CARY, N.C. -

Nearly two years after first delving deeper into the industry with a new weekly e-newsletter, Cherokee Automotive Group is rebranding its repossession and recovery media property with an eye on broadening its audience online and through industry conferences.

CAG’s revamped media property is now called Re3 — Repossession, Recovery, Remarketing, stemming from discussions president Bill Zadeits had with industry leaders about how crucial all three elements are.

“It’s one of those things that I began to look at in the remarketing world. I feel like we have a pretty good understanding of and relationships in those areas, but I’m always looking for areas where we can expand our sphere of influence with integrity,” Zadeits said.

CAG rolled out Repo & Recovery in early 2010, launching its first media property that focused on those industries that previously had been discussed intermittently within its flagships, Auto Remarketing and SubPrime Auto Finance News.

“It came out of a time when we knew as the economic environment worsened across the United States that there was going to be potentially more focus put on the repossession and recovery world,” Zadeits explained.

With steady growth since its launch, CAG looked to leverage that success during its industry-leading conferences. As a result, last fall’s Used Car Week included a Re3 event, meshed in between the CPO Forum: The Certified Conference and The National Remarketing Conference.

That first event went extremely well, according to Zadeits, who called it a  “stake in the ground.”

With numerous associations and organizations, Zadeits hopes both the media property and annual conference can help CAG and its Re3 be like a “Switzerland” for the industry.

“We have an opportunity to create an event that can draw from all of those associations without them feeling like they have to compete with the other,” Zadeits emphasized. “Our goal is to put together a national platform and conference which can in a very professional, first-class way, bring together the executive and other people within that industry.”

More details about the next Re3 Conference will be announced later this year. In the meantime, the new Re3 will continue to be delivered Tuesday afternoons. Plans also are in the works to create discussions through social media channels such as LinkedIn to strengthen the brand and content.

“Our company is a media company,” Zadeits reiterated. “On the media side, we pride ourselves on delivering great content to a great audience and helping grow the industry, share best practices, be an advocate for a particular part of the industry.

“We really think it can grow. We’re very excited about it. As I quickly came to understand, there are a lot smart, talented people that are working within this world,” he concluded.