Please join us in congratulating Phillip Blevins on his promotion to Office Manager, effective Monday, May 18. After starting with JKR as Billing Coordinator, he has most recently been part of Jeff Johnson’s Client Services team, serving as Account Coordinator.
Phil will oversee human resources and day-to-day operations, and will also be in charge of billing and accounts receivables.
“I am excited to have such an integral role at JKR Advertising, and be part of its continued success,” Phil says. “I’m looking forward to the experience I will get as I learn from our CFO, Dan Albert, because he has a vast knowledge of the industry.”
When the job of Office Manager became available due to JKR’s rapid growth, Phil’s background in finance made him the natural choice for the position. “Because Phil has already worked in the billing department, he already has a grasp of the media and billing sides of our agency,” Dan said. “Now he’ll get to put it all together by adding knowledge on how the financial side works. He’s the perfect hire for this job.”
He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration/Finance. His prior job experience includes a stint at Trustco Bank, where he served as Assistant Branch Manager.
JKR’s success is driven by employees who strive for excellence … ones just like Phil Blevins. Kudos on a job well-done!
JKR Partners (from left): Richard Brauns, Steven Lorenzo, Jeff Johnson and Jon Albert.
JKR Advertising & Marketing is the top Tier III (local/dealer) automotive advertising agency in the United States for Pandora Internet Radio ad placement. We are a big believer in Pandora for two reasons: first, it is the top Internet Radio source; and second, Pandora offers the unique ability to target more specifically than analog radio – including age, location and gender. On Monday, April 27, JKR Partners Jeff Johnson, Richard Brauns, Steven Lorenzo and Jon Albert traveled to New York to meet with Pandora executives and visit their national headquarters.
The JKR Partners were welcomed to The Big Apple by Pandora executives Steven Kritzman, Senior Vice President of Sales; and Andy Lipset, Vice President of Local & National Broadcast. They were accompanied by Pandora’s Regional Sales Manager Josh Mustachi and Senior Sales Executive Mari Rivera.
Mustachi reports that it was a very beneficial visit for both JKR and Pandora. “Pandora values the relationships we’ve created in the marketplace, and to have the opportunity to host one of our largest clients in our offices is another layer to building our partnership with JKR Advertising & Marketing,” he said. “The JKR partners sat with our leaders to discuss the digital radio ecosystem, developments in our new product offerings, and strategic visions on yielding even higher ROI for their dealerships going forward.”
Johnson says it was time well-spent by the JKR partners. “It was very interesting to see things from the Pandora perspective, not only for the present … but also hearing about the new things they’re working on for the future to further enhance the great services they already have in place. We really enjoyed the trip, and they made us feel very welcome.”
Brauns is impressed with Pandora’s ability to provide a targeted intrusive media source. “No matter what happens in the future with conventional radio, Pandora will make sure our clients always have the ability to continue offering intrusive media, with unmatched reach and frequency because of the way it’s presented on the retailer’s terms rather than the customers’ terms,” he explained.
Lorenzo also came away with a greater appreciation of Pandora. “Visiting their New York location was a great experience for the JKR team,” he said. “From its prime location in Midtown, to the state-of-the-art facility, Pandora is poised for greatness with its Google-esque campus feel and mentality. More and more of our clients are depending on Pandora to reach their target audience. It was great meeting the Pandora team and hearing about their vision for things to come.”
Proactive advertising makes all the difference in the world. When you’re running your monthly advertisements – regardless of which media options you choose – you never really know for sure who happens to be in the market for a vehicle at that particular time. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just target the people who need a car and only advertise to them? Uh, no. Definitely not!
I know … trick question. But think about it: most American adults drive cars. And while you can’t say with certainty that they need a car today, you can say that over the course of time, these adults are going to need multiple vehicles. So even if they are not in the market for a car at the particular time your advertisement is run, you certainly want them to hear/see it. By doing so, you are laying the groundwork for a future purchase!
A car dealer should not be so shortsighted that he or she is only worried about today, ignoring proactive advertising. Tomorrow is equally as important, and if you are not dominating your market – saturating it with your dealership’s message – you are opening the doors for the dealer down the street to take tomorrow’s customers from you. If you meekly sit on the sidelines and watch it happen as tomorrow becomes today, your dealership will wind up short on foot traffic and sales – and then, you will be forced to be reactive instead of proactive; never a good place to be.
Results of Proactive Advertising
The people in your market need to hear your store’s message even before they want to hear it. That way, when they have an accident and need a new vehicle … or get that big promotion at work … or need a first car for a teenager … or whatever, they will think of your dealership. Why? Because you made the investment in tomorrow, knowing that soon, tomorrow will be today. That is proactive advertising at its best, and it will pay dividends for you down the road. Believe it.
Call Eric Tigner at (321) 397-0777, and he’ll happily explain how JKR Automotive Advertising makes its clients ready for tomorrows, while setting records for todays at the same time.
With significant growth comes significant new employment opportunities, and we are pleased to announce the hiring of three new Billing Coordinators! On the heels of JKR’s best year ever in 2014 – and our best first quarter ever in 2015 – we’ll be announcing the hiring of quite a few new employees in the coming weeks. So without further delay, let’s introduce you to our three new billing coordinators.
Our Three New Billing Coordinators
Sarah Pendleton
Sarah Pendleton: Prior to joining us at JKR, Sarah was an Accounting Clerk, Webmaster and Marketing Assistant for a retail store, where she worked for nearly three years. She’s enjoying her new environment at JKR, which is quite a change. “Coming from a small retail background, JKR is a very exciting workplace,” she says. “There’s always something new going on, and we’re constantly challenged to keep learning and growing with the company. The billing and accounting departments are the backbone of the company that makes the front end run seamlessly.”
Sarah graduated from UCF in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Technical Communications. She’s also a newlywed, having been married to her husband, Cory, last December. Together, the couple has “a clowder of cats.” (If you don’t know what that means, look it up!)
Christina Bowers
Christina Bowers: Christina’s unique background assists her in numerous ways as she interacts with all the “creative people” here at JKR. After spending her freshman year at USF in Tampa, she graduated from UCF with a major in Communications, Social & Behavioral Science, and a Minor in Nonprofit Management. See … what did we tell you; perfect, right! Prior to working at JKR, she gained experience working as the Director and Social Media Coordinator of a med spa.
“The billing department is very detail-oriented, and it requires great responsibility,” she says of her work. “It really reflects our reliability and reputation as a company.” When she’s not at work, Christina is training to be a yoga teacher. What would people be surprised to learn about her? “Three things,” she says. “I paint murals, I sing in a band, and I’m a cancer survivor!”
Trevor Brown
Trevor Brown: Trevor is a recent graduate of the University of Florida, and this is his first full-time job. However, he gained extensive experience at his college internships – with one being particularly helpful. “I interned at a company called Blezoo Promotional Products,” Trevor said. “I helped with new business development, creative strategies and campaign executions. I walked away from that internship knowing much more about entrepreneurship, start-ups and advertising in general.”
Trevor met his girlfriend, Kelsey, way back in 10th grade when they were still in high school. Since then they’ve gone to Europe on a six-month college study trip. They’ve even conquered the long-distance relationship thing, staying together even while graduating from different universities. Since graduation they’ve both moved back to Orlando, where they share custody of an “extremely hyper English Springer Spaniel” named Oscar.
The monthly automotive co-op dance between auto dealer and corporate entity can be a bit awkward, especially if the dealer personnel are not perfectly in step with corporate, who always “leads” this dance. Just ask any clerical worker at an automotive dealership that handles its own advertising. Even in the best of circumstances, it’s an arduous process – but it’s also a very necessary one, because the auto dealer depends on these dollars for operating capital.
Once a spot has been produced, the automotive co-op process begins. When the procedure is followed properly, the first step is sending it to corporate for pre-approval. Why? Because if it’s rejected by corporate, it’s too late to make any changes after the fact … and a simple error like that could cost a dealer a significant amount of money!
After the pre-approval is obtained and the advertisement runs for the entire month, that’s when the fun really begins (we say that tongue in cheek, of course). This “fun” includes acquiring every invoice from every radio and television station … making sure the dates are correct … ensuring that the dollar figures are correct … getting every script with the proper station stamps … making pdfs of video productions … and then sending all this off in a pretty bow to corporate. If there are discrepancies, it requires phone calls and e-mails to station reps. There will be times when numbers are over budget or significantly short, and you have to find out why this happened.
If you have ever handled automotive co-op before, I am preaching to the choir.
The Automotive Co-Op Solution
The automotive co-op issue is just one more reason why JKR Automotive Advertising is well worth the investment. Our billing specialists handle every facet with accuracy and skill – and while no one is perfect, we’re about as close as you’ll find. You’ll love what JKR can do to ease the burden on you! This way, when corporate is ready to do the next co-op dance, you can tell them you’re sitting this one out – and letting JKR cut in.
Please join us in congratulating Phillip Blevins on his promotion to Office Manager, effective Monday, May 18. After starting with JKR as Billing Coordinator, he has most recently been part of Jeff Johnson’s Client Services team, serving as Account Coordinator.
