A well-known brand recently stated, “If you were given $10,000 in free money to advertise, wouldn’t you do it?” Well, this brand went on to say that many of their resellers were not using their co-op funds but that they were not giving up on them! They then went and made things a bit easier for the retailer to use the co-op program in hopes that they finally use that money. The Localogy Co-op Connect team saw this comment and thought it was the perfect thing to write about since many people think that the brands don’t care if the money gets spent because it just goes back to their bottom line if it doesn’t. Although the part about it returning to their bottom line is a true statement, it hurts the brand if the co-op money is not spent.
Why you ask? Because if a retailer is advertising their product(s) and it gets people in their store buying these products, they run out quickly and need to order more. Then you have a cycle where the reseller makes more money as the products leave their store quickly, and the brand makes more money as the retailer orders more products. Advertising where that product can be found locally is always a win, especially when so many consumers have brand loyalty for specific items.
The Localogy Co-op Connect team updates the Co-Op Connect Platform daily. We reach out to every brand in the platform annually as a start. For many brands, such as automotive, we know that they have multiple updates throughout the year, so we reach out more frequently. For instance, we updated the General Motors program in January and then received an update from them on March 1st. Buick has created a new logo that must be in use as of April 1, 2023. Although they are giving their dealers a grace period, you want to start using the new logo as soon as possible so that they do not get a major infraction. Why take a chance on not receiving your co-op money?
Now to be fair, some of these co-op programs are quite complicated. Some brands offer two or three different marketing programs, and although one may be a true co-op program, they can be used together, and there are often a lot of rules. Then on the flip side, you have retailers that sell hundreds, if not thousands, of brand-name products, and they are lucky if they can keep their location fully staffed, stock on the shelves, and make it through the day, let alone read co-op guidelines for hundreds of products.
That is where the Media Publisher comes in! With access to the Co-Op Connect Platform, you will have the guidelines for all the brands that the retailers carry. With this information, you can put together an advertising campaign that would utilize the funding. If you walk into that retailer with something ready to go and let them know that you can help them utilize their funding for the campaign, you certainly take a lot off their plate. For them, it then becomes “Advertising Made Simple.” At the end of the day, people tend to make co-op more complicated than it is…our team thinks of it as the Three C’s.
- Communicate – As a Media Publisher if you have a point person that can communicate promotions to your sales staff (that tie into the national ad campaign for the brand), they can communicate these to the customer/advertiser.
- Compliance – Making sure the ads are compliant with the brand guidelines. Most brands offer free approval service to ensure the ads comply (latest logos, artwork, etc.)
- Claiming – Pull the claim package together so that your advertiser has everything they need to collect their reimbursement from the brand (such as invoice, proof of ad, proof of performance, etc.).
Summary
To learn more about our Concierge Services or Co-Op Connect Platform, call us at 866-583-5397 or email [email protected].
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