2017 Azbee Awards of Excellence
Category
Print > Case History > Heartland
Awarded to
Jamie LaReau, Staff Reporter
Entry details
Attempted murder? How store struck back
Issue date (if applicable): 5/2/2016
Publication name: Automotive News
Publishing company: Crain Communications Inc.
Website home page: autonews.com
Please describe the publication's mission and readership:
Automotive News serves automakers, suppliers and dealers. Our 57,000 paid subscribers are split roughly into thirds: dealers; automakers and suppliers; and others. Our mission is to be the primary source of industry news, data and insight for the industry’s decision makers. We provide our audience the information they need, in a timely manner and in the format that they desire. Automotive News (in weekly tabloid print, digital and e-newsletter formats), autonews.com, related magazines, our daily webcasts -- First Shift in the a.m. and AutoNews Now in the p.m. -- and our specialized e-newsletters are part of Crain Communications. Our website has 340,000 registered users and averages 2.2 million visits a month, with 1.3 million unique visitors. The vast majority of our articles are staff written. Our coverage includes regular monthly pages/departments: Production Line, Connected Car, Marketing, Finance & Insurance, Fixed Operations, and Remarketing. The first is devoted to supplier/technology news; the last three to key dealership profit centers. Industry executives pay up to $1,500 to attend our annual events, proof that they see value in those events. These include (with 2017 attendance): Automotive News World Congress (1,100+), L.A. and N.Y. marketing seminars (800+; 500+); Best Dealerships To Work For seminars and dinner (400), and PACE awards for supplier innovation (450).
Please describe the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:
While not structured as a traditional case study, this article explains in detail, step by step, how a dealership responded to an all-too-common modern crisis: fake news that threatened the business’ online reputation.
Staff Reporter Jamie LaReau had covered several cases of the FTC cracking down on dealerships for false or misleading advertising, when she got a tip that a customer had committed what she considered “false advertising” about a dealership. Intrigued, she called the dealer and said she wanted to do this story as a teachable moment for other dealers who might find themselves facing a similar nightmare. With that purpose in mind, he was eager to talk. She received considerable positive feedback after the story ran, with several dealers expressing a “there but for the grace of God…” reaction. Several also said they were glad to know there was a precedent for suing a consumer in such a situation.
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Attempted murder? How store struck back
Category
Print > Case History > Heartland
Description
Publication name:
Automotive News
Company:
Crain Communications Inc.
Winner Status
- Regional Gold Award
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