GM Cobalt "Digital Ad Package", are you getting a return?
To all GM dealership "internet/bdc/digital/e-commerce" managers; what is your take on the GM – Cobalt Digital Ad Package Program?
Our dealership has been participating for 2 years now, (at the expense of $3,000 a month) first with Cadillac, now with Chevrolet. We have the “required” GM Cobalt site, however we are going to make that secondary and use a dealer.com site as our primary. When that was relayed to Cobalt they sent someone to the dealership to talk to me, yet not one time since being a Cobalt dealer have I ever had anyone come to the dealership or talk to me about the DAP, only the advocate over the phone with the reports.
The Cobalt rep basically came across that I was crazy that I was going to make Cobalt my secondary site, and really started the hard sell when I said I was thinking of turning off the DAP program. I was just waiting for her to jump up and yell at me “have you lost your #$&!)@$ mind”! And she even used the line, "look, I dont get paid any extra if your doing DAP or not, but you need to be doing this or you're going to really lose a lot of visibility......yada yada yada" - wow, I have never heard that trick used! When I asked the Cobalt rep, “what is the average ROI and average % sales increase your dealers are seeing with DAP”, she couldn’t answer the question.
I am not a wiz kid, but I know how the DAP program works to some extent. Point is I have never been able to track or see a real return on the DAP program. I never saw a difference that it made except all the Cobalt reports telling me I have a million impressions and all these leads, which I am still trying to find 2 reports inside GM and Cobalt that will match up the data!
I am interested in hearing from internet/bdc/digital/e-commerce (what ever your title is) mangers, what is your opinion on the Cobalt DAP, is anyone doing any tracking or able to track a real return on the DAP? What are your thoughts on it and what have you don with it.
To all GM dealership "internet/bdc/digital/e-commerce" managers; what is your take on the GM – Cobalt Digital Ad Package Program?
Our dealership has been participating for 2 years now, (at the expense of $3,000 a month) first with Cadillac, now with Chevrolet. We have the “required” GM Cobalt site, however we are going to make that secondary and use a dealer.com site as our primary. When that was relayed to Cobalt they sent someone to the dealership to talk to me, yet not one time since being a Cobalt dealer have I ever had anyone come to the dealership or talk to me about the DAP, only the advocate over the phone with the reports.
The Cobalt rep basically came across that I was crazy that I was going to make Cobalt my secondary site, and really started the hard sell when I said I was thinking of turning off the DAP program. I was just waiting for her to jump up and yell at me “have you lost your #$&!)@$ mind”! And she even used the line, "look, I dont get paid any extra if your doing DAP or not, but you need to be doing this or you're going to really lose a lot of visibility......yada yada yada" - wow, I have never heard that trick used! When I asked the Cobalt rep, “what is the average ROI and average % sales increase your dealers are seeing with DAP”, she couldn’t answer the question.
I am not a wiz kid, but I know how the DAP program works to some extent. Point is I have never been able to track or see a real return on the DAP program. I never saw a difference that it made except all the Cobalt reports telling me I have a million impressions and all these leads, which I am still trying to find 2 reports inside GM and Cobalt that will match up the data!
I am interested in hearing from internet/bdc/digital/e-commerce (what ever your title is) mangers, what is your opinion on the Cobalt DAP, is anyone doing any tracking or able to track a real return on the DAP? What are your thoughts on it and what have you don with it.
Last edited by a moderator:
