What it does
Digital advertising providers plan, buy and manage paid media for the store. That usually includes paid search, social, display, streaming video and inventory-based campaigns. Some are agencies that run campaigns for you. Others are software platforms your team uses directly.
Dealer advertising has a few quirks. Franchise stores often must follow OEM co-op rules on creative, disclaimers and approved providers. Vehicle ads depend on a clean inventory feed. Good providers tie spend back to leads, appointments and sales, not just clicks. Ask early how they prove that.
Budgets also shift fast in this business. A store may push aged used units one month and a new model launch the next. Your provider should be able to move money between campaigns quickly and explain the tradeoff in plain terms.
Who in the store uses it
- Marketing manager or internet manager: sets goals, approves creative and reviews performance.
- General manager or dealer principal: sets budget and judges results against sales.
- Variable operations managers: request support for aged units or specific models.
- Fixed operations director: funds service and parts campaigns.
- Office or accounting staff: handle invoices and co-op claim paperwork.
What it connects to
- Inventory feed or inventory management tool (vehicle ads)
- Website (tracking tags and landing pages)
- CRM and DMS (matching leads and sales back to campaigns)
- Call tracking
- Attribution and analytics tools
- OEM programs (co-op funds, creative rules and approved vendor lists)
- Ad platforms and media accounts
Digital advertising products in the index
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What to ask vendors
- Do we own the ad accounts, pixels and audiences, or do you?
- How much of our spend reaches media, and how is your fee calculated?
- Are you approved for our OEM's co-op program, and who files the claims?
- How do you match campaign results to sold units in our DMS?
- What does a monthly report include, and can we see live data?
- What is the contract length and cancellation notice?
- Who works our account day to day, and how often does that person change?
- How quickly can we shift budget between new, used and service campaigns?
Signs it's time to switch
- Reports show impressions and clicks but never connect to sales.
- You don't have admin access to your own ad accounts.
- Campaigns keep advertising sold units.
- Co-op claims get rejected or are filed late.
- Your account contact changes often and strategy resets each time.
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