Force Marketing has expanded its automotive marketing technology footprint with four new OEM-certified partnerships covering Acura, Honda, Hyundai and Nissan, bringing its total number of OEM-certified programs to 16.

The expansion gives Tier 3 automotive retailers access to Force Marketing's data-driven advertising, customer data and retention technologies through programs designed to connect manufacturer requirements with local dealership marketing operations.

For dealerships, OEM certification can influence how quickly campaigns are deployed and how effectively retailers use cooperative marketing funds. Force Marketing says its certified relationships are intended to simplify that process while connecting marketing activity across the customer journey, from initial vehicle discovery through purchase, service and eventual trade-in.

The company's technology stack is built around Audience iQ, its customer data platform (CDP), which is designed to unify dealership customer information and support first-party data activation. The platform is positioned as the foundation for targeting, personalization, advertising optimization and customer retention.

The newly added brands join Force Marketing's existing OEM-certified relationships, which include Porsche, Audi, BMW MINI, INFINITI, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mazda, Stellantis, Subaru and GM Canada.

Automotive Marketing Moves Toward Unified Data Activation

Automotive retailers increasingly operate across fragmented marketing channels, including paid search, social media, display, retargeting, SEO, streaming media, dealership websites and customer relationship systems.

Force Marketing's approach is to consolidate those activities within a connected marketing infrastructure. Its digital advertising services use dealership and customer data to coordinate campaigns across multiple stages of the buying journey.

Its DRIVE streaming media product creates dynamic video using current dealership inventory and incorporates actual vehicle identification numbers (VINs) from dealership websites. Force says its publisher relationships include Amazon, The Trade Desk, TikTok, YouTube TV and Spotify, allowing inventory-based campaigns to extend across streaming and digital environments.

Other components address different points in the customer lifecycle. Recapture targets consumers who have shown interest but have not converted, while Conquest Connect uses a cookieless activation approach to adjust messaging across channels based on shopper behavior.

The company's ATOM service-retention platform extends communications across a dealership's dealer management system (DMS), supporting campaigns designed to encourage repeat service and sales activity.

Market Landscape

The dealership marketing market is becoming increasingly dependent on first-party data as third-party identifiers become less reliable and consumers interact with retailers across more digital touchpoints.

That makes the CDP increasingly relevant to automotive marketing. Rather than treating advertising, lead management, sales and service communications as separate functions, retailers can use unified customer data to coordinate experiences across departments.

The competitive advantage, however, depends on data quality and integration. A connected platform cannot deliver meaningful personalization if customer records remain fragmented or if inventory, CRM, DMS and advertising data cannot be synchronized.

Force Marketing says its solutions are used by more than 1,400 dealerships across North America. The company is now positioning its expanded OEM certification network as another layer of infrastructure for connecting manufacturer programs with dealership-level execution.

Strategic Outlook

The addition of Acura, Honda, Hyundai and Nissan strengthens Force Marketing's position as a technology and marketing partner operating between OEMs and local retailers.

For dealerships, the bigger development is less about adding four logos to a partner list and more about reducing the number of disconnected systems required to execute omnichannel marketing.

As automotive retailers compete for both vehicle sales and recurring service revenue, the ability to connect first-party customer data, inventory signals, advertising activation and retention communications could become increasingly important.

The OEM-certified model also gives Force Marketing a route to standardize its technology across more dealership networks while adapting execution to individual OEM requirements.

Top Insights

• Force Marketing now has 16 OEM-certified partnerships, expanding its dealership marketing reach across Acura, Honda, Hyundai and Nissan.
• Audience iQ serves as the company's customer data platform, connecting first-party customer information with advertising, personalization and marketing activation.
• DRIVE connects real-time dealership inventory with streaming and digital advertising, using VIN-level information to create more relevant vehicle campaigns.
• Conquest Connect and Recapture address shopper activation and remarketing while reducing reliance on traditional third-party cookie-based targeting.
• ATOM extends marketing into dealership service retention, linking customer communications with DMS data to support repeat revenue opportunities.

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