New Agency Aims To Make Better Car Dealer Ads

You know all those awful ads you see for local car dealers? Fugetaboutit.

Advertising and marketing veteran Mike Jackson and R&R Partners of Las Vegas have joined forces to create Jackson & Partners, a joint venture aimed at transforming the way automotive retailers speak to and engage consumers.

“Jackson & Partners is going to change the way car dealers attract and retain customers,” said Mike Jackson, CEO of Jackson & Partners. Industry veterans, Gary Topowelski, Randy Easterbrook, and Dana Locatell are also part of the leadership team.

“The restructuring of the auto industry, changes in buyer behavior and the evolution of the media landscape have altered how people search, select, and purchase cars,” said Gary Topowelski. “Our goal is to assist dealers of all sizes in adapting to these changes while successfully growing customer retention, sales, and profits.”

According to Jackson, there’s also a big opportunity in terms of a wealth of ad dollars in the tier-three dealer vertical alone. “Even in the toughest of times in 2009, retail automotive dealers, their marketing measured spending was $5.5 billion,” he said.

“The dealers started off as some of the more inventive people in how they attract invention, but then it hasn’t evolved — it’s cliche and boilerplate,” Jackson said. “There’s been an autopilot mentality about it but the opportunity we see is to increase effectiveness.”