SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — DealerSocket has announced that Cars.com will be the title sponsor of Innovate: The Independent Dealer Industry Conference, which features industry education for independent dealers nationwide.

“We are beyond excited to welcome one of the auto industry’s most admired brands into our growing Innovate family,” said Matt Redden, DealerSocket’s chief marketing and sales officer. “We’ve enjoyed a longstanding partnership with Cars.com on the franchise side of DealerSocket’s business for more than a decade. Their new investment in Innovate will further promote our shared commitment to the independent dealer market.”

Innovate will take place Sept. 20-23 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. More than 80 in-depth classes will dive deep into compliance, collections, finance, accounting, operations, marketing, sales and more.

“Today’s franchise dealers are enticing more consumers than ever before with sophisticated digital marketing practices,” said Greg McGivney, Cars.com’s vice president of strategy and business development. “It’s time for the independent industry to level the playing field with their own world-class solutions. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with DealerSocket and the independent market.”

Conference hosts expect more than 600 attendees at this year’s event, including more than 50 major exhibitors and financial institutions that were hand-picked through an invitation-only sponsor selection process.

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