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By Lindsay VanHulle
February 10, 2021
Dealership marketing technology company Digital Air Strike has made two acquisitions as it expands its offerings around digital inventory marketing.
The Scottsdale, Ariz., company bought the assets of LotVantage, a software-as-a-service digital inventory marketing company, and BestRide.com, an online vehicle listings marketplace previously owned by media publisher Gannett Co. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Digital Air Strike CEO Alexi Venneri told Automotive News that LotVantage and BestRide will join the company’s product lineup rather than operate as subsidiaries.
She said LotVantage will offer dealerships more options to market their inventory, including on online marketplace eBay and classifieds site Craigslist. BestRide, meanwhile, will be Digital Air Strike’s first consumer-facing marketplace and will integrate with the company’s existing digital marketing tools, including lead responses.
“The two acquisitions work very well together because the dealers are now going to have a platform where they can decide where they want their inventory to be listed,” Venneri said. “We’re going to be able to really evaluate which networks are driving the best leads for dealers, and then they use our tools to nurture those leads, and ultimately the consumer wins because they have a better experience.”
The LotVantage and BestRide purchases are Digital Air Strike’s fifth and sixth acquisitions since the company was founded in 2010, Venneri said.
LotVantage founder Matthew Brown said in a statement that the company’s “focus on industry partnerships and innovative inventory distribution is a logical fit for Digital Air Strike’s existing offerings. The combining of solutions will offer dealers even more opportunity to increase awareness and drive more sales for their dealerships.”
Venneri said Brown will not join Digital Air Strike with the acquisition but will serve as an adviser. Digital Air Strike will keep employees and offices of both companies, the company said.
BestRide is a vehicle listings provider that works with newspaper and media outlets across the country. In a statement, Jeff Urgo, vice president of Gannett unit LocalIQ Automotive, said, “Digital Air Strike has been a valuable partner whose work with the automotive industry will only enhance the consumer and dealership experience on BestRide.com.”
Read all of Digital Air Strike’s announcements here.
