SEMA News—June 2013

Q&A With Doug Evans

SEMA News: Why are you running for the chair-elect position on the SEMA Board of Directors?

Doug Evans: I am honored to be running! I feel we are at a critical juncture with our industry, and my three decades of experience can help ensure a bright future for SEMA and future generations of enthusiasts. I have been involved directly with SEMA for close to 20 years, serving on committees, the Board and as chairman of our PAC and the SEMA Show committee. I feel this experience makes me the clear choice to lead us through the transformation to the digital age while also honoring our past. I am no stranger to running a large, multifaceted operation, and that skill set translates perfectly to leading the SEMA team and board on a day-to-day basis.

SN: For small businesses, the past five years have been focused on coping with the recession. Now that the economy is slowly beginning to improve, what do you think is the biggest challenge facing small businesses? What should the association be doing to help?

DE: I think the single largest issue facing the industry is the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. At a time when businesses are cautiously considering buying new equipment and adding employees, they are faced with determining how to best deal with the rollout of the new healthcare laws and what the cost will be.

SEMA is one of the largest collections of small businesses in the world, and no group will have greater difficulty navigating these new laws and feeling their impact than small businesses. SEMA needs to provide easy-to-understand information and resources to members in order to help them make the best decisions possible with the new laws. SEMA also needs to revive our efforts from several years ago that allowed associations to come together across state lines to buy insurance in a pool. As chairman of the SEMA PAC, I led the charge with the help of SEMA’s terrific staff in Washington, D.C., and we came very close to getting this bill to pass the Senate. Now is the time to bring it up again and get it passed. This would potentially collectively save members millions of dollars on insurance. We were so close! This time we simply must win the fight!

SN: Recruiting young people to work in the specialty-equipment industry continues to be an important initiative at SEMA. As chairman, what do you hope to accomplish on this issue beyond supporting SEMA’s existing programs?

DE: I think this is one of the most significant and difficult issues our industry faces. Aging demographics of enthusiasts buying our products and working in the industry must be addressed immediately! I have a program that I have been working on called SEMA’s Shop Class in a Box.

The concept is to acquire federal grant money to put auto-shop classes back in high schools with additional backing, with both money and time, from volunteers within the industry. SEMA can help create a pathway for future leaders in our industry by starting this program and guiding our children to careers in the industry early on. It is a fact that there are far too many people going to college that have little hope of getting a job that justifies the expense of the college. It is also a fact that we are experiencing a shortage of skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen. Why not guide young enthusiasts to an industry that is not only fun and enjoyable but also where they can make great money? This enthusiasm also creates buyers for our products in perpetuity.

SN: The SEMA Data Co-op is beginning to gain critical mass in terms of industry participation, with nearly 200 suppliers and 142 receivers participating. Yet there remains an opportunity to build further infrastructure to accommodate the needs of different segments as well as new tools to make the process easier. Where do you see the SEMA Data Co-op in five years, and what kind of priority would you assign to move the project closer to achieving its goal of opening sales to new customers?

DE: I have had the pleasure of being involved in discussions about the Data Co-op since the early stages, while serving on the Board of Directors. Since my term ended, it has been extremely gratifying to see all the years of hard work put into this project finally coming to fruition. I would definitely assign a very high priority to seeing this project through and ensuring it is given room to adapt and thrive.

I see the Data Co-op as an ever-changing project and process. It is vital that the industry has a common repository of data and make sure we all speak the same data language. Without it, companies spend thousands of wasted hours and dollars re-creating data sets over and over again. It also makes it more difficult for consumers to find what they are looking to buy. Five years from now, I expect that the industry will wonder how it ever got along without the Data Co-op. But it is constantly changing and evolving, similar to our own efforts at Source Interlink in the digital world, so the Data Co-op is likely to be very different in five years than what we see today. The Data Co-op needs to be looking into the future and changing to meet where we are headed, not where we have been. I have no doubt the staff leadership will do just that, and as chairman, I will ensure it.

SN: Designing parts that synchronize and complement the latest breakthroughs in automotive technology requires a substantial research-and-development investment. During your tenure as chairman, what advancements would you like to see in the benefits and services SEMA offers to member companies in the manufacturing sector to enable them to cope with changes now on the horizon?

DE: SEMA has done a terrific job with our Tech Transfer program, with Ford, GM, Chrysler and other OEMs participating in sharing computer-aided design drawings and measurements in advance of new platform launches. This allows companies immediate access to this data without having to wait for the actual vehicle and reverse engineer it.

In addition to this, SEMA has state-of-the-art prototyping capabilities in Diamond Bar, complete with a 3D printer. This is open to all SEMA manufacturers and can save millions of dollars for companies that choose to use it. In addition, the new tech center that is being built—complete with a photo cove—is very exciting. The tech center will allow companies to utilize smog sensors, dynos and everything in between to prepare for actual certification from the ARB. This is a huge win for SEMA manufacturers. As chairman, I would build on both of these tools and consider building additional facilities in the Midwest and East Coast if the demand is there.

SN: In both the Middle East and China, SEMA now hosts successful events designed to introduce our members to these markets with meetings between manufacturers and buyers, and more of these kinds of events are in the planning stages. How should we decide about which new markets to prioritize as SEMA-member companies increase their ability to sell globally?

DE: Timing on this issue is critical because this is an enormous untapped marketplace for SEMA companies as more and more OEMs create global platforms. Utilizing SEMA’s robust research capabilities, I would survey member companies, including media companies, to determine where parts are being sold and how enthusiasts from emerging markets are getting information on our products. SEMA can then begin to create benchmarks of critical mass to determine where to put our resources to capture these new enthusiasts and get them access to products from SEMA companies.

SEMA News—June 2013

HERITAGE
By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archive

Long-Haul Roadsters

The Hot Rod Power Tour is nearing its 20th birthday (this year’s running in June swings from Texas to North Carolina), but the roots of long-distance hot-rod hauling go back much further than that.

The October 1963 issue of Car Craft covered an annual road trip made by members of the Los Angeles and Bay Area Roadster Clubs.

The story, “Cruisin’ for a Reason,” described how members would start from their respective ends of California and convene at a hotel in Fresno, roughly halfway between each club’s home base.

“More than a dozen cars in each group made the tour, drawing glances of admiration and respect from thousands of motorists along the freeways and super-highways,” wrote Lynn Wineland, one of three Petersen staffers who went on the tour.

The photos here, shot by Petersen lensman Eric Rickman, show members of the Bay Area club “ensconced in their rooms and flaked out about the cool pool” at the MoteLodge in Fresno as they awaited their compadres from the south. Among those arriving from the Southland were “newlyweds Doyle and Jane Gammil, who treat their Glass Tee with lovin’ care,” wrote Wineland. “Doyle works for Ed Roth, and his dad Roy is a long-time Moon mechanic.”

Echoing the sentiments of today’s Power Tour organizers, Wineland admitted, “It’s tough to keep a large group together on the highway or streets without getting in people’s way.” Yet the rodders were praised by local police and Highway Patrol officers “on their manners and courtesy in driving,” he wrote.

SEMA News—June 2013

HERITAGE
By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archive

Long-Haul Roadsters

The Hot Rod Power Tour is nearing its 20th birthday (this year’s running in June swings from Texas to North Carolina), but the roots of long-distance hot-rod hauling go back much further than that.

The October 1963 issue of Car Craft covered an annual road trip made by members of the Los Angeles and Bay Area Roadster Clubs.

The story, “Cruisin’ for a Reason,” described how members would start from their respective ends of California and convene at a hotel in Fresno, roughly halfway between each club’s home base.

“More than a dozen cars in each group made the tour, drawing glances of admiration and respect from thousands of motorists along the freeways and super-highways,” wrote Lynn Wineland, one of three Petersen staffers who went on the tour.

The photos here, shot by Petersen lensman Eric Rickman, show members of the Bay Area club “ensconced in their rooms and flaked out about the cool pool” at the MoteLodge in Fresno as they awaited their compadres from the south. Among those arriving from the Southland were “newlyweds Doyle and Jane Gammil, who treat their Glass Tee with lovin’ care,” wrote Wineland. “Doyle works for Ed Roth, and his dad Roy is a long-time Moon mechanic.”

Echoing the sentiments of today’s Power Tour organizers, Wineland admitted, “It’s tough to keep a large group together on the highway or streets without getting in people’s way.” Yet the rodders were praised by local police and Highway Patrol officers “on their manners and courtesy in driving,” he wrote.

SEMA News—June 2013

HERITAGE
By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archive

Long-Haul Roadsters

The Hot Rod Power Tour is nearing its 20th birthday (this year’s running in June swings from Texas to North Carolina), but the roots of long-distance hot-rod hauling go back much further than that.

The October 1963 issue of Car Craft covered an annual road trip made by members of the Los Angeles and Bay Area Roadster Clubs.

The story, “Cruisin’ for a Reason,” described how members would start from their respective ends of California and convene at a hotel in Fresno, roughly halfway between each club’s home base.

“More than a dozen cars in each group made the tour, drawing glances of admiration and respect from thousands of motorists along the freeways and super-highways,” wrote Lynn Wineland, one of three Petersen staffers who went on the tour.

The photos here, shot by Petersen lensman Eric Rickman, show members of the Bay Area club “ensconced in their rooms and flaked out about the cool pool” at the MoteLodge in Fresno as they awaited their compadres from the south. Among those arriving from the Southland were “newlyweds Doyle and Jane Gammil, who treat their Glass Tee with lovin’ care,” wrote Wineland. “Doyle works for Ed Roth, and his dad Roy is a long-time Moon mechanic.”

Echoing the sentiments of today’s Power Tour organizers, Wineland admitted, “It’s tough to keep a large group together on the highway or streets without getting in people’s way.” Yet the rodders were praised by local police and Highway Patrol officers “on their manners and courtesy in driving,” he wrote.

SEMA News—June 2013

HERITAGE
By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archive

Long-Haul Roadsters

The Hot Rod Power Tour is nearing its 20th birthday (this year’s running in June swings from Texas to North Carolina), but the roots of long-distance hot-rod hauling go back much further than that.

The October 1963 issue of Car Craft covered an annual road trip made by members of the Los Angeles and Bay Area Roadster Clubs.

The story, “Cruisin’ for a Reason,” described how members would start from their respective ends of California and convene at a hotel in Fresno, roughly halfway between each club’s home base.

“More than a dozen cars in each group made the tour, drawing glances of admiration and respect from thousands of motorists along the freeways and super-highways,” wrote Lynn Wineland, one of three Petersen staffers who went on the tour.

The photos here, shot by Petersen lensman Eric Rickman, show members of the Bay Area club “ensconced in their rooms and flaked out about the cool pool” at the MoteLodge in Fresno as they awaited their compadres from the south. Among those arriving from the Southland were “newlyweds Doyle and Jane Gammil, who treat their Glass Tee with lovin’ care,” wrote Wineland. “Doyle works for Ed Roth, and his dad Roy is a long-time Moon mechanic.”

Echoing the sentiments of today’s Power Tour organizers, Wineland admitted, “It’s tough to keep a large group together on the highway or streets without getting in people’s way.” Yet the rodders were praised by local police and Highway Patrol officers “on their manners and courtesy in driving,” he wrote.

SEMA News—June 2013

HERITAGE
By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archive

Long-Haul Roadsters

The Hot Rod Power Tour is nearing its 20th birthday (this year’s running in June swings from Texas to North Carolina), but the roots of long-distance hot-rod hauling go back much further than that.

The October 1963 issue of Car Craft covered an annual road trip made by members of the Los Angeles and Bay Area Roadster Clubs.

The story, “Cruisin’ for a Reason,” described how members would start from their respective ends of California and convene at a hotel in Fresno, roughly halfway between each club’s home base.

“More than a dozen cars in each group made the tour, drawing glances of admiration and respect from thousands of motorists along the freeways and super-highways,” wrote Lynn Wineland, one of three Petersen staffers who went on the tour.

The photos here, shot by Petersen lensman Eric Rickman, show members of the Bay Area club “ensconced in their rooms and flaked out about the cool pool” at the MoteLodge in Fresno as they awaited their compadres from the south. Among those arriving from the Southland were “newlyweds Doyle and Jane Gammil, who treat their Glass Tee with lovin’ care,” wrote Wineland. “Doyle works for Ed Roth, and his dad Roy is a long-time Moon mechanic.”

Echoing the sentiments of today’s Power Tour organizers, Wineland admitted, “It’s tough to keep a large group together on the highway or streets without getting in people’s way.” Yet the rodders were praised by local police and Highway Patrol officers “on their manners and courtesy in driving,” he wrote.

SEMA News—June 2013

HERITAGE
By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archive

Long-Haul Roadsters

The Hot Rod Power Tour is nearing its 20th birthday (this year’s running in June swings from Texas to North Carolina), but the roots of long-distance hot-rod hauling go back much further than that.

The October 1963 issue of Car Craft covered an annual road trip made by members of the Los Angeles and Bay Area Roadster Clubs.

The story, “Cruisin’ for a Reason,” described how members would start from their respective ends of California and convene at a hotel in Fresno, roughly halfway between each club’s home base.

“More than a dozen cars in each group made the tour, drawing glances of admiration and respect from thousands of motorists along the freeways and super-highways,” wrote Lynn Wineland, one of three Petersen staffers who went on the tour.

The photos here, shot by Petersen lensman Eric Rickman, show members of the Bay Area club “ensconced in their rooms and flaked out about the cool pool” at the MoteLodge in Fresno as they awaited their compadres from the south. Among those arriving from the Southland were “newlyweds Doyle and Jane Gammil, who treat their Glass Tee with lovin’ care,” wrote Wineland. “Doyle works for Ed Roth, and his dad Roy is a long-time Moon mechanic.”

Echoing the sentiments of today’s Power Tour organizers, Wineland admitted, “It’s tough to keep a large group together on the highway or streets without getting in people’s way.” Yet the rodders were praised by local police and Highway Patrol officers “on their manners and courtesy in driving,” he wrote.

SEMA News—June 2013

HERITAGE
By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archive

Long-Haul Roadsters

The Hot Rod Power Tour is nearing its 20th birthday (this year’s running in June swings from Texas to North Carolina), but the roots of long-distance hot-rod hauling go back much further than that.

The October 1963 issue of Car Craft covered an annual road trip made by members of the Los Angeles and Bay Area Roadster Clubs.

The story, “Cruisin’ for a Reason,” described how members would start from their respective ends of California and convene at a hotel in Fresno, roughly halfway between each club’s home base.

“More than a dozen cars in each group made the tour, drawing glances of admiration and respect from thousands of motorists along the freeways and super-highways,” wrote Lynn Wineland, one of three Petersen staffers who went on the tour.

The photos here, shot by Petersen lensman Eric Rickman, show members of the Bay Area club “ensconced in their rooms and flaked out about the cool pool” at the MoteLodge in Fresno as they awaited their compadres from the south. Among those arriving from the Southland were “newlyweds Doyle and Jane Gammil, who treat their Glass Tee with lovin’ care,” wrote Wineland. “Doyle works for Ed Roth, and his dad Roy is a long-time Moon mechanic.”

Echoing the sentiments of today’s Power Tour organizers, Wineland admitted, “It’s tough to keep a large group together on the highway or streets without getting in people’s way.” Yet the rodders were praised by local police and Highway Patrol officers “on their manners and courtesy in driving,” he wrote.

SEMA News—June 2013

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

Old Is New

Feature Articles Now the Top Digital Marketing Tool

“Before, content wasn’t the big push,” said Tyson Stevens, a search-engine optimization manager at PMA Media Group and contributor to the 2013 State of Content study released by CopyPress. “The goal was to put out mediocre content as quickly as possible, targeting as many keywords as possible and pushing links to that content to increase search-engine rankings.”

But content marketing is no longer about the quick, cheap hit, Stevens said. It must be quality.

Evidence of the trend popped up most dramatically in a study entitled “Quarterly Intelligence Briefing: Digital Trends for 2013,” released by Econsultancy and Adobe. The research found that 39% of marketers surveyed now say that content—including articles, video and white papers—is their top tool for digital marketing.

Similar research in “The Spending Study: A Look at How Corporate America Invests in Branded Content for 2012,” released by the Custom Content Council, found that nearly 75% of the 177 respondents are creating content for print and then re-purposing that content on their company websites and throughout social media. The study also found that 79% of marketers surveyed said they are refocusing their marketing efforts on branding with content at a moderate or aggressive pace.

“The stability of brand content spending in the face of overall marketing budget decline proves the staying power and efficacy of content marketing,” said Lori Rosen, executive director of the Custom Content Council. This notable growth outcome is motivating brands to outsource content creation at record levels, she said.

“From an agency perspective, a lot of service providers have begun offering content marketing services where none existed before,” said Dan Tynski, a vice president at Fractl, a content marketing firm and another contributor to the CopyPress study. “There has been a huge shift away from any/all strategies that smell even remotely of black hat. Efforts are being made across the board to stay above board.”

Of course, companies looking to take advantage of the new emphasis on quality feature articles in digital marketing still need to drop critical keywords into that copy. And they still need to study how those feature articles are performing with web analytics and make adjustments accordingly, according to web marketing experts.

Those marketers will also want to find as many ways as possible to re-purpose that content across all the communities where they have a presence. A feature article written for a company website, for example, can easily be re-purposed as a press release and massaged again to surface as a post on company Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other accounts.

“Producing and sharing engaging content with targeted communities and influencers is becoming the safest way to increase rankings in Google while promoting your company or branding online,” Stevens said.

The clear takeaway: The days of throwing a bag of keywords up on a website and seeing what sticks are over.

“I often talk about the convergence of search, social and content marketing, and that’s what it is all about,” said Arnie Kuenn, president of the marketing firm Vertical Measures and a contributor to the CopyPress study. “Nothing works well in a silo. A good content marketing plan includes many aspects, starting with a strategy and incorporating research, development, optimization, promotion and measurement.”

It’s also a good idea to follow or at least consider Google’s own tips for creating the kind of content that is most highly rewarded by the search engine. Key advice found in Google’s “Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide” includes the following:

Create Content People Will Recommend: Users know good content when they see it and will likely direct others to it. These links can come from blog posts, social media, e-mail, forums and the like. Google generously rewards authentic links to your content from these types of third-party sources.

Post Only Fresh Content: Marketers who post rehashed content or simply copy content from other websites to their own are penalized by Google. Ditto for marketers who post duplicate content on many pages of the same website.

Avoid Posting Seas of Text: A holdover from the early days of keyword stuffing, seas of text—large swaths of words that feature no paragraphs, sub headings or layout separations—are penalized by Google.

Forget Keyword Stuffing: Dropping reams of keywords into text and rendering it difficult or impossible to read is severely punished by Google. Ditto for dropping in blocks of text, such as “frequent misspellings used to reach this page.” The search engine also penalizes marketers that post invisible text that can only be seen by search engines.

Use Descriptive Anchor Text: Google rewards anchor text—the text you use to link to other pages on your website and other sites—that is descriptive and easy to understand. Avoid using generic terms, such as “page,” “article” or “click here.”

For more information on content marketing, check out: Content Marketing Institute, WebInkNow, SEOmoz Blog, Vertical Measures Blog. and CopyPressed.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.

For more information:
646-233-4089
joe@joedysart.com
visit www.joedysart.com

SEMA News—June 2013

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

Old Is New

Feature Articles Now the Top Digital Marketing Tool

“Before, content wasn’t the big push,” said Tyson Stevens, a search-engine optimization manager at PMA Media Group and contributor to the 2013 State of Content study released by CopyPress. “The goal was to put out mediocre content as quickly as possible, targeting as many keywords as possible and pushing links to that content to increase search-engine rankings.”

But content marketing is no longer about the quick, cheap hit, Stevens said. It must be quality.

Evidence of the trend popped up most dramatically in a study entitled “Quarterly Intelligence Briefing: Digital Trends for 2013,” released by Econsultancy and Adobe. The research found that 39% of marketers surveyed now say that content—including articles, video and white papers—is their top tool for digital marketing.

Similar research in “The Spending Study: A Look at How Corporate America Invests in Branded Content for 2012,” released by the Custom Content Council, found that nearly 75% of the 177 respondents are creating content for print and then re-purposing that content on their company websites and throughout social media. The study also found that 79% of marketers surveyed said they are refocusing their marketing efforts on branding with content at a moderate or aggressive pace.

“The stability of brand content spending in the face of overall marketing budget decline proves the staying power and efficacy of content marketing,” said Lori Rosen, executive director of the Custom Content Council. This notable growth outcome is motivating brands to outsource content creation at record levels, she said.

“From an agency perspective, a lot of service providers have begun offering content marketing services where none existed before,” said Dan Tynski, a vice president at Fractl, a content marketing firm and another contributor to the CopyPress study. “There has been a huge shift away from any/all strategies that smell even remotely of black hat. Efforts are being made across the board to stay above board.”

Of course, companies looking to take advantage of the new emphasis on quality feature articles in digital marketing still need to drop critical keywords into that copy. And they still need to study how those feature articles are performing with web analytics and make adjustments accordingly, according to web marketing experts.

Those marketers will also want to find as many ways as possible to re-purpose that content across all the communities where they have a presence. A feature article written for a company website, for example, can easily be re-purposed as a press release and massaged again to surface as a post on company Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other accounts.

“Producing and sharing engaging content with targeted communities and influencers is becoming the safest way to increase rankings in Google while promoting your company or branding online,” Stevens said.

The clear takeaway: The days of throwing a bag of keywords up on a website and seeing what sticks are over.

“I often talk about the convergence of search, social and content marketing, and that’s what it is all about,” said Arnie Kuenn, president of the marketing firm Vertical Measures and a contributor to the CopyPress study. “Nothing works well in a silo. A good content marketing plan includes many aspects, starting with a strategy and incorporating research, development, optimization, promotion and measurement.”

It’s also a good idea to follow or at least consider Google’s own tips for creating the kind of content that is most highly rewarded by the search engine. Key advice found in Google’s “Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide” includes the following:

Create Content People Will Recommend: Users know good content when they see it and will likely direct others to it. These links can come from blog posts, social media, e-mail, forums and the like. Google generously rewards authentic links to your content from these types of third-party sources.

Post Only Fresh Content: Marketers who post rehashed content or simply copy content from other websites to their own are penalized by Google. Ditto for marketers who post duplicate content on many pages of the same website.

Avoid Posting Seas of Text: A holdover from the early days of keyword stuffing, seas of text—large swaths of words that feature no paragraphs, sub headings or layout separations—are penalized by Google.

Forget Keyword Stuffing: Dropping reams of keywords into text and rendering it difficult or impossible to read is severely punished by Google. Ditto for dropping in blocks of text, such as “frequent misspellings used to reach this page.” The search engine also penalizes marketers that post invisible text that can only be seen by search engines.

Use Descriptive Anchor Text: Google rewards anchor text—the text you use to link to other pages on your website and other sites—that is descriptive and easy to understand. Avoid using generic terms, such as “page,” “article” or “click here.”

For more information on content marketing, check out: Content Marketing Institute, WebInkNow, SEOmoz Blog, Vertical Measures Blog. and CopyPressed.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.

For more information:
646-233-4089
joe@joedysart.com
visit www.joedysart.com