Vantaggi
As an Advertising Consultant, working from home and autonomy are a plus. Benefits are above most. Resources and expenses are generous. Company is flush with earnings thus far. Recent strategic acquisitions position for continued dominance. Offline transactions eventual transition to online vehicle purchasing is likely to be accomplished based on Cox Automotive's master plan.
Svantaggi
The transition for Advertising Consultants has been chaotic. Those with smaller or less digitally savvy dealers are subject to cancellation of advertising. As dealership consolidation continues, and competition from CarGurus, Craigslist and others heats up, little has been done to make Autotrader and KBB more relevant. Money was poured into a marketing campaign that may have reached southerners, but most don't identify with the Dukes of Hazzard, especially Millenials. Emphasis for growth has been put on products with limited potential, KBB does not sell cars, period. Its brand will diminish once consumers realize it is being used for Trade In leverage for dealers, not consumers. Dealers are resistant to total transparency in many cases. Those that don't want to be the cheapest don't get the results they pay for. Dealers are finding it increasingly difficult to source sales to Autotrader. The company is not making growth projections because of lost business. Advertising Consultants with smaller dealers or in smaller markets are asked to do more than the results would provide. Why have so many in top management left the company? Why did Cox spend $4 billion to acquire another competitor? This is not a sinking ship, but many good people are lost in its wake.