On Stephen Henson’s desk at Kelley Blue Book in Irvine sits an unofficial company mascot, a 2-foot-tall goose.
Henson, Kelley’s vice president of marketing, smiles as he looks at the plastic bird sent to him by Pasadena-based search engine GoTo.com Inc. The goose, one of several gifts sent by the dot-com that never were followed up on, is a reminder of the importance of marketing with a personal touch, even in the Internet age, he says.
Henson’s 75-year-old company is taking a conservative approach to the Internet. Kelley has what many Internet sites want,proprietary information with real-world relevance. But don’t look for a Kelley Super Bowl ad any time soon.
The company says it’s looking to the Internet to expand its business geographically, though Kelley isn’t slapping a dot-com on its name or raising venture capital for marketing.
Instead, the company says its plans to build its online presence just as it has its trademark blue book,by working with loan officers, car dealers and other industry players.
Even so, Kelley has forged alliances with some big names on the Web. The company’s car data is available via Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft Corp.’s CarPoint and Los Angeles-based CarsDirect.com Inc., as well as on its own site.
“The Internet has created a customer base that didn’t exist before,” said Paul Johnson, the company’s newly appointed president.
The company’s blue books are a regional bible for car buyers and sellers alike. Kelley compiles data on the prices of used and new cars and then publishes it. It also develops software for making used-vehicle window stickers used at dealerships.
“People are coming to the Internet to do research,” Johnson said. “The information they’re looking for is exactly what we have.”
For the most part, Kelley is a regional player. Its reach hasn’t gone further east than the Rockies.
“In the West, Kelley Blue Book is the king,” said Jeff MacPhearson, executive director of the Orange County Automobile Dealers Association and operator of several local auto dealerships. “Anyone who takes in vehicle trades in Southern California uses it.”
Kelley Blue Book, which declines to disclose revenue and employs about 80 people, has an editorial team that analyzes data from auctions, auto dealerships and car companies to compute values for used and new cars. From there, buyers and sellers can get an estimated worth of a particular make and model.
“Our service keeps everyone honest, including the dealer and the buyer,” Henson said. “It adds credibility to a marketplace that isn’t necessarily historically honest. You won’t find articles on our site about how to screw a car dealer before he screws you.”
Kelley’s system of pricing cars started in 1914 when Les Kelley began buying, reconditioning and selling old vehicles. Years later, Kelley launched the Kelley Kar Co., a Los Angeles dealership. Kelley then began distributing to other dealers and banks lists of cars he wanted buy and the prices he was willing to pay for them.
Before long, the automotive community began trusting the list and using it in their own businesses. In 1926, Kelley published the first Blue Book of Motor Car Values, containing values for cars such as Cadillacs, Duesenbergs and Hupmobiles.
These days, the Kelleys no longer own the company. Officials say the privately held company is owned by another family, but decline to divulge details.
One of the company’s biggest competitors is Santa Monica-based Edmunds.com Inc. Kelley also runs up against Costa Mesa-based National Appraisal Guides Inc. and its Nadaguides.com, which handles pricing estimates for new and used cars, classic cars, recreational vehicles and aircraft
Irvine-based Autobytel.com also is emerging as competitor with its pending buy of Santa Clara-based Autoweb.com Inc.
Kelley’s Henson said he is looking to the company’s long history and name recognition to hold its own against rivals. His main concern: extending the company’s brand without diluting it, he says. n
