Driver’s Seat” isn’t widely publicized — certainly not through press releases and TV ads on the scale of many of GM’s other incentives, such as the recent “Hot Button” car giveaway.

“Women in the Driver’s Seat,” the name that appears on informational brochures distributed at GM dealerships, isn’t even easy to find on the Internet. After some searching, I finally found it at www.gm.com/vc/women.

Maybe GM keeps this site on the back burner because it has a girlish pink background. Barletta groaned when she heard of it. “Never paint your brand pink,” she said.

Now is the perfect time for carmakers to “get it.” Baby boomer women, among the best-educated American generation ever, are in their peak earning years and ready to ditch the minivan and SUV.

As Barletta put it, automakers “should be focusing on them like a laser beam.”

Ann Job is a California-based free-lance writer.

Volvo and iVillage partnership creates Online Safety Centre

Volvo trying to 'own' Safety in the US

iVillage and Volvo Cars Partner to Create Online Safety Center

NEW YORK, Apr 20, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- iVillage Inc. (IVIL), a leading women's media company and the number one source for women's information online, today announced an online safety center in conjunction with Volvo Cars of North America (VCNA). Located at www.ivillage.com/safety, "Safety Central" is a comprehensive resource center with information and resources that aim to help individuals keep their home and family safe.

The resource center provides useful information from both experts and iVillage members and covers safety topics from kitchen and outdoor to back-to-school and babies to cars and holidays. In addition, the hub will offer polls to take the pulse of the iVillage audience and provide feedback on the automotive marketplace. It is slated to include resources for women to find out about Volvo's seasonal promotions, new car introductions, model galleries and dealer locators.

"Volvo understands the economic power of women, as well as the importance of reaching female consumers in relevant, trusted and meaningful ways," said Douglas W. McCormick, chairman and CEO of iVillage Inc. "This safety center offers women a complete resource guide to safety information and offers Volvo the unique opportunity to interact with consumers as only the Internet can offer."

"For 77 years, Volvo has been driven by a philosophy of protecting people -- both inside and outside of our vehicles," said Phil Bienert, Manager of CRM & e-Business for Volvo. "Safety Central on iVillage allows us to extend our passion for safety to a wider audience, allowing us to demonstrate how safety fits into the day-to-day lives of women."

As part of the 12-month sponsorship arrangement, Volvo becomes the exclusive sponsor of safety content on iVillage.com, the majority of which will reside within "Safety Central." In addition, Volvo is running a media campaign to promote Volvos to female consumers throughout iVillage.com. The components of the media campaign are designed to generate awareness and viral interest and include full screen arrival ads, a sweepstakes to win a 2-year Volvo Cars XC90 lease, and co-branded media served across the iVillage Network and throughout the "Safety Central" area.

In addition to this announcement, iVillage also released today internal automobile research(1) showing women to be critical marketing targets for automotive advertising. The study, conducted in November 2003, showed the purchase or lease of new vehicles by women increased 35% in 2003 when compared to 2002. It also revealed that women had safety (90%) and durability (86%) as their two most sought after benefits of a car. According to respondents, the Internet is the dominant source for vehicle information when shopping for a car, with nearly 85% using the Internet as their top source for information after actual sales people.

About Volvo Cars of North America

Volvo Cars of North America, LLC part of the Volvo Car Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden, provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to Volvo automobile retailers in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

The Volvo automobile model line includes the newly introduced award- winning 2004.5 all new S40, the award-winning XC90, the sporty S60 sedan -- including the award-winning performance sedan -- S60 R and its performance wagon counterpart -- V70 R, the flagship S80 luxury sedan, versatile V70 wagon and rugged XC70 (Cross Country), the C70 convertible, and the compact S40 and V40 models.

About iVillage Inc.

iVillage is "the Internet for women" and consists of several online and offline media-based properties that seek to enrich the lives of females through the offering of unique online content, books, videos and other consumer products and services. iVillage Inc. (IVIL) was established in 1995 and is headquartered in New York City.

Average monthly page views for iVillage.com and its affiliate Web sites (the "iVillage Network") nearly 353 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2003. In March 2004, according to comScore Media Metrix, the iVillage Network ranked 26th among the top 100 Web and Digital Media properties with more than 15.3 million unique visitors in the United States and had an average reach of 10% of the total online population. Also according to comScore Media Metrix, during this period visitors returned an average of nearly 3 times per month.


For more information about iVillage, visit www.ivillage.com.


Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

iVillage Inc. has included in this press release certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning iVillage's business, operations and financial condition. The words or phrases "can be," "expects," "may affect," "may depend," "believes," "estimate," "project" and similar words and phrases are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties and iVillage cautions you that any forward-looking information provided by or on behalf of iVillage is not a guarantee of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, some of which are beyond iVillage's control, in addition to those discussed in iVillage's other press releases, public filings and statements by iVillage's management, including (i) the volatile and competitive nature of the media industry, (ii) changes in domestic and foreign economic, political and market conditions, (iii) the effect of federal, state and foreign regulation on iVillage's business, (iv) the impact of recent and future acquisitions and joint ventures on iVillage's business and financial condition, (v) iVillage's ability to establish and maintain relationships with advertisers, sponsors, and other third-party providers and partners, and (vi) the impact of pending litigation on iVillage's business and financial condition. All such forward-looking statements are current only as of the date on which such statements were made. iVillage does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which any such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.



(1) iVillage Automobile Study, November 2003


SOURCE iVillage Inc.; Volvo Cars of North America


Stephen R. Bohannon of Volvo Cars of North America, LLC,
1-800-970-0888; or Carl Fischer of iVillage Inc., +1-212-600-6502,
cfischer@mail.ivillage.com

More on the Ford Ka 'Cat' Viral

Ford are claiming that it was made by their agency, but never approved...

Ford upset by unauthorized Internet ad depicting cat decapitation

Associated Press


DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford Motor Co. is upset by the release of an Internet commercial that depicts a computer generated cat being decapitated, saying it didn't authorize the proposed ad or its release.

The ad for the Sportka, a hatchback sold in Europe, shows the realistic-looking orange cat climbing on top of the car and curiously poking its head into the open moonroof, The Detroit News reported Sunday.

The moonroof slides closed and the cat struggles briefly to escape before its headless body slides to the ground.

Ford says the clip was conceived without its approval by ad agency Ogilvy & Mather as part of a viral marketing campaign for the Sportka. A type of e-mail marketing, viral marketing is the electronic version of word of mouth - usually inviting the recipients to forward an e-mail to others.

"We find this unauthorized ad totally unacceptable and reprehensible and deplore the fact that it has been unofficially issued," Ford spokesman Oscar Suris said.

In a statement, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide said the unapproved and unofficial video clip was leaked April 1 and transmitted by e-mail around the world. The company said the ad wasn't sanctioned by Ogilvy or Ford.

"Both companies find this unofficial advertisement totally unacceptable and reprehensible," the statement said. "The action in the video clip was totally computer generated, and we would like to assure you that no animal was harmed in its making."

Autobytel buys Car.com

Consolidation in online car trading sector...

TROY - Autobytel has acquired Stoneage Corporation, owner of Car.com, for more than $48 million. The deal with expand in 2004 Autobytel’s market share of new car buyers from 7 to 9 percent, increase by 1 million the number of Purchase Requests processed through Autobytel, and add more than 6,000 retail and enterprise dealer relationships.
"The acquisition of Stoneage Corporation and its Car.com website further extends Autobytel's leadership in the rapidly growing automotive Internet by increasing our reach with consumers, dealers, and automotive manufacturers," said Autobytel CEO Jeffrey Schwartz. "This transaction is a superb fit and is consistent with our acquisition criteria and business strategy. We are very comfortable with our ability to realize synergies and financial benefits from this transaction."

Autobytel anticipates that the acquisition will grow its business to more than $40 billion in gross market sales for dealers. The Company now anticipates that in 2005, approximately 10 percent of all new car buyers will submit a request through Autobytel. The acquisition adds approximately 1,300 retail dealer relationships, of which approximately 75 percent are unique and do not overlap with a current Autobytel dealers. The acquisition also will add approximately 50,000 used cars to Autobytel's current inventory of approximately 250,000.

Founded in 1996, Stoneage Corporation has approximately 70 employees and is headquartered in Troy. Autobytel will continue to operate and finance, CarTV, and DBOT businesses from Detroit as well as locate representatives from its advertising and enterprise sales groups at the Stoneage’s offices.

"Stoneage shares Autobytel's commitment to provide automotive dealers and manufacturers with best in class integrated marketing services," said Mark Campbell, founder and CEO of Stoneage Corporation. "This deal should expand and deepen Autobytel's customer relationships and, as we leverage the best practices of each company's lead routing and validation systems, increase the quantity and the quality of the Purchase Requests Autobytel sends to its dealers."

Campbell will remain a consultant for Autobytel, working on new product initiatives and business development.