SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (Feb. 2, 2007) – R. L. Polk & Co. has been selected to manage customer prospecting activities for AutoNation and its 257 dealerships in 17 states.
The agreement will provide AutoNation with a centralized source of highly qualified prospects by utilizing Polk’s predictive modeling expertise. Creating a direct link between AutoNation and Polk will streamline the automotive retailer’s marketing efforts and increase return on investment for its dealerships.
“By centralizing our customer prospecting activities with Polk, we will increase the quality of customer leads, while at the same time, reducing our overall marketing costs,” said Scott Zientarski, AutoNation director of Database and Direct Marketing. “We are anticipating a positive reaction from our dealerships as they expect to save marketing money and increase high-quality leads.”
Zientarski stressed that individual dealerships will still maintain creative control and the ability to work with local agencies on traffic building opportunities. But, he added, they will be starting with a better foundation for success with the information provided by Polk.
Polk combines demographic, lifestyle and automotive information with sophisticated statistical modeling to help automotive retailers and manufacturers predict who is in the market for a vehicle, what they are likely to purchase and how much they are willing to spend. This helps increase marketing efficiency by identifying prospects much more likely to result in a vehicle sale.
“We are excited to bring our analytical automotive expertise to AutoNation, one of the most respected and recognized brands in the automotive industry,” said Andrew Price, Polk vice president of Dealer Solutions.
About AutoNation
AutoNation, Inc., headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is America's largest automotive retailer. A component of the Standard and Poor's 500 Index, AutoNation has approximately 26,000 full-time employees and owns and operates 331 new vehicle franchises in 16 states. For additional information, please visit http://corp.AutoNation.com or www.AutoNation.com, where more than 90,000 vehicles are available for sale.
About R. L. Polk & Co.
R. L. Polk & Co. is the premier provider of automotive information and marketing solutions. Polk collects and interprets global data, and provides extensive automotive business expertise to help customers understand their market position, identify trends, build brand loyalty, conquest new business and gain a competitive advantage.
Polk helps automotive manufacturers and dealers, automotive aftermarket companies, finance and insurance companies, advertising agencies, media companies, consulting organizations, government agencies and market research firms make good business decisions. A privately held global firm, Polk is based in Southfield, Mich. with operations in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.