OPEN DEALER EXCHANGE (ODE)

Who Is Open Dealer Exchange, LLC?

Open Dealer Exchange’s mission is focused on transforming automotive finance and insurance workflows. They developed The Digital Deal® as a joint venture with ADP and Reynolds and Reynolds, an eContracting technology that streamlines the auto-buying process with automated methods specifically designed for better management of the automotive industry. The Digital Deal® allows dealers to eSign and send fully validated contracts and lease agreements directly to lenders.

Open Dealer Exchange Had a Need.
Open Dealer Exchange approached us with a specific need—help to get in front of five of the 10 largest banks in the U.S. ahead of the upcoming NADA tradeshow conference. ODE had been unable to get traction via its marketing and sales efforts and was looking for another approach.

While They Faced Challenges…
Open Dealer Exchange created a system that was specifically designed to streamline usually arduous manual processes, eliminate human errors, and reduce the finance cycle by a third. However, ODE itself was all but unknown in the automotive industry.

Additionally, very few automobile dealers or lenders have taken any steps toward digitalization—the common way to facilitating and buying and lending processes relied on paper-based processes which have a high probability for human error, incorrect data, missing information or paperwork, and other shortcomings that increased the rate for CFPB violations and the subsequent costly fines.

Thirdly, the eTransaction market was already highly competitive. Rivals Route One and Dealer Track were the dominant players having already cornered much of the market. Route One alone was working with Ford and Toyota dealers, effectively grabbing 30% of the market. Nevertheless, about half of the market was still available—ODE’s target (i.e., the banks) needed to be made aware that full eContracting capability was feasible and their Digital Deal software solution could accomplish that goal. Therefore, to get their attention, ODE needed to establish themselves not only as a viable solution but the preferred solution.

…We Provided Disruptive Solutions.
JoTo PR performed an extensive analysis of ODE and their main competitions’ strengths and weaknesses and determined that, given the time frame and the intelligence we gathered, a highly aggressive, one-month blitz utilizing press releases and media pitches was the most efficient means to generate the publicity ODE required. Our strategy would educate the target audience regarding how the current car-buying process was affecting the U.S. economy and why ODE’s automated system, a more efficient automated process, was of immense benefit to dealers, lenders, and buyers.

Our strategy earned ODE several relevant media placements in highly targeted IT, banking, and automotive finance publications, earning them the specific kind of audience attention that proved vital to not only earning the attention of the banking entities, but the resulting publicity ultimately led them to book appointments at the NADA conference with those very five banking institutions.

…and Open Dealer Exchange Responded!
“I knew about JoTo PR because they are across the street from a company I worked for and I heard good things about them. As we started going through a re-launch of the company, I contacted Karla Jo Helms about PR for our company. In the course of conversations, I learned about the value of PR and what it can do when it’s done right and realized how important it would be to bring them on board.

JoTo released the first press release for us in advance of the NADA convention. From this first release, we have several media interviews lined up already and a major bank contacted us, expressing their desire to meet with us at the convention with several members of their team. This is unprecedented! In the past, we’ve had to persistently knock on doors to get any kind of traction with potential customers.

I’m seeing first-hand how important and effective good PR is and I’m looking forward to continued success with JoTo PR.” ~Curt Larson, Product Marketing Manager, Open Dealer Exchange

About Open Dealer Exchange
Open Dealer Exchange (ODE) was founded as a joint venture between ADP® Dealer Services, Inc., and the Reynolds and Reynolds Company. ODE is a technology leader within the automotive F&I process for connecting lenders and F&I product providers with their dealer partners throughout the United States and Canada. By providing a direct connection into the dealership’s main network—the DMS—ODE virtually removes the need for the dealer to leave its system-of-record during the F&I process. This innovative process results in increased operational efficiencies, reduced contract errors, and a more streamlined process with a lender or provider’s franchised dealerships. With expert management and dedicated team members hailing from diverse technology, automotive and financial arenas, ODE remains committed to providing its customers with the most innovative solutions and robust data exchange. For more information on ODE and its divisions, please visit www.opendealerexchange.com.