One of my favorite co-op advertising clients over the years focused on the brand promotion aspect of the advertising sale first and foremost with a nod toward the potential reimbursement under the co-op guidelines. Her approach in the local market was that the dealer should advertise the branded promotions through local media to capitalize on the manufacturer’s national push and tell area consumers where to take advantage of it.
Her vision of the process was really co-branding the local store to the manufacturer product with frequent advertising. This built a strong association of the local store with the brand and provides some long-term recognition to play off any other manufacturer promotion.
Since any national advertising by the manufacturer really just focuses on the “what and why” of the product messaging, she looked to leverage the same brand message with her clients to focus on “where” for the local audience. She was VERY successful with this approach.
Her work with the local advertiser targeted the specific need for brand association with her audience and, while she would provide the co-op plan detail and manage the brand compliance work, co-op reimbursement was secondary to the conversation. She would be happy to explain how co-op worked and what to submit for plan reimbursement, but left those details for the advertiser to manage on their own. She worked exclusively on the co-branding concept regardless of whether the dealer had enough (or any) co-op money for the campaign simply because this was the best way to drive traffic and sales.
How might this concept work for you and your franchisee or dealer clients? What sort of local brand champions might you find in your market for Allstate Insurance, Benjamin Moore Paints, Castrol Motor Oil, Delsey Luggage, Emerson Air Conditioners, etc.?
For those that would like to target a specific consumer promotion tied to a major manufacturer brand over the next couple months, there are plenty to choose from. In the motorsports category you can aim at your Honda, Kawasaki, or Yamaha dealers; in the tire category you can aim at your Goodyear, Cooper, or Michelin dealers; in the boating category there’s a lot of pre-season activities with Yamaha, Honda, and Suzuki Marine. The list goes on and on.
There are always branded opportunities for local businesses that sell brand names. Sometimes the process just needs a brand and an aggressive local reseller, so you don’t have to overthink the co-op detail.
Click here to see how the Local Search Association can make co-op advertising a simple, revenue-driving strategy for your local media and marketing company.
