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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.
NEUTRAL
"When the RL Polk figures came out showing nearly 100 D50s sold in the market, I got a surprise visit from the Regional Manager at Nissan."
OEM SEM Bidding on a Franchise Store's Name →
NEUTRAL
"Polk lead scoring was one of these service, though I'm not sure they still provide the service to dealers... Back when (many many years ago) I was part of a larger group we worked with Polk and Autobase for integration... I was working with eLead at one point to have integration with Polk as well, but it fell apart... We also worked with some of the major lead providers at the time to use Polk lead scoring, purchasing only leads that had a higher score of 7-10."
Decent Lead Validation Service →
NEUTRAL
"2011 Polk View - The Role of the Internet in the New and Used Vehicle Purchase Process"
Charts, Shopping Studies, I Need Them All! Need To Do A Presentation.. →
NEUTRAL
"I'm surprised that someone like POLK or JD Power hasn't aggregated this data so we at least know what equipment and packages came with a car when it left the factory."
VIN Lookup Database for all Brands? →
NEUTRAL
"Toyota has a tier system and also uses Polk to score them."
3rd Party Leads - Do you TRUST them? →
NEUTRAL
"Did you see the recent POLK/Autotrader buying report? While nearly everyone reported visiting Facebook, less than 1% said it played any role whatsoever in their purchase decision."
Facebook: what has it done for you lately? →
NEUTRAL
"isn't CarFax owned by Polk? they'd know the + and - of the values,no?"
CARFAX - What Are You Thinking? →
NEUTRAL
"recommends focusing on leads scored 6-10 by Polk, noting that Yahoo Auto was historically a top-performing portal"
DTC -Detriot Trading Company – now has Yahoo Auto's - Anyone using? →
NEUTRAL
"verification tools like Polk Lead Scoring or third-party call centers to correct the data and nurture these prospects"
New Car leads with 'false' information... →
NEUTRAL
"This comes from a joint effort by the team at Impel and Polk. 4M shoppers...60k Purchases...200+ dealers"
Creative use of Car Pics. →
NEUTRAL
"Jeff Kershner providing a secondary recommendation of Polk/IHS vehicle sales data, noting that Dominion's interactive version allows flexible data customization by geography and metric."
A good reliable source for Market Data is what / where??? →
NEUTRAL
"The AT/Polk survey tells us the shopper is shopping for MANY hours, but, shoppers don't hunker down and string hours together to create clean research threads."
What does your PRICING have to do with your REVIEWS? →
NEUTRAL
"studies from Cars.com, Dataium, AutoTrader.com, Polk, etc. all suggest that dealers at least reevaluate their SEM money"
Does SEM work? Not according to this stinging indictment. →
NEUTRAL
"we're you with me that time Polk brought-up the possibility of hanging a "Pad-Like" device on the window that could be remotely updated?"
Window Sticker 2012 - DR Art Project →
NEUTRAL
"I am guessing that Polk may have this, but I don't know for sure."
How much do you spend on attracting one car buyer? →
NEUTRAL
"tools like Polk's lead scoring work well for identifying genuine buyers"
"Lead Scoring" - anybody using it?? →
NEUTRAL
"They came from a Polk / Cobalt study awhile back."
How do you Montor Your Reputation Online? →
NEUTRAL
"contrast this report against the Toyota-sponsored Polk/ATC Survey Study that reported just the opposite this year"
Highlights from Vegas? →
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