ATLANTA, Aug. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoTrader.com® will kick off its fourth annual Interactive Advertising Summit series on Aug. 6 in Los Angeles, Calif, with events scheduled for Detroit, Mich and New York, N.Y. in September. Themed "Do You Know Today's Customer? Understanding the Consumer Decision Journey," this year's summit series will provide attendees with deep insights on how consumers approach the car shopping and buying process. Understanding the consumer journey is critical for marketers, as it can help them more effectively reach and influence shoppers.

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"As an industry, we can all be more effective in our efforts to market brands, and we believe that peeling back the layers of the complex automotive consumer decision journey and extracting insights from data will help our OEM marketing partners do just that," said Matt McKenna, senior vice president of national accounts at AutoTrader.com. "Marketing strategies and tactics that result from a deeper understanding of consumer behavior will enable brands to more effectively, and ultimately more efficiently, reach and influence shoppers throughout their decision journeys."

Specifically designed for OEM marketers, OEM advertising agency representatives, and OEM media planning and buying agencies, these one-day events offer a forum for AutoTrader.com partners and customers to gather, network and gain valuable insights from industry thought leaders.

While the agenda for each event is tailored to the needs of the local market, the overarching theme will be focused on the marketing implications of how consumers approach and progress through the car shopping and buying process. Sunil Gupta, Edward W. Carter Professor of Business Administration and Head of Marketing Department at Harvard Business School, will deliver the keynote presentation at each event.

The first summit will be held at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes just outside of Los Angeles on Aug. 6. The Detroit summit will be held at Tiger Club at Comerica Park on Sept. 12, and the New York event will take place at the New York Marriott Marquis on Sept. 18.

For more information and to register, AutoTrader.com partners and customers should reach out to their local representative.

About AutoTrader.com
Created in 1997, Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com is the Internet's ultimate automotive marketplace. As a leading resource for car shoppers and sellers, AutoTrader.com aggregates millions of new, used and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of dealers and private sellers and provides expert articles and reviews. AutoTrader.com, which also operates the AutoTraderClassics.com® auto marketing brand, is wholly owned by AutoTrader Group™. Additionally, AutoTrader Group owns Kelley Blue Book® (KBB.com) as well as three other companies that provide a full suite of software tools that help dealers and manufacturers manage their inventory and advertising online: vAuto®, HomeNet Automotive® and VinSolutions®.  AutoTrader Group is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. Providence Equity Partners is a 25 percent owner of the company. For more information, please visit http://press.autotrader.com.

SOURCE AutoTrader.com