Advertising is expensive, and quality marketing requires a considerable investment. Even when you look at the co-op dollars you have accrued, many dealers find that their advertising funds still come up short, leaving them with unwanted out-of-pocket expenses. What if we told you there was a way to notably increase your ads budget at little additional cost to you?
Let’s Talk About Custom Co-Branding
Co-Branding does require you to engage with your top vendors from a different angle. It’s about positioning yourself as a trusted local expert and the most direct way for the manufacturer to reach your audience. Manufacturers sometimes take for granted the fact that you have a strong, local brand that people trust and that you are in a position to influence your customer’s buying decision. If you steer customers towards a specific brand or product, many of them are likely to follow your advice. The reality is that large manufacturers need you as much as you need them. Custom co-branding programs leverage the reputation you have spent years creating to gain more from your manufacturer relationships.
The Secret to More Advertising Money
After 13 years of successful co-branding programs with high-end dealers around the country, here is our best advice if you are looking for ways to leverage your vendor relationships for more ad funds:
- Vendors are more inclined to offer you more funds if you give them a detailed plan of how you will increase their market exposure with those additional dollars. Don’t just ask for more money. Show them how you want to spend that money and what your objectives are. We regularly provide clients with a presentation they can take to manufacturers with creative or ad mock-ups, campaign objectives, and timelines.
- Vendors or manufacturers want to know that you have a marketing team capable of presenting your brand and their brand effectively. Explain what your objectives are and how you plan to represent their brand alongside yours. Research to make sure you are presenting their brand the way they would. Manufacturer asset libraries and their social media channels are a good place to start.
- Set clear expectations upfront on how the vendor will be involved. One of the big secrets about co-branding is that manufacturers are thrilled when they don’t have to burden their national marketing team with your campaign planning and ad design. But you still need to make sure everyone agrees on a review or approval process so the vendor has a chance to offer feedback before the campaign launches.
- You need to be able to show the results of a co-branded campaign. With a digital campaign, you can track KPIs and deliver those to the manufacturer at the end of the campaign. (And if you have a way to make those available throughout the campaign, that’s even better.) Tracking interest in or sales of that specific brand during the campaign is a good idea too. Manufacturers are looking for data to justify how their money gets spent. The dealers that create campaigns with measurable metrics are more likely to gain funds.
The opportunities in custom co-branding programs are endless, and the team at Riley & You knows how to identify, manage, and implement all of these opportunities. Contact us today to figure out how to make your advertising budget go further and grow your business. Let us leverage the strength of your brand to grow your business while limiting your out-of-pocket costs.
