Life of an Internet Entrepreneur

I was reading through Automotive News last week and they were profiling a very successful dealer group owner named Rick Hendrick. He managed to build up a dealer empire of 60 dealerships, 80 franchises, and over $4.3 billion in revenue last year. But the path to there has been filled with hardship, including: a plane accident killing his son and several relatives, a felony fraud conviction, and leukemia.

How did he manage, despite all of the challenges, to build up one of the largest dealer groups in America today? Rick swears by his 10 Keys to Success:

I know what you did last week (assuming you don’t live under a rock). If you were one of the millions who watched the Super Bowl this past Sunday, you more than likely were wondering what some advertisers must have been thinking (ahem, SalesGenie) to run a certain ad.

Well, your humble host wondered the same thing, and set out to find the truth about what a company can expect out of a Super Bowl appearance. Interestingly, once a company advertises on the Super Bowl, they find it very hard to do without it the next year. It’s almost like a drug habit. Partially because they become part of the tradition of that memorable time (think Bud Light ads), and partially because they want to believe their investment the previous year was a wise one.

The Super Bowl was a great game, but, given my profession, I paid a bit more attention to the ads, seen by over 97.5 million fans- the most ever. You may recall my review of Super Bowl 2007 Ads last year. 30 second spots cost about 7% more this year, averaging $2.7 million a piece. Overall, I think last year was a better year for the ads, and I was actually a bit disappointed with some companies this year. Which ads succeeded, and whose flopped? I tell all, below.