Are Auto Dealer Marketing Agencies Really Worth Hiring? Let's Find Out.
As a car dealer, you have a lot to keep track of. From managing dealership operations to creating ads and marketing your vehicles, you always have a...
4 min read
ZeroSum introduced the Auto-Stream platform in 2021, providing a convenient way for vehicle dealerships to go live fast with video ad campaigns using customized, brand-specific templates. Our latest Auto-Stream update meets dealers at the cutting edge of market intelligence, automotive marketing data, and audience targeting precision—providing a cost-effective and versatile path to drive quicker sales.
Auto-Stream helps dealers transition from broadcast and cable TV advertising to more efficient over-the-top (OTT) and connected TV (CTV) campaigns, and our developers have also built capabilities into the platform that go far beyond OTT/CTV’s baseline advantages over traditional video.
Early response to the update is overwhelmingly positive. The newest creative video campaigns are resonating strongly with our dealership partners. We’ve already received feedback that campaign setup and time to launch is incredibly fast (even same day), and users have seen costs per completed view as low as 3-4 cents—roughly half of what they’re paying other providers.
What's In the Update?
Auto-Stream is fast, agile, and fully integrated with MarketAI data insights—plus, we’ve added brand-new templates, customizable messaging and video enhancements, built-in conversion-tracking tools, seamless analytics, live inventory syncing, and more.
Video ad campaigns powered by Auto-Stream include:
- In-market shopper targeting. The platform intelligently serves video ads to active vehicle shoppers—people who are searching for a specific vehicle and looking to buy right now—instead of relying on general demographic data and trends.
- Real-time inventory syncing. Ad campaigns are tethered to your dealership’s live inventory feed. Campaign assets are updated constantly as the feed refreshes, so videos always show your most current availability and pricing information. Plus, the costs to market a specific VIN will stop the second that vehicle leaves your inventory.
- Fast customization for added impact. Build your video ads with brand-approved templates and choose from a large selection of enhancements, including voiceovers, background music, your own uploaded dealership photos and videos, and custom text.
- Pre-approved OEM brand kits and templates. Dealerships can use OEM marketing dollars for OTT/CTV campaigns created through Auto-Stream, thanks to pre-approved brand color kits and templates built into the platform.
- Seamless lead tracking and analytics. An embedded QR code links viewers directly to vehicle description pages on your website, enriching active shopper targeting by providing a ready-built conversion tool within your OTT/CTV ad.
- Service department options. Dealers can also target in-market shoppers for service specials. Run a fully co-op-approved and branded ad for an oil change or tire rotation, and the included QR code will take customers directly to your landing page for that offering, allowing them to schedule their maintenance appointment on the spot.
How Auto-Stream works: 3 easy steps to video campaign automation
You can launch a customized, OEM-approved, hands-off video ad campaign in one day. Just set it up, let it run, and adjust it as needed. Here’s a deeper look into the process:
1. Set it up—select a template and customizations, then launch and go live.
Auto-Stream uses AI and templated motion graphics to integrate your still inventory photos and dealer website data directly into video ads generated for specific active-shopper audiences. Dealers usually work with an account manager to set campaign parameters, but you can also log into the video builder yourself if you want more manual control.
Setting up a campaign can truly be as easy as choosing a template, or you can customize further by uploading your own videos and dealership photos or choosing from OEM-compliant enhancements such as music, branding, and AI-generated voiceovers. High-production national brand ads can even be displayed side-by-side with your local dealership branding, inventory, and website-linked QR code. And all of this will go live within 10 seconds after hitting “save.”
2. Run it—let your campaign run autonomously.
Auto-Stream integrates with MarketAI to instantly and automatically create ads that match what in-market shoppers are looking for. But this goes deeper than simply matching up the right make and model; the platform also knows how to choose and display specific VINs to take advantage of your best marketing opportunities. This choice is based on the needs of that VIN within your inventory, according to an AI-generated desirability score. If a vehicle has a lower desirability score, it will be shown to more people—all calculated in real time and adjusting continuously. Dealers never have to choose or guess which inventory will need to be promoted, because inventory- and market-based decision-making is baked into the platform’s ad logic. Dealerships and account managers can track all the details of a campaign’s performance via a sleek dashboard view.
3. Adjust it—change messaging or add secondary targeted campaigns (optional).
In addition to running always-on, all-model campaigns that adjust to your inventory and market conditions (without you lifting a finger), the Auto-Stream platform lets dealers run multiple campaigns simultaneously for deeper targeting or specific inventory pushes.
If you receive new co-op funds mid-month, need to move a surplus of a certain VIN, or want to run a seasonal special or sales event, it’s easy to adjust parameters and add secondary targeted campaigns to achieve these specific goals. You can also make quick aesthetic tweaks and channel or messaging adjustments at any time, to any campaign. The changes will be reflected in your ads immediately, and vehicle and pricing data always stays synced with your live inventory data.
Optimize your ad spend and boost sales
Dealers coming from broadcast or cable TV advertising are used to paying for ads that reach hundreds of thousands of general audience members. Other OTT/CTV providers can narrow your audience down by viewer proximity or demographic.
But ZeroSum’s audience-targeting approach is even more precise, leveraging detailed market, audience, and inventory data to optimize your ad budget and bring fast results with demonstrable ROI. That means our clients enjoy better targeting and lower costs.
You can see Auto-Stream in action and get all your questions answered by a platform expert, with no pressure to buy. Schedule a free live demonstration of our powerful, purpose-built automotive marketing solutions today.
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