DealerTrend

What DealerTrend does

DealerTrend is an automotive advertising technology company that sells subscription-based digital marketing services to independent car dealers in the United States. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Reno, Nevada, the company's core proposition is a dual-mode managed-service platform: Baseline Mode provides always-on campaigns across Google Vehicle Listing Ads, Meta Automotive Inventory Ads, Google Business Profile management, and trade-in campaigns; Event Mode layers high-impact, time-bound activations including Connected TV/streaming (Hulu, Peacock), direct mail, radio, email, and physical point-of-purchase materials. The platform connects directly to dealer inventory feeds and pushes structured inventory to ad platforms on a daily sync, while DriveSites provides VIN-specific landing pages that display real monthly payments with FTC-compliant disclosures and automatically de-list sold vehicles. Audience targeting is powered by a strategic partnership with Equifax, giving DealerTrend access to 350M+ consumer profiles, 200M+ VINs with ownership data, and 100+ financial signals per consumer to build credit-qualified audience segments and trade-in targeting for below-auction inventory acquisition. Go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, with 'Book a Call' CTAs and phone contact (319-505-0021); pricing is quote-based rather than published, consistent with the SMB/mid-market independent dealer customer profile. On September 11, 2025, DealerTrend was acquired by Mudd Advertising, an automotive marketing company, with the stated intent to integrate DealerTrend's digital infrastructure into the MuddVision platform and extend capabilities to dealerships and OEMs.

Name

DealerTrend

Legal name

DealerTrend, Inc.

Website

https://dealertrend.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DealerTrend is a US automotive advertising technology company that provides subscription-based Baseline and Event Mode digital marketing campaigns, Equifax-powered credit-qualified audience targeting, and DriveSites VIN-specific landing pages to independent car dealers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Reno

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Monthly Advertising Services: DealerTrend provides efficient monthly advertising services for independent dealers. The revenue model is subscription-based with monthly billing for baseline always-on advertising and additional event-mode campaign services. Services include inventory ad management, audience targeting, campaign launch, and monthly performance reporting.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

DealerTrend provides an automotive advertising technology platform for independent car dealers, combining always-on Baseline Mode campaigns (Google Vehicle Listing Ads, Meta Automotive Inventory Ads, trade-in campaigns, Google Business Profile management) with Event Mode high-impact time-bound campaigns (Connected TV, direct mail, radio, email, point-of-purchase materials). The platform leverages Equifax financial data for credit-qualified audience targeting and proprietary DriveSites VIN-specific landing pages with FTC-compliant payment advertising.

Product overview

DealerTrend is an automotive advertising technology company that offers a dual-mode platform for independent dealers: Baseline Mode provides always-on advertising with continuous campaigns across Google Vehicle Listing Ads, Meta Automotive Inventory Ads, trade-in campaigns, and Google Business Profile management. Event Mode layers high-impact time-bound campaigns on top, adding Connected TV/streaming, direct mail, radio, email, and point-of-purchase materials. DriveSites provides VIN-specific landing pages with payment data for conversion optimization. The platform integrates with Equifax for audience intelligence (credit-qualified targeting) and connects to dealer management/inventory management systems for automated data synchronization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Baseline Mode Always-on advertising mode that maintains continuous campaigns across multiple channels (Google Vehicle Listing Ads, Meta Automotive Inventory Ads, trade-in campaigns, Google Business Profile management) to keep dealership inventory visible without excessive budget spend.
• Event Mode High-impact event marketing layer that stacks on top of Baseline Mode during specific campaign windows, adding Connected TV/streaming ads, direct mail with VIN-matched conquest lists, radio and broadcast, email campaigns with urgency creative, and point-of-purchase materials.
• DriveSites VIN-specific landing pages that display real monthly payments with full FTC disclosures, distraction-free design with no navigation or search results, Google Quality Score optimization through matching ad and landing page content, and automatic removal when vehicles sell.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90%+ ad platform activation rate for credit-qualified audiences
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EquifaxcoreTechnology or IntegrationDealerTrend has a strategic partnership with Equifax for audience intelligence and targeting capabilities. The partnership provides access to Equifax financial data including 350M+ consumers in the database, 200M+ VINs with ownership data, 100+ financial signals per consumer, and 90%+ ad platform activation rate. This enables DealerTrend to identify credit-qualified buyers in dealer market areas who have the credit score and income to purchase vehicles, eliminating wasted advertising spend on unqualified prospects.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DealerSocket: DealerSocket (now part of Solera) provides CRM, marketing automation, and digital advertising tools to automotive dealerships, overlapping directly with DealerTrend's dealer marketing stack.
• VinSolutions: VinSolutions, a Cox Automotive company, sells dealer CRM plus digital marketing solutions including inventory ads and targeted campaigns, directly competing with DealerTrend's offering for the same independent dealer buyer.
• LotLinx: LotLinx is a VIN-level digital advertising platform for auto dealers with similar inventory-feed-driven paid media mechanics. Its product directly overlaps with DealerTrend's Vehicle Listing Ads and audience targeting capabilities.
• DealerCenter: DealerCenter provides dealer management plus digital marketing tools for independent dealers, addressing the same SMB and mid-market dealer segment that DealerTrend serves.

Broad incumbents

• Dealertrack: Dealertrack, a Cox Automotive subsidiary, offers a broad dealer software suite including F&I and DMS, with adjacent marketing capabilities relevant to DealerTrend's customers.
• Cars.com: Cars.com operates a major automotive marketplace plus dealer marketing solutions (Dealer Inspire), placing it as a broader incumbent that competes for dealer marketing budgets alongside DealerTrend.
• AutoTrader: AutoTrader (Cox Automotive) is a leading automotive marketplace and dealer advertising platform, with overlap on inventory-led acquisition marketing relevant to DealerTrend's customers.
• ReachLocal: ReachLocal provides SMB digital marketing and advertising services across verticals, with comparable subscription-based model and multi-channel campaign execution aimed at small businesses including dealers.

Emerging players

• Podium: Podium provides customer engagement and messaging tools to automotive dealers, increasingly expanding into marketing solutions that overlap with portions of DealerTrend's integrated offering.
• Yext: Yext manages local business listings and digital presence for multi-location brands, including dealer Google Business Profile workflows that overlap with DealerTrend's GBP management module.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dealertrend

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DealerTrend