The automotive advertising world hasn’t exactly lacked data—but it has lacked tools that turn that data into something dealerships can actually use. EMG, the streaming ad platform built specifically for retail automotive, is aiming to change that with the launch of the Strategy Engine, a new feature inside its Maven analytics platform.
The promise is bold but surprisingly practical: auto dealers enter their dealership name and instantly receive a fully formed streaming campaign strategy—complete with budget recommendations, market forecasts, and projected market share gains. And it isn’t theoretical. Dealers using the engine’s recommendations have already seen an average 21.8% increase in local market share in just 90 days.
For an industry where margins are tight and competition is hyperlocal, a tool that turns raw data into a go-to-market plan in seconds is the kind of upgrade Tier 3 dealers rarely get.
What Makes This Different: Scale, Precision, and Automotive-Specific Data
The Strategy Engine sits on top of a data ecosystem few automotive ad tools can match. EMG combines Experian vehicle registration data with its own database of 75 million+ attributed car sales, walk-ins, and website visits across more than 1,400 dealerships.
That’s the kind of dataset ad platforms dream of—rich, localized, and verified.
Using this trove, the Strategy Engine automatically builds a streaming ad plan that:
- Defines the dealership’s Local Market Area (LMA)
- Displays current local market share
- Recommends audience targets and budget allocation
- Calculates the budget needed to reach in-market auto intenders
- Forecasts reach and frequency across Connected TV (CTV) and digital audio
- Surfaces available inventory across 200+ streaming apps
- Predicts future market share using Campaign Health scoring
This level of specificity has long been available for OEMs and large agency groups. Tier 3 dealers rarely get tools at this level of granularity.
As EMG CEO Brian Singleton puts it, “The Strategy Engine is unlike anything else in automotive,” citing the platform’s mix of massive datasets, analytics, and predictive modeling as its differentiator.
A Closer Look: The Engine’s Interactive Campaign Health Slider
At the center of the new experience is an interactive tool called the Campaign Health Slider. As dealerships adjust the slider’s “strength,” the system recalculates projected outcomes in real time—updating expected reach, budget shifts, and anticipated market share gains.
This interactive model turns planning into scenario simulation. Instead of static media plans, dealers can now explore the trade-offs between aggressive, moderate, and conservative strategies—and instantly see the consequences.
It’s an analytical tool with a consumer-level UX, which explains why early adopters say it’s been easier to use than legacy planning tools.
Why This Release Matters for the Auto Industry
Retail automotive has been slow to adopt streaming-first strategies, even as connected TV and digital audio have become central channels for other consumer verticals. Reasons vary—from lack of data, to unclear local ROI, to the industry’s dependence on traditional media buys.
The Strategy Engine aims squarely at those barriers.
1. It makes streaming measurable in local markets.
Dealers can finally see how CTV contributes to market penetration—a missing piece that has historically kept budgets tied to linear TV and radio.
2. It eliminates the guesswork.
Generic media plans often paint with too broad a brush. This tool roots every recommendation in verified vehicle registration data and decades of dealership outcomes.
3. It accelerates decision-making.
What once required a vendor, a media planner, and several long email threads now happens in seconds.
4. It proves the financial impact.
A 21.8% average market share increase is not a small number. For many dealerships, that can shift entire quarters.
How Agencies Fit Into the Picture
The Strategy Engine isn’t just a dealer-facing tool. Agencies servicing automotive clients get a streamlined planning foundation—with real data backing every recommendation.
Stefani Patterson, Owner of SVantage, says the tool makes streaming plans “faster, smarter, and more transparent,” allowing agencies and dealers to align on strategy without the usual reporting friction.
This is notable because automotive is one of the most agency-heavy verticals in performance advertising. Streamlining that relationship could give agencies a competitive edge while boosting adoption of streaming across local markets.
CTV has been growing aggressively in automotive, but until now, tools were designed primarily for national and regional tiers. Tier 3 markets are messy, hyperlocal, and heavily influenced by dealership footprints, consumer loyalty cycles, and regional supply patterns.
The Strategy Engine has the one ingredient local streaming has been missing: trusted sales data.
While many ad platforms use inferred intent signals, EMG is grounding its strategy recommendations in verified registration data and millions of observed dealership outcomes. That gives the tool not just predictive power but credibility in a sector notoriously skeptical of new media.
What It Means for 2025 and Beyond
If EMG’s Strategy Engine gains traction, it could accelerate a shift already underway in automotive:
- CTV and digital audio becoming core channels, not experimental add-ons
- Data-first planning replacing traditional impression-heavy buying
- Dealerships treating advertising as measurable market share strategy, not just traffic generation
- More transparent agency–dealer collaboration grounded in shared analytics
And importantly, the tool hints at a future where every dealership—regardless of size—can adopt enterprise-grade planning without enterprise-level complexity.
In an industry built on monthly sales cycles and tight margins, that kind of planning advantage can compound quickly.
