Burlington, VT – Dealer.com (www.Dealer.com), the leading provider of online marketing solutions for the automotive industry, is a Leader Award winner in the 2008 Summit Emerging Media Award (Summit EMA) competition for their work with Checkered Flag Motor Car Corporation (www.checkeredflag.com).  The 2008 competition included approximately 700 entries from numerous countries for which only 12% earned recognition.  Dealer.com's work was recognized in the Consumer Product Website category. 

Summit EMA award winners are selected for their leading-edge use of new and emerging web technologies.  Checkered Flag's Dealer.com website includes the latest in new media technology to keep site visitors engaged and increase lead submission.  The goal with Checkered Flag’s Dealer.com website was to create a customer friendly website with one-click navigation and feature rich content to attract and encourage visitors to shop for cars online. The site incorporates cutting-edge search marketing, video, consumer reviews, a dealership blog, online credit approval, online service scheduling and more.     

"Checkered Flag's website utilizes the latest and most effective technologies to attract shoppers and keep them at the site. The award is another confirmation that we are providing our clients the most effective online marketing to keep them ahead of the curve, and the competition.  Our strategy with Checkered Flag has produced outstanding results for the dealership and we are honored by the acknowledgement of this international award," commented Mark Bonfigli, CEO of Dealer.com.  

"We have been with quite a few site hosting organizations since 1997, but have found a home with Dealer.com," stated Alex Snyder, director of e-commerce for Checkered Flag Motor Car Corporation.  "They have not only increased our search engine placement, the number of quality leads we've received, and given us an incredible website, they've also been the absolute best vendor we've ever worked with."

The Summit EMA competition is based on the premise that advertising is consistently at the forefront of the technological evolution of communication. Some of this year’s judges included: Lisa Charlebois of Ogilvy & Mather, Vanessa DiMauro of Leader Networks and David Snyder of FL2. 

“Those involved in today’s emerging media technologies are the leaders who are establishing tomorrow’s avenues of advertising communications,” said Jocelyn Luciano, executive director for the Summit International Awards (SIA). “Most communication professionals recognize that established avenues of communication can be reliable and safe.  Developing and engaging in emerging media technologies, along with creative messaging and market awareness, is often a difficult criterion which makes earning a Summit EMA a significant achievement."

About SIA
The SIA organization is devoted to furthering excellence in the communications industry. It administers rigorous award competitions throughout the year with the goal of recognizing companies and individuals that do more than what is expected.

Throughout its fifteen-year history, the organization has established itself as one of the premier arbiters of communication excellence. Companies and individuals from more than 50 countries across five continents participate annually in its awards programs. The organization conducts three awards each year: Summit Creative Award, Summit Emerging Media Award and Summit Marketing Effectiveness Award.

About Dealer.com
Founded in Burlington, VT in 1997, Dealer.com is the leading provider of online marketing solutions to the automotive industry. Dealer.com offers NADA award-winning SmartSites™ website design incorporating dynamic video; user-friendly lead management tools; the best in search engine advertising and unparalleled metrics and web analytics. Excellent customer service, innovative training and proven results are just a few of the reasons why more of the top 100 dealer groups use Dealer.com than any other vendor. For the last several years, dealerships across the country have voted for Dealer.com as the best website provider, resulting in the company being awarded gold and platinum in Auto Dealer Monthly’s Dealers’ Choice Awards.

Dealer.com’s suite of online marketing solutions is the only set of tools that effectively creates a 360° view of auto dealers’ online and traditional marketing investments and results. Dealers are easily able to track spending and determine which activities are leading to the highest return on investment, allowing them to streamline advertising and marketing efforts into targeted activities that increase sales and improve the bottom line.