Pub. 12 2013-2014 Issue 4

N e w J e r s e y C o a l i t i o n O f A u t o m o t i v e R e t a i l e r s W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 4 new jersey auto retailer The New Jersey Auto Retailers Unite campaign presents each and every single dealership operating inNew Jersey with an incredible opportunity to show their support for The Valerie Fund, aworthwhile organization that helps thousands of New Jersey children (and their families) who bravely fight cancer and blood disorders. This campaign can also serve as ameaningful reminder toNewJersey consumers and public officials of the many charitable contributions dealersmake in virtually every city and town throughout the state.We sponsor sports teams, food drives and toy collections; and each of us has a personal connectionwithour own charities that we support each year. The New Jersey Auto Retailers Unite campaign isn’t looking to take away from those other charitable efforts. This campaign is de- signed to showwhat the industry canaccomplishwhen it unites behind a common cause. Not only can we make a huge difference for The Valerie Fund, we can score a tremendous public relations victory at a timewhen auto retailing seems to be facing attacks fromall directions. The success of this campaign rests on getting as many dealers as possible to participate. One-hundred percent participation won’t be easy, but the headlines andmedia coverage it would generate over the course of the campaign (June through September) would be like no public relations efforts we’ve ever attempted. Participating NJ CAR member locations commit to an up-front sponsorship of $1,800 and a $5 contribution for every new and used vehicle sold between June 1, 2014 and September 30, 2014. If all 515 dealership locations sign up to participate, we would raise $927,000 before the first $5 per car contribution is even counted. If 300 dealership locations sign up to participate, we would raise $540,000 and if each of them sell 125 new and used vehicles each month, that would raise another $750,000 (or $187,500 per month), resulting in a total raised of nearly $1.3 million. That’s a lot of big numbers, but it boils down to only $4,300 per dealership location over a four month period—just a little more than $1,000 per month! Participating dealership locations will get incredible value for that $4,300 contribution. The NewJerseyAutoRetailersUnite campaign will be supported by a vast marketing effort including press releases, billboards, television and radio PSAs, email marketing, social media and a campaign website that will recognize all participating dealer- ships. The campaign has already received press coverage and Comcast, Verizon andCBS Television have all agreed to run a 30-second Public Service Announcement we recorded withNew Jersey legend Frankie Valli. In addition, NJ.com and Advance Publications (parent of The Star Ledger, South Jersey Times, Trenton Times and 8 other publications), have also committed to providing the campaign with more than $100,000 in multi-media promotion. All told, participating dealers will be supported bymore than $750,000 in hardmedia promotion. If you have any questions, please contact Bunny Flanders of The ValerieFund at 973.761.0422 (bflanders@thevaleriefund.org) or Brian Hughes, NJCARDirector of Communications, at 609.883.5056, Ext. 315 (bhughes@njcar.org) . They both can provide details regarding the responsibilities of participating dealership locations and the benefits ALL participants will enjoy. Please get any questions you may have answered so you can make an informed decision about supporting the New Jersey Auto Retailers Unite campaign. I hope to see 300, 400 or even all 515 New Jersey dealerships supporting the children served by The Valerie Fund. Let’s showNewJersey just howpowerful our industry canbewhenwe unite behind a worthwhile cause. Chairman’s MESSAGE | BY ERIC NIELSEN New Jersey Auto Retailers UNITE!