Challenge: Help a local farm equipment business pay for marketing with co-​op advertising funds

Media sales veteran William Parker, an account executive for WSPA/​WYCW, has been in the sales field for over 37 years. Additionally, Parker has been a frequent user of AdMall and always pays attention to his daily AdMall Minute emails. When he saw a co-​op advertising promo in the email for farming equipment, he knew it would be a great way to approach a local company.

“Through one of the daily AdMall emails, I found out about Mahindra Tractors co-​op advertising and contacted the various dealers in our market,” said Parker. “One of the dealers was receptive, and we discussed that his target audience [was made up of] sports viewers."

Solution: Secure the co-​op advertising funds through a meeting

AdMall stresses the use of consultative selling, and that’s especially true when it comes to selling co-​op advertising. It’s important for the sale to be a collaboration between the sales rep, the advertiser and the manufacturer, so that everyone is on the same page.

Parker was aware of this, so he set up a meeting with everyone involved to make his pitch.

“[The advertiser needed to secure] more co-​op advertising funds provided by Mahindra,” said Parker. “I had a meeting with their Mahindra rep and the owner.”

“I sold them a ‘Clemson Coaches Show’ sponsorship for both football and basketball seasons airing September [2022] through March [2023], which also had a digital component on the station’s website.”

Result: A big win

Parker was smart to include all parties with his co-​op advertising pitch, which resulted in a $21,000 campaign for the combined sports seasons.

He attributes his sale to the ease with which he was able to find the information in AdMall.

“The daily email about co-​op advertising was very helpful and a good ‘door opener,’” said Parker.  “[AdMall] is an excellent way to generate new business.”

AdMall's intelligence system is used by thousands of U.S. media properties, from cable companies and newspapers to local TV, billboard, and cinema companies. It also includes manufacturer co-​op funding information. Through the shared-​cost advertising vehicle of co-​op funding, media sales reps encourage local dealers to create ad campaigns featuring vendor products, especially when there are limited-​time promotions and new product introductions.

We maintain a database of detailed co-​op funding/​market development programs for over 10,000 brands. There is no cost for vendors to have their co-​op advertising program details listed in the AdMall intelligence system. When vendors share their co-​op plan with AdMall, their local dealers can have the kind of success experienced by this beauty salon and this window treatment retailer.

More About:

Farm equipment dealers sell new and used tractors, combines, balers, harrows, etc. to farmers. These dealers are heavily concentrated in the farm-​rich states of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois, among others. In addition to selling equipment and parts, these businesses also supply repair and maintenance services and offer advice on how to use the equipment. Urban expansion has caused many dealers to extend their inventory to include residential lawn and garden equipment, tools and replacement parts.

Major manufacturers of farm equipment include John Deere, AGCO, Husqvarna and CNH Industrial. In many cases, the dealer may act more as a wholesaler than a retailer. In other cases, dealers may carry more than one manufacturer’s line or specialized equipment, often referred to as short lines. 

Approximately 7,800 businesses operate at the wholesale level and report about $71 billion in annual revenue in the agricultural, garden and farm equipment industry. Farm equipment manufacturing and dealers support approximately 120,000 jobs in the U.S.