Strong Automotive Merchandising: what dealership leaders should know

Overview

Strong Automotive Merchandising (often shortened to Strong Automotive or SAM) is a full-service marketing and advertising agency that works exclusively with automotive dealerships. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, the company employs roughly 150 people and serves upwards of 400 dealerships across the country. It was founded in 1977 and remains a family-owned business, currently led by John Paul Strong.

The agency's stated mission is refreshingly direct: drive traffic to dealerships. That singular focus has sustained the business for nearly five decades, through multiple economic cycles, shifts in consumer behavior, and the wholesale transformation of how people shop for cars. Strong is not a technology platform or a pure-play digital agency. It is an old-school advertising agency that has steadily added modern capabilities -- digital marketing, programmatic media buying, geofencing, email automation -- on top of a traditional foundation of direct mail, television and radio production, and print creative.

Its longevity and scale make it one of the larger automotive-exclusive agencies in the United States, though it operates somewhat below the national radar compared to publicly traded competitors. Strong has no retail technology platform, no CRM, no DMS integration play. It is purely a marketing services and creative agency.

This deep-dive covers what Strong Automotive offers, where it excels, where it falls short, the types of dealers who get the most from the relationship, and how it stacks up against the broader landscape of automotive marketing vendors. The research is drawn from the agency's public website, published materials, social media presence, and industry knowledge.

Product Analysis

Strong Automotive presents itself as a single-source marketing partner rather than a point solution. Its service catalog spans the full arc of automotive advertising, from strategy and creative to production, placement, and performance tracking. The unifying thread across all services is in-house production -- Strong owns its print shop, its video production studio, and its creative team, which means less outsourcing and more control over quality and speed.

The service categories below are documented on Strong's website under the "Creating Traffic" navigation heading, which itself is a telling piece of positioning: every service is framed as a traffic-driver rather than a brand-building exercise.

Direct Mail

Direct mail is arguably the bedrock of Strong's service offering. The agency reports delivering over six million pieces of mail annually, with in-house printing capabilities that give them control over quality and turnaround time. For many dealers in smaller or mid-sized markets, direct mail remains one of the lowest-cost-per-car channels available, and Strong has evidently retained significant expertise in this format even as much of the industry has moved its attention to digital channels.

The direct mail product includes data mining (identifying in-market prospects within a dealership's geographic area), custom creative, and variable-data printing that allows personalization at the piece level. Turnaround is described as quick, and the in-house production eliminates the need to coordinate with external print vendors. This matters because the handoff between creative and print is where errors, delays, and cost overruns typically originate. Strong's vertical integration removes that failure point.

The direct mail service is likely the highest-margin offering in Strong's portfolio and the one where they have the deepest competitive advantage relative to both general-market agencies and digital-native automotive marketing firms. It is also the service most dependent on the continued effectiveness of physical mail as a marketing channel -- a topic of ongoing debate in the industry.

Email Marketing

Strong's email marketing product is positioned as a mass-market saturation play. Their standard eCampaign involves four email broadcasts over a two-month period, targeting active web shoppers sourced through third-party data. Google Analytics integration provides real-time tracking of opens, clicks, and conversions.

The email offering is paired with geofencing capabilities, allowing dealers to capture prospect data from people who visited the physical lot, competitor lots, or automotive shopping websites. This retargeting layer adds sophistication to what might otherwise be a straightforward broadcast approach. The geofencing component is the more interesting part of this service because it allows targeting of people who have demonstrated physical intent -- visiting a dealership -- even if those shoppers never filled out a lead form.

The email service is described briefly on Strong's site, which may indicate it is a simple managed-service offering rather than a primary differentiator. Most dealers will have many email marketing vendors to choose from, and Strong's offering in this category is unlikely to be the deciding factor in an agency evaluation.

Video Production

Video production is one of Strong's more impressive differentiators. The agency claims to have produced over 7,000 commercials in the last four years -- a figure that suggests significant production capacity and a high-volume creative operation. They emphasize feature-film-quality motion graphics, visual effects, and rapid turnaround. The in-house video production studio is equipped to handle everything from a simple testimonial spot to a full cinematic production with custom animation and compositing.

For dealers who need regular TV spots, social video content, or digital advertising creative, the ability to get production done quickly and without farming it out to a separate production house is a genuine operational advantage. The in-house model means a dealer can brief a campaign on Monday and have finished spots by the end of the week, in theory. In practice, the speed advantage depends on how many other clients are in the production pipeline and the complexity of the creative request, but the structural capability for rapid turnaround is real.

The 7,000 commercials figure deserves scrutiny. If accurate, it averages roughly 1,750 spots per year, or about 35 per week. That is an extremely high volume that implies either a very large client base generating frequent creative refreshes or a liberal definition of what counts as a "commercial" (perhaps including short-form social video cuts, radio spots, and digital pre-roll variants). Either way, it indicates an operation that has production baked into its DNA rather than treated as an occasional service.

Digital Marketing

Strong's digital marketing offering covers search engine marketing (paid search), search engine optimization, social media advertising, and display advertising. They describe it as meeting customers "where they are" online, which is standard language for what is essentially a managed paid-media service.

The depth of their digital capabilities is harder to assess from public information than their traditional media offerings. Many full-service agencies that originated in traditional media struggle to match the technical sophistication of digital-native competitors in areas like attribution modeling and conversion rate optimization. Strong does not publish detailed specifications about their digital stack, bidding strategies, or reporting methodology, which makes it difficult to evaluate without a direct proposal conversation.

Key questions to raise: How does Strong handle multi-touch attribution for long purchase cycles? Is campaign optimization done algorithmically or through human oversight? What is their approach to creative testing within digital channels? None of these are dealbreakers, but they are exactly the kind of questions a dealer should ask before trusting Strong with a significant digital budget.

Modern View (Media)

"Modern View" is Strong's branding for its media strategy and buying service, positioned as a smarter approach to reaching modern car shoppers across traditional and connected TV, streaming audio, digital out-of-home, and other channels. This is the agency's answer to the fragmentation of the media landscape -- placing advertising wherever the target demographic consumes content, rather than relying solely on linear TV and radio.

The real question is execution quality: does Strong have the programmatic buying expertise and measurement infrastructure for sophisticated multi-channel media plans, or is Modern View largely a rebranding of traditional media buying with some digital channels bolted on? Strong's media buying is done through third-party platforms rather than proprietary technology, which is standard industry practice.

Co-Op Management

Strong offers cooperative advertising management, handling the filing, compliance monitoring, and reimbursement claims on behalf of dealers. This is offered at no additional cost for full-service clients. For franchise dealers who have co-op funds available from manufacturers -- and many leave significant money on the table each year -- this can be a meaningful value-add. The co-op service effectively pays for itself by recovering funds the dealer may not have the staff or expertise to claim.

The co-op landscape varies significantly by manufacturer. Some OEMs have streamlined digital portals; others require paper-based submissions with detailed proof-of-performance documentation. Strong's experience across multiple OEM programs means they know what each manufacturer requires and what triggers a claim denial. Over a year, recovered co-op funds can amount to tens of thousands of dollars for an active dealer, directly improving the effective ROI of the agency relationship.

Co-op management is included for full-service clients, but what constitutes "full service" should be clarified in writing before signing.

Retain

Retain is Strong's customer retention marketing service. Past customers are a dealership's most valuable audience, and targeted marketing can drive repeat service business and future vehicle purchases. The service uses the dealership's own first-party data to create retention campaigns focused on service reminders, trade-in opportunities, and loyalty events.

The effectiveness of Retain depends heavily on the quality of the dealership's customer data. Clean, comprehensive records with purchase and service history enable targeted campaigns. Fragmented data across multiple systems reduces effectiveness regardless of Strong's creative quality.

Graphic Design

Strong provides graphic design services for both print and digital materials. With in-house designers, they can produce everything from direct mail pieces to digital display ads to dealership signage. This capability supports all of their other services and ensures visual consistency across campaigns.

The in-house design team is a practical advantage for consistency and speed, but it also introduces a constraint: the design team's bandwidth and aesthetic range are finite. A dealer whose brand requires a very specific look and feel -- luxury brands, for example -- may find that Strong's in-house designers cannot match the specialized creative output of a boutique agency that works exclusively with high-end automotive brands. This is not a criticism specific to Strong; it is a tradeoff inherent to the full-service agency model.

Partners in Success

Strong has a formal program called "Partners in Success" that appears to be a referral or preferred-vendor network. The details are not extensively documented on the public website, but the program suggests they have cultivated relationships with complementary service providers in the automotive space. This could include partners in areas like website development, reputation management, inventory merchandising, or other services that Strong does not itself provide.

For a dealer working with Strong, the Partners in Success network could serve as a vetted referral source for additional services the dealer may need. The value of this depends entirely on the quality of the partner relationships and whether Strong has any financial interest in the referrals, which could create conflicts of interest.

Strengths

Automotive Industry Specialization

Strong's decision to serve only automotive dealerships is its single most important strategic advantage. The agency does not have to split its attention across multiple verticals. Its creative teams, media buyers, and strategists work exclusively on automotive campaigns. This means they understand the unique rhythms of dealership marketing: the monthly sales cycles, the manufacturer-mandated compliance requirements, the co-op claiming processes, and the specific language and imagery that moves metal.

General-market agencies often struggle with automotive because the learning curve is steep and the regulatory landscape (particularly around pricing claims and incentive disclosures) is unforgiving. Strong's teams have that knowledge baked in from day one. A new client does not have to spend the first three months educating the agency about how a dealership operates or how OEM brand guidelines constrain creative execution. That accumulated knowledge is difficult for a general-market agency to replicate without years of dedicated automotive experience.

In-House Production Capacity

The ability to produce direct mail, video, print, and digital creative entirely in-house is genuinely differentiating. Most agencies of Strong's size outsource at least some production work -- video production to a production house, printing to a commercial printer, animation to a motion graphics studio -- which introduces coordination overhead, quality variability, and slower turnaround. Strong's in-house model gives them control over the entire creative supply chain.

For dealers who need high-volume creative output -- weekly TV spots, monthly direct mail drops, daily social content -- this production pipeline is a practical advantage. It also keeps more of the agency's fee within the agency, which can translate to more competitive pricing compared to agencies that pay external vendors and then mark up those costs.

The in-house model also simplifies the revision process. When a dealer wants to change a price, update an incentive, or swap a vehicle image, the change can be made by the same team that created the original asset, without briefing an external vendor. In a fast-moving sales environment where inventory and incentives change weekly, this speed advantage is real.

Longevity and Stability

Strong has been in business since 1977. That track record matters in the dealer marketing space, where vendors come and go with alarming frequency. For a dealer principal evaluating a long-term partnership, knowing that the agency has survived multiple recessions, the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID disruption, and the ongoing digital transformation of automotive retail provides meaningful reassurance.

A counterpoint worth considering: stability can sometimes shade into complacency. A dealer should evaluate whether Strong's long tenure reflects genuine ongoing value creation or simply inertia from clients who have been with the agency for decades. The best way to test this is to ask for case studies and results from the last two years, not from the agency's early history.

Co-Op Recovery

The included co-op management service is a tangible financial benefit. Manufacturer co-op programs can reimburse dealers for 50% to 100% of eligible advertising costs, but the filing requirements are often complex and time-consuming. Many small and mid-size dealers underutilize these programs. Strong's proactive management of co-op claims can directly offset the agency's fees.

In some cases, the co-op recovery alone may cover a significant portion of the agency's cost, making the effective net expense of working with Strong much lower than the headline fee suggests. Dealers who have been managing their own co-op filings should ask Strong for an estimate of recoverable funds based on their specific franchise agreements and historical spend.

Scale and Geographic Reach

With 400+ dealership clients across the country, Strong has the scale to invest in tools and talent that smaller agencies cannot afford. A larger agency can also provide more consistent coverage when account managers or creative leads move on, which is a non-trivial consideration in agency relationships.

The scale also means Strong has experience navigating the unique requirements of different OEM programs. A dealer group with multiple franchises -- say, Toyota, Honda, Ford, and Chevrolet -- benefits from an agency that already understands the compliance and creative guidelines for each brand rather than starting from scratch.

Single Point of Accountability

A dealer who uses Strong for direct mail, video production, digital marketing, media buying, and co-op management has only one agency to manage, one invoice to reconcile, and one relationship to maintain. This consolidation reduces administrative overhead compared to juggling multiple specialized vendors. When a campaign underperforms, there is no finger-pointing between agencies -- the accountability rests with Strong.

For a dealership that does not have a dedicated marketing manager -- and many mid-size stores do not -- the single-vendor model is especially valuable. The general manager or dealer principal can have a single weekly check-in with a Strong account manager and get a comprehensive view of campaign performance across all channels, rather than coordinating separate meetings with a media buyer, a video producer, a digital agency, and a direct mail vendor.

Family Ownership

Strong remains a family-owned and operated business. For many dealers who also run family-owned operations, there is a cultural alignment in working with a company whose leadership has a long-term perspective rather than quarterly earnings pressure. John Paul Strong's name on the door suggests a level of personal accountability that publicly traded agencies cannot replicate. This structure means Strong is not under pressure to maximize short-term profitability for outside investors.

Criticisms

Digital Depth

The most common criticism leveled at traditional full-service agencies that have added digital capabilities is that their digital offering lacks the depth and technical sophistication of specialist firms. Strong's public-facing materials emphasize their creative output and media volume rather than their technical infrastructure, attribution modeling, or proprietary technology. A dealer who is serious about sophisticated digital measurement -- beyond basic Google Analytics reporting -- should press hard on exactly how Strong approaches attribution, incrementality testing, and conversion optimization.

This criticism applies specifically to digital capabilities rather than overall quality. For dealers running straightforward paid search and social campaigns with basic reporting, Strong is likely adequate. For dealers who want advanced measurement, A/B testing frameworks, and sophisticated audience segmentation, the agency may not be the best fit.

There is also the question of talent. High-quality digital marketing professionals are in demand and command premium salaries. Can Strong, based in Birmingham, Alabama, attract and retain digital talent that competes with agencies in New York, Chicago, or San Francisco? Birmingham has a growing tech scene but is not yet a top-tier market for digital marketing talent. The agency may be relying on a small number of senior people supported by junior staff, creating risk if key people leave.

Geographic Concentration

Strong is based in Birmingham, Alabama, and while they serve dealerships nationally, there is a natural gravitational pull toward the southeastern United States. Dealers in other regions may find that account teams lack familiarity with local market dynamics, competitive landscapes, and regional consumer preferences. This is not unique to Strong -- it is a challenge for any agency with a single headquarters -- but it is worth probing in the vetting process.

The geographic concentration also matters for media buying. Local market knowledge -- understanding which radio stations have real reach, which local TV news programs actually drive response, which community events are worth sponsoring -- requires either a local presence or a deep investment in market research. A Birmingham-based agency buying media for a dealership in Portland, Oregon, or Buffalo, New York, faces an inherent knowledge gap that must be actively managed.

Technology vs. Services

Strong is a services business, not a technology company. It does not own or operate its own ad platform, CRM, or DMP. It relies on third-party tools for programmatic media buying, email delivery, analytics, and audience targeting. This is not inherently a weakness -- many excellent agencies operate the same way -- but it means Strong's value proposition is entirely in the quality of its strategy, creative, and account management, not in proprietary technology that creates a moat.

A dealer who wants a true technology-driven partner (think of the CDP/CRM-powered personalization engines offered by some newer entrants) will not find that at Strong. The agency's approach to technology is to buy what is available in the market and configure it for automotive use cases, not to build anything proprietary. This is the right economic decision for an agency of Strong's size, but it means the dealer bears some integration risk: if Strong uses a particular email platform or DSP, and that vendor changes its pricing or discontinues a feature, Strong has limited recourse.

Website and Digital Footprint

Strong's own website, while visually polished, provides relatively thin information about specific capabilities, team credentials, and pricing philosophy. Case studies exist but are high-level and more focused on the client relationship than on measurable business outcomes. There is no pricing transparency, no client portal demo, and no detailed technical documentation about their digital services. This is standard for agencies of their type, but it can frustrate buyers who prefer to do substantial research before engaging in a sales conversation.

The website's navigation structure is itself revealing. Services are organized under the heading "Creating Traffic," which reinforces the agency's traffic-driving mission but also makes it harder to find specific information about individual service offerings. The site uses modern design and videography but the content depth is inconsistent -- some service pages have substantial detail while others are brief enough to raise questions about the agency's commitment to that offering.

Speed of Innovation

As a nearly 50-year-old company, Strong faces the same innovator's dilemma as many established agencies. The automotive marketing landscape is evolving rapidly -- connected TV, retail media networks, first-party data strategies, AI-driven creative optimization. It is reasonable to ask whether Strong's culture and talent base are keeping pace or whether the agency is running on reputation and legacy momentum.

The agency has made efforts to modernize -- Modern View, geofencing, digital services -- but the question is whether these are genuine strategic commitments or defensive additions to prevent client attrition. Does Strong have dedicated roles for emerging channels, or are these responsibilities folded into existing roles whose primary experience is in traditional media? The answer tells you a lot about the agency's innovation posture.

Dependence on Traditional Channels

While Strong has expanded its digital offerings, the agency's heritage is in direct mail, television, and radio. A dealer who is primarily interested in modern digital strategies -- paid social, streaming video, search, programmatic -- should evaluate whether Strong's creative and strategic teams are truly digital-first or whether digital is treated as an add-on to the traditional media package. The service page hierarchy on their own website (Direct Mail listed first, Email second, Video third, Digital fifth) suggests where the center of gravity lies.

This is not necessarily a problem. Many dealers still generate a significant portion of their sales from traditional media, and an agency that has deep expertise in those channels is valuable. But a dealer who comes to Strong expecting a cutting-edge digital-first approach may be disappointed. The agency's instincts, processes, and talent base are rooted in a world where broad-reach advertising drove results, not in the world of precision-targeted, data-driven digital campaigns.

The risk is that a dealer ends up with a media plan that looks modern on paper -- some connected TV, some programmatic display, some paid social -- but is actually executed with a traditional mindset: same creative running across all channels, limited audience segmentation, minimal testing and iteration. The channel mix may be modern, but the strategy may be traditional.

Best For

Strong Automotive is best suited for franchise dealerships -- particularly those that are family-owned or independently operated -- in mid-sized to smaller markets, who want a single agency partner that can handle the full range of advertising needs without requiring the dealer to coordinate multiple vendor relationships.

The ideal Strong client is probably a dealer who:

• Wants strong direct mail and video production capabilities as the cornerstone of their marketing program
• Appreciates having co-op management handled as an included service that directly offsets agency costs
• Prefers a single point of accountability over a multi-vendor stack
• Values long-term relationship stability over bleeding-edge technology
• Operates in a market where broad-reach media (TV, radio, mail) still drives meaningful results
• Does not have an internal marketing team sophisticated enough to manage specialized digital vendors independently
• Runs a dealer group with multiple franchises and wants an agency that already knows the OEM requirements for each brand
• Is willing to invest in a multi-year relationship that improves over time as the agency accumulates market-specific knowledge

Strong is also a good fit for dealer groups that want consistent marketing across their stores. A single agency relationship means unified branding, shared learnings across markets, and simplified vendor management at the group level. The agency's scale can support multi-location campaigns and coordinate messaging across stores without the conflicts that arise when each store uses a different vendor.

Dealers who should think twice before signing with Strong include those who:

• Need a highly sophisticated digital program with advanced attribution and incrementality testing
• Are primarily interested in retail media networks, connected TV, or streaming audio as their core channels
• Operate in markets where direct mail ROI has significantly declined and traditional media is losing effectiveness
• Prefer a technology platform they can manage themselves rather than a full-service agency relationship
• Want deep specialization in a single channel (e.g., pure-play SEO or paid social) rather than a comprehensive package
• Are luxury-brand dealers who need highly specialized creative that may exceed Strong's in-house design capabilities
• Are located in markets far from Strong's Birmingham headquarters and want an agency with local market presence
• Are looking for a short-term tactical vendor rather than a long-term strategic partner

Questions to Ask Strong Automotive

If you are evaluating Strong Automotive as a potential agency partner, these questions will help you assess fit beyond the sales pitch.

1. Can you show me three examples of digital attribution models you have built for dealership clients?

This reveals the sophistication of their digital measurement capabilities. Vague answers about Google Analytics or "last-click attribution" are red flags.

2. What does your typical video production timeline look like, and how do you handle same-week revisions when market conditions change?

Tests whether their stated video production strength is as responsive in practice as it sounds on paper.

3. How do you staff my account? Who will I work with day-to-day, and what is the turnover rate on that team?

Agency account team turnover is a perennial frustration. Team stability matters more than executive credentials in the sales meeting.

4. What percentage of my media budget goes to direct mail versus digital channels in a typical client relationship? How do you decide that allocation?

Reveals whether Strong tailors channel mix to each dealer's specific market or applies a standardized template.

5. Can you share the last three co-op audits you performed for clients, including how much money was recovered?

Co-op recovery is a significant value-add. You want concrete examples of how aggressively Strong pursues these funds.

6. What is your approach to first-party data strategy? How do you help dealers build and activate their own customer data?

With third-party cookies deprecating, first-party data strategy is becoming critical. Strong's answer indicates whether they are keeping pace.

7. If I sign with Strong today, what does the first 90 days look like? When can I expect to see measurable results?

Clarifies onboarding process and sets expectations for ramp-up time and initial performance benchmarks.

Competitive Position

Strong Automotive operates in a crowded and fragmented market. The vendor landscape includes several categories with distinct strengths relative to Strong's positioning.

National full-service agencies: Zimmerman Advertising, The Automotive Advertising Agency (TAAA), and JDP compete directly with Strong as full-service, automotive-exclusive agencies. Zimmerman is larger and more aggressive in its marketing. Strong distinguishes itself through in-house production capacity and family ownership. Zimmerman is known for high-profile clients and flashy creative; Strong is more understated and relationship-driven.

Digital-native agencies: Firms like PureCars, Shift Digital, and Dealer.com (part of CDK Global) focus more heavily on digital strategy, technology platforms, and data analytics. They generally have stronger digital measurement capabilities but may lack the full-service creative and traditional media depth Strong offers. A dealer choosing between Strong and a digital-native agency is choosing between breadth and depth.

Technology platform companies: Vendors like ELEAD1ONE and VinSolutions offer marketing automation and CRM tools. These are not direct agency replacements but increasingly part of the dealer technology stack. Strong does not market deep integrations with any specific dealer technology, which may be a consideration for tech-forward dealers.

General-market agencies with automotive practices: Large holding-company agencies (Omnicom, WPP, Publicis) have automotive practices serving dealer associations and large groups. They bring tremendous resources but lack the singular focus of an automotive-only agency.

Strong's position is a traditional full-service agency that has modernized enough to remain relevant. It is not the most technologically advanced option, but offers breadth and industry-specific experience that few competitors can match. Its nearly 50-year track record is itself a competitive moat.

One vulnerability is talent attraction and retention in an increasingly digital marketing landscape. Headquartered in Birmingham, Strong competes for digital talent with companies in larger advertising markets. Another vulnerability is the lack of proprietary technology -- Strong relies on third-party tools, meaning it is always one licensing change away from a capability gap.

Verdict

Strong Automotive Merchandising is a well-established, competent, and reliable full-service advertising agency for automotive dealerships. It is not the most innovative player in the market, and its digital capabilities, while adequate, are unlikely to impress dealers who are deeply sophisticated about modern marketing technology.

But adequacy combined with breadth, stability, and automotive-specific expertise is a powerful combination for the majority of dealerships. The typical dealer principal or general manager does not have the time, staff, or inclination to manage four or five specialized marketing vendors. Having a single agency that can produce a TV spot, design a direct mail piece, run a digital campaign, handle co-op paperwork, and manage media placement -- all with in-house production and a nearly 50-year understanding of how dealerships operate -- is genuinely valuable.

Strong is best understood as a partnership for the long haul rather than a tactical vendor. The relationship likely gets better over time as the agency accumulates institutional knowledge about the dealer's market, brand, and customer base. The first year may involve learning curve on both sides, but a multi-year relationship should produce increasingly well-targeted and effective campaigns. The co-op recovery alone may offset a significant portion of the agency's cost.

The biggest risk is that Strong's traditional strengths may become less relevant as the automotive retail landscape evolves. If connected TV, retail media networks, and first-party data-powered personalization become dominant channels, Strong's direct mail and television heritage may become a diminishing asset. The agency's ability to adapt will determine whether it remains a top-tier choice for another decade or gradually becomes a legacy player.

For now, Strong Automotive Merchandising earns a solid recommendation for the right dealership profile: independently owned franchise dealers in mid-sized markets who want a true partner rather than a point solution. Dealers with more sophisticated digital needs or a preference for best-in-class specialized vendors should look elsewhere or supplement Strong with additional partners.

The bottom line: Strong is a proven, stable, full-service option with genuine production depth and co-op recovery value. It is not the future of automotive marketing, but for many dealers, it is a very solid present.