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RL Polk & Co — DealerRefresh Vendor Library
RL Polk & Co (now Polk Automotive Solutions) is a division of S&P Global Mobility that provides automotive market data, audience targeting, and…
RL Polk & Co
part of S&P Global Mobility
71% · Well regarded
50 DealerRefresh discussions
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About suggest a correction →
RL Polk & Co (now Polk Automotive Solutions) is a division of S&P Global Mobility that provides automotive market data, audience targeting, and measurement products to car dealers, OEMs, and agencies. Its core offerings — Polk Audiences, Polk Signals, and Polk Data Services — are built on comprehensive U.S. vehicle registration and transaction data spanning the entire car-buying lifecycle. Dealers and their marketing partners use Polk data to identify in-market buyers, activate targeted media campaigns, and measure advertising performance against actual vehicle sales.
What you do with it
identify in-market and conquest vehicle buyers using registration and ownership data, so they can reach the right audience and improve advertising ROI
When planning or executing a targeted marketing campaign
score inbound leads against vehicle ownership and purchase-intent signals, so they can prioritize only the highest-quality leads worth acting on
When evaluating lead quality before paying for or working a lead
close the loop between campaign activity and actual vehicle sales using registration data, so they can prove campaign effectiveness with real transaction evidence
When measuring the results of a sales or service marketing campaign
Community evidence → Stable
The DealerRefresh community consistently treats Polk registration and ownership data as credible infrastructure — referencing it in the context of Facebook audience targeting, lead scoring integrations, and industry research — with several voices citing positive outcomes when Polk data is paired with clean DMS data or platforms like HookLogic and VinSolutions. However, enthusiasm is tempered: the lead scoring product drew explicit mention of past failure and at least one dealer refused data-sharing agreements that would feed Polk's ecosystem, signaling distrust around data reciprocity. Community members who engaged with Polk directly or through integrations (eLead, Autobase, AutoHook) generally found value in the concept but reported inconsistent execution and product discontinuity over time. Overall, Polk is viewed as a trusted data source for targeting and measurement infrastructure rather than a turnkey dealer solution.
Audience targeting using vehicle registration data7 mentions
Lead scoring product — historical use and discontinuity6 mentions
CRM and platform integrations (VinSolutions, eLead, Autobase, AutoHook)5 mentions
Data credibility and trustworthiness5 mentions
Facebook-Polk partnership for social ad targeting4 mentions
Concern over data sharing and privacy2 mentions
Use as industry research and market intelligence6 mentions
Closed-loop campaign measurement2 mentions
50 mentions · 12 positive · 5 negative · Scored from 20+ years of candid DealerRefresh discussion. Scores shift as new conversations happen.
POSITIVE
"VinSolutions and R. L. Polk & Co. Integrate to Offer Customers Easy Access to Polk Cross Sell™ Reports"
VinSolutions and R. L. Polk & Co. Integrate to Offer Customers Easy Access to Polk Cross Sell™ Reports →
POSITIVE
"citing positive experience with Polk/IHS data"
Do you TRUST your 3rd Party Lead provider? →
POSITIVE
"Facebook has mapped their user base with vehicle ownership data (thanks to Polk), we can now created super targeted ad campaigns based on vehicle type, make, and age."
The Best Leads Your Store Will Get Tomorrow →
POSITIVE
"when done utilizing clean data, and pairing with predictive analytics, POLK, clean DMS data and more, you can specifically focus individual ads to the right customer"
Facebook Inventory Advertising / Retargeting →
POSITIVE
"Facebook uses Datalogix and Polk data to determine who is in the market for a vehicle"
Anyone use Facebook ads and have had success? →
POSITIVE
"This was something that we was striving for years ago by utilizing Polk lead scoring. I wanted ONLY the highest quality of leads but was willing to pay more per lead."
What's the most annoying thing on your website? →
POSITIVE
"HookLogic Integration with Polk Reveals...Impressive Numbers!"
HookLogic Integration with Polk Reveals...Impressive Numbers! →
POSITIVE
"a new Facebook-Polk partnership that enables precise targeting of car owners through their Facebook profiles to improve ROI"
Webinar: Breakthrough Facebook Advertising Strategies That Sell More Cars →
POSITIVE
"Polk emerging as the most trusted option due to their extensive data and double opt-in process"
Has anyone done an Email Appending →
POSITIVE
"Jeff Kershner endorsing Polk as having high-quality automotive data and noting their new online ordering platform"
Mailing Lists →
POSITIVE
"automotive-specific data providers like DLX Auto and Polk allow dealers to layer targeting by vehicle type and purchase timing into their ad strategy for better results"
Facebook Introduces Partner Categories →
NEGATIVE
"When we used Firstlook, I refused to sign the data share agreement to share our sales transactions data with Edmunds, Polk, and the others."
Cars.com Followup Emails With Other Dealers Inventory →
NEGATIVE
"references past failed attempts (like Polk's lead scoring product)"
Can the USA adopt the U.K's process to optimise automotive customer acquisition? →
NEGATIVE
"parent company RL Polk announcing the sale of the business to IHS for $1.4 billion"
CARFAX faces major challenges →
NEGATIVE
"Let's also consider the fact that Polk (CarFax'a parent owner) is looking to sell."
OPINION: CARFAX is extorting my dealership →
NEGATIVE
"Polk said in 2011 that 7 out of 10 people surveyed won't pick up the phone or submit a lead online before showing up at the dealers door."
Your "Digital Marketing Expert's" Last Job Was at McDonalds →
MIXED
"IHS/Polk has some great data but I don't always agree with how they present it to dealers. Either way... I have all of our leads filtering through AutoHook (formally HookLogic) and being "scored". IHS/Polk looks at several data points and assigns a "score" to the lead."
What are you working on?? →
MIXED
"IHS/Polk has some great data but I don't always agree with how they present it to dealers. Either way... I have all of our leads filtering through AutoHook (formally HookLogic) and being "scored". IHS/Polk looks at several data points and assigns a "score" to the lead."
Kershner's back to the dealer diary →
NEUTRAL
"3rd party integrations with companies like Mastermind, Polk and Carfax(examples) will power the Agentic AI"
Rank the CRMs →
NEUTRAL
"We are partnered with Zimmerman Advertising along with other companies like R.L. Polk, Callbright, IMN, and Gumiyo."
Naked Lime? →
NEUTRAL
"behavioral and partner category data from providers like Polk and Oracle"
Facebook Removing Automotive Targeting?? →
NEUTRAL
"Brad Korner from IHS/Polk clarifies that they work directly with dealers to provide targeted campaign lists for sales and service marketing based on vehicle ownership and purchase intent, along with closed-loop measurement of campaign effectiveness"
Polk and Dealer Marketing →
NEUTRAL
"According to a Polk Automotive Influence Study, approximately 2 out of 3 car buyers do not contact a dealership via form submission or a phone call prior to their first visit."
Dealer's Gone Lead-Gen Crazy →
NEUTRAL
"If you look at the Polk Chart below, in 1995, the average car was BUILT in 1986. [IMG]https://www.polk.com/images/uploads/20120117-tablea.jpg[/IMG] [URL]https://www.polk.com/company/news/average_age_of_vehicles_reaches_record_high_according_to_polk[/URL]"
Uncle Joe's Make Over Diary →
NEUTRAL
"Facebook's internal automotive targeting options through IHS Polk are nowhere near as powerful as what was just eliminated by Facebook."
Huge News - Facebook will no longer allow third-party data for targeting ads →
NEUTRAL
"Considering Carfax (and POLK) is now owned by IHS and could potentially take advantage of a wealth of data to help power and offer a different online shopping experience for the consumer."
Carfax now competing with Cars.com & AutoTrader.com? →
NEUTRAL
"It's too easy to read and follow all of the statistics from J.D Power, Polk, Cobalt, Google and anyone that I've missed."
I hate Internet customers! →
NEUTRAL
"I never knew they were part of R.L. Polk. Here's the guy in charge if you want to call or send a message: [url=http://usa.polk.com/Company/Leadership/richraines.htm]R. L. Polk & Co.[/url]"
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