As competition intensifies in automotive retail, agencies are rethinking how they approach media buying and client retention. Amol Waishampayan, Co-Founder of fullthrottle.ai, says agencies that move beyond general-purpose demand-side platforms are gaining a measurable advantage by adopting automotive-specific solutions tailored to the industry’s complexities.
On today’s episode of Driving Solutions, Waishampayan explains that many agencies still rely on broad platforms such as Google, Amazon, and The Trade Desk. While widely used, these platforms are not designed to address the unique structure of automotive retail, which includes new and used inventory, service operations, and a tiered distribution model. This gap can lead to inefficiencies, missed targeting opportunities, and wasted ad spend.
“Automotive is a special industry that has a lot of special considerations across the tiered model and as well as the concept of new and used and service.”
Automotive-specific DSPs, by contrast, are built to address these challenges at a granular level. They enable agencies to localize campaigns, align with dealership inventory, and make rapid adjustments to reflect monthly sales cycles. This level of precision allows agencies to better support dealer clients, improve campaign performance, and ultimately strengthen client retention.
A key differentiator lies in how these platforms manage identity and audience targeting. Waishampayan notes that automotive DSPs are structured around household-level data, which better reflects how vehicle purchases are made. By incorporating factors such as shared ownership, financing requirements, and consistent address verification, agencies can more accurately identify and engage potential buyers.
This approach also enhances measurement capabilities. Instead of relying on traditional performance indicators such as impressions or click-through rates, automotive DSPs allow agencies to connect media spend directly to dealership outcomes. Campaign performance can be evaluated based on tangible results, including new and used vehicle sales and service repair orders, providing a clearer picture of return on investment.
Waishampayan emphasizes that agencies that succeed in retaining dealer clients are those that shift their focus from media activity to business outcomes. Dealers expect marketing partners to demonstrate how campaigns impact sales and service performance, particularly in a market where results are evaluated on a monthly basis.
Integration with dealership management systems further strengthens this capability. By connecting advertising platforms with customer and vehicle data, agencies can build highly targeted campaigns, such as reaching customers nearing lease expiration or identifying conquest opportunities. This reduces the need for manual data consolidation and accelerates campaign execution.
As agencies navigate an increasingly data-driven landscape, Waishampayan says the ability to simplify complex processes while delivering actionable insights is becoming essential. Platforms that combine automation, identity resolution, and direct performance measurement are helping agencies not only improve results but also build stronger, more sustainable relationships with dealer clients.
With more than 40 agencies already adopting this approach and continued growth underway, the shift toward automotive-specific DSPs reflects a broader move toward precision marketing in the automotive sector.
