Promotional products for auto dealerships
An auto dealership is a high-volume promo customer with a unique twist: most items must comply with the manufacturer's brand co-op rules. The Toyota dealership cannot just slap a logo on anything - the artwork has to clear corporate. Once you understand the co-op approval flow you become the go-to vendor for every dealership in the group, and dealer groups can run 20-50 rooftops.
What every dealership orders
Showroom giveaways: branded keychains, water bottles, ice scrapers in winter states, sun shades in summer states. Cost-per-piece $1-5, ordered in 500-unit batches.
Service-department touchpoints: oil-change-due magnets, branded floor mats for loaner cars, custom air fresheners.
Sales-team apparel: embroidered polos, fleece jackets, custom name badges. Annual refresh, sized to the team.
Dealer-event swag: branded tents, table covers, premium handouts for grand openings, sales events, and OEM rep visits.
Customer appreciation: branded gift baskets, premium drinkware, custom keepsakes for $50K+ vehicle purchases.
Manufacturer co-op approval
Most OEM brand co-op programs (Toyota, Ford, GM, Honda, Stellantis) require pre-approval of any artwork that uses the manufacturer's logo or trademark. The dealer's marketing rep submits artwork to corporate, gets a stamped approval, and then orders. Bake this step into your quote process: ask for the approval document up front and quote with the lead time that includes co-op review.
Some items qualify for co-op reimbursement (the manufacturer pays for part of the spend). Anything that qualifies needs the right format on the invoice. The dealer's marketing rep knows what they need.
How to set the account up
The general manager is the approver; the marketing manager is the buyer; the service-department manager and sales-team manager are the requesters. Multi-customer is essential: build a portal per-rooftop in a multi-rooftop dealer group, plus a group-level rollup. Show co-op-approved items in a separate catalog so the dealer doesn't request art that won't clear.
What we built differently in DECADE.promo
Unlimited AI on the GOAT plan
AI mockups, Product Capture (browser-extension AI scraping of supplier sites), AI vectorization, and AI image upscale - all unlimited on one flat-price tier. No credit metering, no per-feature add-ons.
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Browse any supplier website - SAGE, Hit Promo, Koozie Group, anywhere - click the browser extension, and our AI reads the page. SKUs, pricing tiers, setup fees, colors, lead times, and images are extracted in seconds and import directly to your products catalog.
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