Automotive Marketing Solutions, LLC

What Automotive Marketing Solutions, LLC does

Automotive Marketing Solutions, LLC (AMS) is a privately held, Lubbock, Texas-based marketing services company founded in 2007 by Jeff Bartholomew that sells bundled digital marketing and inventory merchandising solutions to auto dealerships across the United States. Its core offering is an inventory management and lot service that combines trained on-site photographers, professional image capture, lot porter support, and syndication of dealer inventory to third-party listing platforms via contracts with Cars.com, Edmunds, and CarGurus. AMS wraps this core with eight product modules: AMS Virtual Tour (proprietary high-resolution virtual tours), AMS Viral Video (HD video with automated VIN-specific voice-overs), TextUps (SMS lead capture via coded window labels), AMS Custom Comments (human-written SEO vehicle descriptions), Social Media Management, VIN-Specific Digital Ads (retargeting with a recommendation engine and pay-for-performance pricing), and AMS Live Chat.

The technology stack is operational rather than platform-native: photography and video workflows are staff-driven, analytics are surfaced through a custom Google Data Studios dashboard, and integrations are limited to Google Analytics and the three listing marketplaces. The business model is primarily a monthly recurring subscription for bundled services, supplemented by usage-based pay-for-performance charges on VIN-specific retargeting, with custom quote-based pricing per dealership. AMS goes to market through a direct, sales-led motion with regional field sales coverage (e.g., a Sales Manager for NW Arkansas), a "Setup a Call" website conversion path, and SEO/content marketing, targeting new, used, and certified pre-owned dealerships nationwide. The company is founder-controlled, with Jeff Bartholomew as owner, Cody as CEO, and a management team of approximately 11–50 employees; no institutional funding, acquisitions, or public market activity is disclosed.

Name

Automotive Marketing Solutions, LLC

Legal name

Automotive Marketing Solutions, LLC

Website

https://amstexas.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Automotive Marketing Solutions is a Lubbock, Texas-based marketing services firm that sells bundled digital marketing, photography, video, SMS, retargeting, and listing-distribution solutions to auto dealerships nationwide, monetized primarily through monthly subscriptions and pay-for-performance retargeting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lubbock

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Marketing Services Subscription: Ongoing marketing services for dealerships including inventory management, social media management, virtual tours, and digital advertising. Provided as recurring services to help dealerships maximize ROI for online marketing of their inventory.
2. Pay-for-Performance Digital Ads: VIN-specific retargeting advertising with a pay-for-performance model where clients are only charged when a lost site visitor is re-interested and clicks through to a specific VDP. If visitors don't click, there is no charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Automotive Marketing Solutions (AMS) is a full-service automotive marketing company that helps auto dealerships maximize ROI for online marketing of their vehicle inventory. It bundles inventory lot services (photography, porters, listing distribution to Cars.com, Edmunds, CarGurus) with proprietary digital marketing products including AMS Virtual Tour, AMS Viral Video, VIN-Specific Retargeting Ads, TextUps SMS Lead Capture, Social Media Management, AMS Custom Comments, and AMS Live Chat. Services are sold as recurring monthly subscriptions tailored to each dealership.

Product overview

Automotive Marketing Solutions is a full-service automotive marketing company offering a unified platform with multiple integrated modules for dealership digital marketing. The core offering is Inventory Management/Lot Services, supplemented by specialized marketing products including AMS Virtual Tour (high-resolution photography/virtual tours), AMS Viral Video (HD video with automated voice-over), AMS Custom Comments (SEO vehicle descriptions), TextUps (SMS lead capture), Social Media Management, VIN Specific Digital Ads/Retargeting, and AMS Live Chat. Products work together to maximize dealer ROI by managing inventory photography, distribution to listing platforms (Cars.com, Edmunds, CarGurus), and multi-channel digital marketing including retargeting, social media, and SMS marketing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TextUps: SMS lead capture system using window labels or hang-tags with unique codes for vehicles on dealership lots. Shoppers text the last 8 digits of VIN to receive vehicle information.
• AMS Virtual Tour
• AMS Viral Video
• AMS Custom Comments
• AMS Live Chat

Products and services

• Inventory Management/Lot Services Comprehensive inventory management service providing trained on-site photographers, professional lot photos, lot porters, and inventory listing distribution to major platforms (Cars.com, Edmunds, CarGurus). Aimed at new, used, and certified pre-owned auto dealerships.
• AMS Virtual Tour Proprietary virtual tour system combining higher resolution photos with custom technology, delivered by on-site staff trained in photography. Targets auto dealerships seeking to improve online engagement with their inventory, claiming 56% lift in engagement, 10% lift in leads, and 42% lift in conversion.
• TextUps SMS Lead Capture SMS lead capture system using uniquely coded window labels or hang-tags for each vehicle on the dealership lot. Shoppers text the last 8 of the VIN to receive vehicle information while dealers receive the shopper's mobile number and vehicle interest. Includes Save-to-Phone and Photo Overlay features.
• Social Media Management Dealership-exclusive social media management offering paid advertising, organic posting, audience targeting, content creation, profile creation, custom video creation, and monthly analytic reporting.
• VIN-Specific Digital Retargeting Ads Retargeting service that tracks website visitors and serves VIN-specific ads to local, low-funnel shoppers driving them back to Vehicle Detail Pages. Features 990+ ad permutations, a recommendation engine tracking VDP behavior, and a pay-for-performance billing model. Reports an average 1.1% CTR.
• AMS Viral Video HD video product for automotive inventory combining high-resolution full motion video with VIN-generated automated voice-overs that highlight vehicle features. 12-hour turnaround and supports delivery via text or email with custom voice-over.
• AMS Custom Comments Vehicle description writing service using a library of vehicle data, with custom comments written by professional human writers (not AI) providing SEO-optimized, emotionally compelling descriptions with relevant keywords for dealer listings.
• AMS Live Chat Live chat service for dealership websites that enables real-time customer engagement and lead capture with on-site visitors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 56% increase in engagement on average (guaranteed)
• +7 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

Integration5 records

AI capability8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cars.comcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAMS has established contracts with Cars.com as part of their inventory management and listing distribution services. They help dealerships get their inventory listed on Cars.com as part of their comprehensive listing management services.
• EdmundscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAMS has contracts with Edmunds to help dealerships distribute their inventory listings through Edmunds' platform as part of their comprehensive inventory feed management services.
• CarGuruscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAMS has contracts with CarGurus to facilitate dealership inventory listings on the CarGurus platform, providing dealers with expanded digital reach through this major automotive marketplace.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• DealerOn: Vendor of dealer websites, SEM, and digital marketing services. Closely comparable to AMS in serving franchise dealer groups with integrated digital marketing products.
• PureCars: Digital marketing and advertising platform purpose-built for automotive dealerships, with VIN-level targeting and paid-media capabilities that closely mirror AMS's retargeting product.
• Team Velocity: Provider of digital marketing, advertising, and websites exclusively to automotive dealers. Comparable to AMS in vertical focus, bundled-service model, and mid-market dealer target.
• Dealer Center: All-in-one dealer management and digital marketing platform serving independent and franchise dealers. Similar product breadth to AMS across inventory, marketing, and CRM.
• Adpearance (Adtaxi): Digital marketing agency with a strong automotive vertical practice (DealerOn-adjacent offering). Comparable to AMS in delivering paid media, websites, and SEO for auto dealers.

Broad incumbents

• Dealer Inspire (Cars.com): Cars.com's dealership technology arm offering websites, digital advertising, and CRM. Comparable to AMS in marketing service offering, with the distribution advantage of Cars.com's marketplace (an AMS partner).
• Autotrader: Major U.S. automotive marketplace and dealer marketing platform owned by Cox Automotive. Overlaps with AMS's listing-distribution and dealer-marketing capabilities at a much larger scale.
• VinSolutions (Cox Automotive): Cox Automotive's flagship dealer CRM/marketing platform. Highly comparable to AMS in target customer (U.S. auto dealers) and core offering (inventory merchandising, digital marketing, lead management).
• Cars.com: Leading online automotive marketplace and dealer solutions provider. Directly comparable as both a listing partner for AMS and a broader competitor offering dealer websites, marketing, and CRM.
• DealerSocket (Cox Automotive): A leading dealer CRM and marketing automation platform owned by Cox Automotive. It directly overlaps AMS's dealer marketing scope but operates as part of a much broader dealer-technology portfolio with deep OEM relationships.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AMS_TX
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/automotive-marketing-solutions-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

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 Automotive Marketing Solutions, LLC