By Ed Pierce, Principal, ITA Fleet Communications

As a provider of fleet services and products, you are well aware of the competitive nature of this marketplace. Making inroads is a laborious, time-consuming and expensive proposition! A big part of that expense is marketing, for good reason.

Fleet managers already have a tough job choosing between all of the options available to them. Every day, they are inundated with marketing messages, delivered through fleet press, corporate communiques, social media, blogs, sales reps, and more.

Standing out, being recognized, and more importantly, becoming known for the qualities your brand represents are challenging, even with a large budget. Add in the dollars associated with a sales team that expects market pre-conditioning and continuous brand reinforcement, and it becomes clear that the impact of marketing is greater than many businesses believe.

READ MORE to learn about Einstein’s argument for integrated marketing.

Last week we were fortunate enough to attend the Telogis Latitude event�at the absolutely gorgeous St. Regis Monarch Bay in Dana Point, CA, just south of Laguna Beach.

Given the explosion and evolution of telematics all around us, the event was eye-opening and insightful. Telogis, a key player in the telematics space, is moving quickly and growing rapidly - their technology being adopted by a host of OEMs, including Ford, GM, Volvo, Mack Trucks, Isuzu, and more - with even more possibilities for richer, deeper data points when their technology is built into vehicles from the beginning.

READ MORE

Dan Frank, grandson of Wheels' founder Zollie Frank, and son of Wheels' CEO Jim Frank, is just the third president of the company that this year is celebrating its 75th anniversary. In 1939, Wheels became the first automobile leasing and management company in the United States.

When we spoke with Dan at the recent AFLA Conference, we asked him to give us his thoughts on the state of the fleet industry and he said this about growth opportunities, ” I think as the economy continues to evolve we will see different areas continue to get stronger, other areas will get more efficient, and maybe they will need fewer people and those will shrink. We have traditionally seen that, but I think in the big picture, as vehicles get safer, more fuel efficient, more cost effective, companies are going to want to deploy more of them.”

READ MORE

The Atlanta metropolitan area has become�the fastest growing market for electric cars�in the United States. Last March, the state of Georgia had a grand total of 1,469 registered electric vehicles. 12 months later that number grew to 10,482, a whopping 614 percent increase.

So why are electric cars becoming so popular in Georgia? Several factors are contributing to the boom, with the state's $5,000 tax credit the most obvious. Atlanta is spread out over a massive area and the vast majority of people commute to work alone by car. Unsurprisingly, that results in widespread gridlock.

READ MORE

Drivers continue to report problems with infotainment systems in new cars and trucks, according to Consumer Reports’ Auto Reliability Survey.

Of all the areas in its annual survey, the category including in-car electronics generated more complaints from owners of 2014 models than any other category.

“It’s this plague that is, like, infecting across the industry,” Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports, told reporters during an Automotive Press Association meeting Monday in Detroit.

READ MORE

With full-size pickup trucks, buyers typically fixate on horsepower, torque, towing capacity or some other burly statistic. It's not normal to be intensely focused on fuel economy the way people are with the 2015 Ford F-150.

But given all the hype around the F-150's�aluminum body�-- which made the 2015 model an amazing 700 pounds lighter than the one it is replacing --�everyone seems to be waiting, almost breathlessly, for a magical miles-per-gallon rating.

READ MORE

Vincentric, the automotive industry leader in cost-of-ownership data, released its most recent Hybrid Analysis�in which 10 of 31 hybrid vehicles analyzed were identified as having a lower total cost-of-ownership than their closest all-gasoline counterpart. Over the past three years the percentage of cost-effective hybrids has dropped from 44% in the 2012 analysis, to 39% in 2013, to now just over 32%.

Among the 10 hybrids with lower ownership costs were the Lexus CT200h and the Toyota Avalon Hybrid, which when compared to their all-gasoline counterparts had savings of over $7,600 and $3,200 respectively. Additional hybrids from Acura, Audi, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Lincoln, and Toyota also showed cost advantages. However, when the costs to own and operate all 31 hybrid vehicles were taken into account, the average five-year cost-of-ownership for hybrids was $1,339 more than their all-gasoline powered counterparts.

READ MORE

When you're driving in terrible weather, your odds of making it home could depend on how well you're prepared.

� Grabber Space Blanket
It’s useful�in the event of heat loss, and you can also stick it under your tires to gain traction when you’re spinning your wheels in a snowbank.

� Gerber E-Tool With Pick
A regular shovel is too large to carry around all the time, so get a foldable one that can chop through the nastiest of frozen snow and muck. The�E-Tool�also has a sharp pick in the event that tree roots, rocks, or zombie snow wolves are what stand between you and the open road.

READ MORE

If you are going to invest in a telematics solution to track your trucks, it is crucial to install GPS tracking devices properly to get accurate fleet data. It may seem like it will reduce upfront costs and save time to have one of your guys do the install in-house, but what you may not realize is that self-installations are not free in most cases, can end up taking more time, and may be done incorrectly causing a huge headache down the road. Proper installation of GPS tracking devices is critical to the software working the way it is supposed to, so make sure that you get them set up the right way the first time to ensure that you see the full benefits of fleet tracking sooner.

READ MORE

Whether traveling on rural roads or inner-city streets, you're likely to see a lot more bicyclists pedaling their way alongside four-wheeled traffic. Bikes have become hip again, it seems, especially with Generations X and Y.

Unfortunately, new research reveals that with the increase in bicycle usage, there's a concurrent increase in crashes, the annual cycle death rate rising from 621 to 722 between 2010 to 2012, reports the Governors Highway Safety Association, or GHSA.

That's an alarming 16% jump even as overall highway deaths - including automobiles, motorcycles, pedestrians and bicycles - has been declining.

READ MORE