Collective Media hired former Yahoo! automotive category director, Brian Elliott, to lead its Detroit office. Which got us thinking… Isn’t the domestic U.S. auto industry on life support? Haven’t they had their marketing budgets reduced dramatically? What is Collective Media thinking?
In response, Joe Apprendi, Collective CEO told AdExchanger.com, “Yes, the auto industry in aggregate, and in the US in particular, is undergoing massive changes across the board, including ad spending. While overall spending will likely be down dramatically for this year and likely next, automotive advertisers are spending a greater percentage online. More importantly, their spending on display media is shifting towards a more targeted segment of the in-market automotive buyer. To reach them, display spending is going towards in-market automotive sites and in-market automotive behavioral marketing.”
Finally, from the world of venture capital comes the new fund from Marc Andreesen and Ben Horowitz which succeeded in raising $300 million according to Kara Swisher. The Deal’s George White observes that “funds led by former entrepreneurs appear to be having an easier time thanks to their track record and the names in their e-mail address books” and points to recent funds created by Skype’s and MyPoints’ founders
