Managing Conflicts of Interest
How PerformanceDrive.com.au avoids conflicts of interest
What Drives PerformanceDrive.com.au?
PerformanceDrive.com.au exists to help people research, review and ultimately purchase a car that they believe is most suitable to them. To do this, it generates relevant and factual information which is freely accessible to anyone visiting its website or accessing the content through other digital channels including YouTube & Email subscriptions, Facebook, LinkedIn and various other Social Media.
It must present this information in a way which can be easily consumed, free of charge and in a sustainable manner. So whether it be more educational in nature or simple tips, there is a substantial investment of time and resources (employees, computer systems, regulatory compliance, etc.) made by PerformanceDrive.com.au to curate, house and maintain the content. Most importantly for PerformanceDrive.com.au however, above all of these commitments, is for it to demonstrate that it is worthy of its audiences’ trust.
Achieving a Balance
This critical trust element is underpinned by PerformanceDrive.com.au’s efforts to manage the balance between sustaining its commercial operations whilst maintaining an uncompromising focus on its purpose which is to genuinely help people find the right car for them.
The key component of commercial sustainability for an operation like PerformanceDrive.com.au is generating revenue. A more detailed account of how PerformanceDrive.com.au generates revenue can be read here How We Get Paid, but for the purpose of this explanation, PerformanceDrive.com.au earns revenue by connecting (generally) product suppliers (eg. Car manufacturers, car accessory providers, lending organisations, etc..) to those parts of the PerformanceDrive.com.au audience which are in market, and whom see value in the contextually relevant products published within the content.
Our Editorial Team operates separately from our Commercial Team
So what drives the content, the potential to generate revenue or the focus on helping people find the right car? The answer for PerformanceDrive.com.au is to always start first with the latter. We write content on which we know people in the community are searching for answers and seeking help for. If this content generates opportunities for the PerformanceDrive.com.au team to connect the audience to products that it believes align with the contextual purpose of the content, then it will publish those products and make available the opportunity to connect product provider/s to this audience via a commercial relationship. Importantly, PerformanceDrive.com.au frequently publishes products within its editorial content whether there is a commercial relationship in place with a product provider or not.
PerformanceDrive.com.au’s Licensing Responsibilities and Obligations
PerformanceDrive.com.au Pty Ltd ACN 640 965 000 operates as a Credit Representative Number 527232 of Savings.com.au Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licensee Number 515843 of Level 40, 123 Eagle Street, Brisbane Qld 4000. These licensing regimes require material effort to ensure that PerformanceDrive.com.au remains within their strict compliance frameworks – a responsibility which PerformanceDrive.com.au takes very seriously.
Any advice provided or perceived from PerformanceDrive.com.au content is intended to be general in nature (eg. not Personal Advice where a person’s individual circumstances and needs are taken into account).
PerformanceDrive.com.au’s Family
PerformanceDrive.com.au is part of the Firstmac Group. As such, it has a number of ‘sister’ brands including the online lender, ‘Loans.com.au’ and everyday finance site, Savings.com.au. As was previously mentioned around the separation of editorial and commercial interests within the PerformanceDrive.com.au operation, the same applies in relation to the deterrence of any commercial influence over any aspect of the PerformanceDrive.com.au operation from other sister brands within the Firstmac Group.
In essence, PerformanceDrive.com.au sister brands will be treated in the same manner as any other product provider looking to connect with the PerformanceDrive.com.au audience. If the Performance Drive editorial team judge that products from a sister brand do not meet the purpose test of ‘helping consumers buy the right car’ within the context of that particular piece of curated content, then they will not be included in the editorial content– regardless of the monetary opportunity on offer to PerformanceDrive.com.au.
Ends.
Updated 22 October 2020.