Is Your Dealership Leaving Co-Op Money on the Table?

Did you know that your dealership could have access to thousands of dollars in advertising cash that you’re not using?

Most dealers are aware they can get support from their manufacturer for spend on radio ads, print ads, and even television advertising. What some don’t know is that a portion or all of their digital advertising can also be covered too. This cooperative advertising, or co-op advertising, is a partnership between the manufacturer and a local dealership where the manufacturer shares the cost of locally placed advertising with the dealership.

Google Adwords is the new frontier in co-op advertising, and Pay-per-Click ads are powerful weapons in the successful marketer’s arsenal. Many brands were slow to get on board with search engine marketing (SEM) initially, but after seeing huge online advertising pay-offs for progressive companies like Ford, we’re seeing a snowball effect in the market for manufacturers like GM, Chrysler, Mercedes, and others.

“Many dealers are not aware that co-op advertising reimbursements are available not only for traditional media, but for digital marketing as well.” — Ralph Paglia, President at Automotive Media Partners.

In his article “Take a Free Ride,” Paglia notes how many manufacturers report that much of their co-op advertising budget goes unspent each year. Relatively few dealerships take full advantage of these programs.

How do you find out if you qualify for some of this free cash?

• Contact your local Manufacturer Rep or District Manager. These programs often have very specific guidelines; walking through them in detail before selecting a provider is a must.
• Some OEMs don’t have a formal policy, and will run co-op programs on a trial or case-by-case basis for well presented proposals. Work with a provider like Strathcom Media to put something together for them to review. The key is showing that this will be working to reduce your inventory and promote national offers, something every brand wants.
• You won’t know until you ask! We currently submit co-op claims for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Nissan, Ford, Lincoln, Kia, and Mazda stores. Your competition is definitely getting in on the action if you aren’t.

Contact Strathcom Media today to see if your OEM has a co-op program to take advantage of, and start increasing leads with someone else’s money!