In last week’s article, we started discussing Localogy’s Co-op Concierge Services by beginning with the Co-op Audits. The audits are great as they provide you with a “lead in” discussion point with your customer. When your customer meeting goes great, and they are interested in utilizing their co-op funds to promote one of the name-brand products they carry, then what? If you have seasoned reps that know all about co-op, then they most likely know exactly what to do, but if you have newer folks on your team, they really need to know about the four steps involved.

Step 1 – Ad Creation
There are three ways to get the co-op compliant ads you need:
1. Create them yourself. You probably have an amazing art department that can put ads/scripts together for you quickly. If they have access to the Co-Op Connect Platform, they have all the information they need to ensure the ad is co-op compliant.
2. Go to the brand/manufacturer portal and download the ads/scripts, etc. Again, if you have access to the Co-Op Connect Platform, you will see that the great majority of brands have created dealer/retailer portals for their reseller channel. On these portals they continually update their artwork, national promotions, scripts and more. They can be downloaded and are ready to use!
3. Contact Localogy’s Co-op Connect Team for assistance with ad creation. The Localogy Co-Op Connect Team can create a co-op compliant ad, most often going to the same portals (mentioned above). This would just be a good idea if you don’t have the time or expertise to get the ads done on your end.

Step 2 – Ad Approval
It is always wise to get the ad pre-approved, even if you use templates from the brand/manufacturer’s portals. This ensures that any dealer information you added, such as a logo, address, phone, URL, etc. is compliant “size wise” and would not be rejected when you send the claim documentation. Often, part of the claim package is the notification of approval (via an email notification, an approval number, etc.). If the Localogy Co-Op Connect Team does the pre-approvals for your team, they will receive everything they need for the claim package.

Step 3 – Accrual Research
The customer that you are working with may know their co-op accrual balance – this is often the case with the Marketing Managers at auto dealerships. If you know how much they have available to spend that is great, but in some cases the advertiser will not want to commit to the advertising until they know what they have available. If you are either on-site, or on the phone with your customer and they do not know the co-op accrual fund there are two things you can do. First, you can ask them if they would contact the brand/manufacturer with you there (or on phone) and place a quick call to find out (since they will need to give the brand/manufacturer their dealer number and possibly some other proprietary information). Or you can work with your customer to fill out the Accrual Authorization Letter and Request Form and either you can research that information yourself or send the form over to the Co-Op Connect Team for us to research.

Step 4 – Claim Packages
This is the final step required for your customer to receive their reimbursement. Many brands/manufacturers require that you upload “claim packages” to the portal that they created for their dealers (the same portal where they host the artwork, scripts, logos, etc.). Some brands allow you to email, fax or mail claim packages – that information is shown in the Co-Op Connect Platform. If you need assistance in creating the packages and getting them sent to the brand/manufacturer we can help with that. In most cases we would need copies of invoices from you and final copies of the ad (or script, etc.). In many cases the brand requires that you complete and include a Manufacturer Claim Form which we will handle if we do this process for your company.

We can certainly help with any of the above four steps as needed. You may not need art creation, but you may need help putting claim packages together. Or you get the ad created but don’t know where to reach out for Prior Approval. That is what is great about our services, you may just need assistance with one or two items, or you may need help with all five (the four items mentioned above, plus audits mentioned in prior article). Pricing is dependent on the number of reps we will be providing services for, along with the services selected.

To find out how to subscribe to the Co-op Connect Platform or for more information about our Co-op Concierge Services, call us at 877-990-2667 or email [email protected].

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