“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?”

-  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

For the second year in a row, Kontera’s New York office helped celebrate the legacy and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by participating in the 2012 MLK Day of Service. MLK Day of Service provides an opportunity for individuals to come together to serve their neighbors and communities. The Kontera team worked with the Jersey Cares Organization to paint murals and make “I Have a Dream” Mobiles.

We were assigned to The Anthony J. Infante School – PS 31 in Jersey City, New Jersey; an inclusive primary school with 7 special education classes, 6 early childhood classes, 3 kindergarten, 2 first grade and 1 second grade class. Their staff is student centered with a mission that includes providing effective strategies that allow students to reach their goals. The earlier you can reach a child the better, and by providing students with the right building blocks, the school is able to start them on a successful path.

Once we received painting instructions from the program leaders we grabbed our tools and started to paint. We painted murals in the lunch room and touched up existing murals in the hallways. Some members of the team also began working on the “I Have a Dream” Mobiles which seemed a bit complicated at first but they figured it out.

The school’s principal was excited at the level of commitment and support from Kontera and the community as these are changes they could not make without it. According to Kontera Account Executive Sara Press, the enthusiasm was mutual.

“It was a lot of fun to both bond with the team and give back to the community. I really enjoyed knowing that we were helping out those who are less fortunate and know they would have been very excited when they went to school the next day back. It was extremely rewarding!”

If you are interested in learning more about Jersey Cares and their volunteer opportunities please visit www.jerseycares.org.

This was one party the Motor City was especially revved up for.

Kontera is proud to have sponsored the 7^th annual 313Digital Auto Show VIP Party, an exclusive event for over 150 Detroit digital advertising professionals held at South Bar in Birmingham. Aside from great music, fine food, and welcome company, the party was a fundraiser for such worthy 313 Digital’s Community Outreach programs as Project Click, Motor City Blight Busters, and Goodfellows of Detroit.

It was a memorable night out and Kontera couldn’t have been happier to be a part of it!

We were also on hand for the industry only preview of the Detroit Auto Show January 11-12. The North American International Auto Show as it’s officially known, is the largest American trade show of its kind, drawing about 750,000 people per year. It’s attended by nearly every major car brand and this year included either new product introductions or new concept introductions from such Kontera advertisers as Ford, Chevy, Volvo, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Honda, Lexus, Toyota, and Buick.

2011 was the best year for Automotive sales since 2008, and with the economical recovery finally reaching the driver’s seat, there was definitely an elevated level of excitement in the air. Manufactures were offering more variety, such as how the 2013 Ford Fusion has several different hybrid options, and luxury cars were more prominently featured.  Porsche, which had taken several years off from the show returned, and other luxury vehicles like the two door, Acura NSX were surprise hits.

Our stay at NAIAS was capped with the 2012 Charity Preview gala, a rich tradition which offers the first public look at the show and since 1976 has raised $84 million dollars for local children’s charities. It’s a black tie event that’s affectionately called “the auto prom”, and Kontera Strategic Accounts Managers Michael Gellar and Kristin Socha looked sharp in represented us. The entertainment was provided by the Selected of God Choir, who backed Eminem in his famous “Lose Yourself” Chrysler Super Bowl commercial, and the choir sounded just as powerful in person.

Definitely a great kick off for what’s shaping up to be another big year for Automotive!

If you’ve ever wanted to see behind the curtain of Kontera innovation, now’s your chance.

We’re pleased to announce the launch of the Kontera Engineering Blog, a new platform for Kontera’s R&D Department to share what they’re working on. Whether it’s porting one of our core services to Ruby, explaining how to speed up environmental load time in development mode, or showing how JavaScript functions as a MindMap; with each post a different member of the team invites you into their online classroom.

For programmers, or those just interested in learning more, it’s definitely a must read!

It’s that time of year again, and to mark the occasion, Kontera had not one, not two, but five holiday parties!

First up is Kontera’s East Region Team. The festivities started at the NY Office with a fun gift exchange often known as “Yankee Swap” or “White Elephant”. Each person drew a number (higher is usually better) which determined the order they selected gifts. During each person’s turn they could select from a table of unopened wrapped gifts or they could take a recently opened gift from another person which created fun and entertaining interactions between colleagues.

Later the team headed to El Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant known for their steak nachos and margaritas. Kontera President, Hal Muchnick said a few words to the team reflecting on the year and thanking them for their hard work. The team then headed to The Spot Karaoke Lounge for a night of singing, laughter and more laughter.

One of the highlights of the night was when members of the team did their rendition of Backstreet Boys’ song ‘I Want It That Way’. It was a night not to be forgotten.

Next up, Kontera San Francisco kicked off the holidays with the gift that keeps on giving…Snuggies! The Snuggies come at a perfect time; the weather is getting colder and the air conditioning keeps coming on when there’s even a hint of sun streaming thru the windows.

Leaving our Snuggies safely tucked away in the office, the SF gang made their way over to Oola Lounge to toast another great year. The cheese was plentiful as well as the good cheer.

Meanwhile the Central team celebrated the Holidays at David Burke’s Primehouse in downtown Chicago.  Visiting dignitaries included Hal and Kontera CEO Yoav Shaham.  The team enjoyed many bone-in filets, scotches, martinis and some fine Jordan Cabernet as we exchanged gifts in another white elephant lottery.  Hal lost his lottery tickets repeatedly in the gift cycle process!  Here’s a picture of the team back in the holiday decorated office.

Over at Kontera Israel offices, the first night of Chanukah is what was being celebrated. After lighting the candles, everyone joined in singing a couple of traditional holiday songs, before digging into a fresh assortment of donuts and potato latkes. It was so much fun; we all agreed to do it 8 times!

Last but not least, our London office kicked off their festivities by awarding MVP of the year to Agency Sales Manager, Laura Carveley. Congrats Laura! Next the team had dinner at the iconic bistro Quaglinos, before heading out to the cocktail bar Mahiki, where the party continued on into the early hours.

It might have taken five different parties on three different continents, but we managed to get all of Kontera into the holiday spirit. With our batteries recharged, we look forward to taking on 2012, and delivering brand new wins to our Advertising and Publisher partners.

Happy Holidays everybody!

The following is an article by Kontera’s Executive Vice President of Marketing, Ammiel Kamon that was originally published on the iMedia Connection blog.

The online shopping process isn’t just limited to your computer anymore.

Participating in the recent JD Power Automotive Internet Roundtable in Las Vegas, the biggest trends to emerge involved the potential of mobile and tablet, along with the importance of having a strong social media plan. There’s overwhelming data that speaks not only to the growth, but to the effectiveness of these emerging platforms for automotive marketers.

In the automotive vertical, mobile advertising has risen 239% in the last year and that appears to just be the tip of the iceberg.  Here are some quick facts I came across at the conference:

• Nielsen projects that by Christmas, one in two adults will have a smart phone.
• 50% of all new cars are expected to be purchased by either iPhone or Android owners.
• According to a JD Power study presented at the conference, almost ½ of in-market shoppers use their smart phones at some point during the process of choosing a car.
• 75% of in-market car shoppers engaged with social media on their phone.

With more and more affluent, in-market shoppers utilizing mobile devices during their decision making process, there’s no question that the automotive industry need to follow, a fact just as true regarding tablets.

However, it’s important to approach tablets with a unique strategy from smartphones, as shoppers use them for different purposes. For instance, Cars.com found their mobile site utilized for inventory search and car value lookups, while more new car related activity occurs on tablets. The key difference being with larger screens and better battery time, tablets lend themselves more to in depth research.

When properly optimized, tablets are a powerful way to reach interested consumers. Eric Miltsch of Auction Direct USA, reported how visitors accessing their used car website through a tablet are already converting 25-30% better than visitors from any other platform.

Even more than mobile and tablets, perhaps the hottest topic of conversation at the conference was about social media and how to harness it. Here are some fascinating statistics relating to social media:

• During 2011, 4 out of 5 new vehicle buyers are using the Internet in their buying process; looking at on average 3.7 models online.
• According to an Autoguide.com study, when purchase intent is expressed through social media 45% of the time it’s on forums, 21% on social networks, and 14% of the time on blogs.
• 2.4 million in-market shoppers used Facebook in some way to make a vehicle purchase decision.
• 58% of consumers are likely to mention their new car and/or buying experience via social media.
• 82% of mentions about car purchases on social media are positive.

As evident in these numbers, a tremendous amount of the consideration process occurs online and on social media channels like forums and social networks specifically. According to Robert Brown, the head of online marketing at Nissan, the majority of decisions made on social media platforms concern dealer reputation and vehicle reviews. This occurs on social media, as opposed to company websites because third party advocates carry more authority with prospective buyers.

These third party advocates represent a great untapped resource.  Scott Kelly, who manages the Ford brand online, wisely observed that the Automotive industry abandons the customer right at the height of their emotional excitement –right after the purchase. By extending the period of engagement, the number of positive testimonials will substantially increase, thus influencing the next cycle of in-market shoppers.

Additionally, the sphere of influence is very top heavy; by reaching out specifically to the hyper influencers that are the most active in forums, you can also significantly raise your social media profile.

In all, the general message at the roundtable was the status quo is not enough. The convergence of mobile, tablets, and social media are significantly changing the experience of shopping for a new car. In order to reach a qualified in-market audience, the way Automotive is marketed needs to evolve as well.

I, and the Kontera team were honored to be invited to the event, and pleased to share our viewpoints on the relevance and benefits of tight Editorial Alignment within the mobile, tablet and social domains. We highly recommend next year’s JD Powers Automotive Digital Marketing Roundtable to any marketers, publishers and technology vendors who are interested in the future on-line direction of the automotive media landscape.