Disclosure: Pinnacle Sales and Mail publishes this site and ranks itself first on this list. Every other company here was chosen and checked by us from its own published information in September 2026; none of them paid to be included.
The best dealership marketing companies headquartered in the Southeast for 2026 are Pinnacle Sales and Mail (staffed events, mail and BDC, North Carolina), Strong Automotive (full-service automotive agency, Alabama), PureCars (data-driven dealer advertising, Georgia), Force Marketing (streaming, conquest and retention, Georgia) and Team Velocity (the Apollo platform, Virginia).
How We Chose
Every company had to be headquartered in the Southeast as we defined it above, confirmed from an address on its own website (or, for one company, its own description of its headquarters plus its public business listings). Serving the region was not enough. Each also had to sell marketing to car dealerships as a core business and be operating when we checked in September 2026.
We deliberately kept this list different from our North Carolina list. That one is about local vendors for single stores in North Carolina markets. This one is about companies with the scale, platforms or reach that regional and multi-state dealer groups look for. Apart from Pinnacle, no company appears on both lists. We ranked on scale, clarity about what is sold, and fit for groups operating across several Southeast states. We are on this list and ranked ourselves first.
At a Glance: The Shortlist
| Company | Best for | Main services | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle Sales and Mail | Staffed events, mail and BDC across many stores | Staffed and hosted events, direct mail, BDC, training | Cornelius, NC |
| Strong Automotive | One automotive-only agency for mail, video and digital | Direct mail, video, digital, co-op, retention | Birmingham, AL |
| PureCars | Data-driven media across many rooftops | Customer data, social, OTT, mail, email, AI | Atlanta, GA |
| Force Marketing | Streaming TV, conquest and fixed ops retention | Streaming video, conquest data, remarketing, service | Atlanta, GA |
| Team Velocity | One platform for website, ads and retention | Apollo CXP: websites, advertising, CDP, AI | Northern Virginia |
| CMG Local Solutions | Local TV, radio and streaming plus digital | SEO, SEM, social, OTT, email, reputation | Atlanta, GA |
| Action Integrated Marketing | Performance-based pay | Full-service, digital, traditional, used car promotions | Peachtree Corners, GA |
| Automotive Experts | A second event quote | Staffed events, direct mail, BDC, Facebook promotion | New Orleans, LA |
| JVS Marketing | Broadcast and print for Florida stores | TV, radio, print, mail, digital, media buying | Jupiter, FL |
1. Pinnacle Sales and Mail
Pinnacle Sales and Mail is headquartered in Cornelius, North Carolina, and has been in business for over 25 years. It works nationwide, "from California to the Carolinas," and its clients range from some of the largest dealer groups in the country to smaller independent dealerships. Owners Joe and Julie Cox (Joe is CEO) have played a role in developing over 5,000 direct mail campaigns, staffed and non-staffed.
Best for: Dealer groups that want the same staffed event, mail program and phone room run the same way at every rooftop.
What they offer:
- Staffed sales events with salespeople, desk managers and closers, plus hosted events and off-site sales. The site states a $300,000 guarantee on every staffed event: if the dealership does not see an increase in sales of at least $300,000 during the event, Pinnacle refunds its fees. Pinnacle's own published figures are 120 staffed events per year, 735 average leads and 58 cars sold per event, and $309,000 average gross.
- Direct mail with wholesale pricing and co-op approved pieces for franchise stores that follow manufacturer guidelines. Pinnacle says it has delivered more than 500 million pieces of direct mail.
- BDC On Demand, an outsourced call center built only for dealerships, for full outsourcing, overflow, after-hours or event calls, with call recordings and regular reporting.
- Dealership training for sales, desk, F&I, BDC and service teams through Pinnacle Dealer Services.
Worth knowing: Pinnacle is not a full digital agency. It does not sell websites, SEO or paid search and social ad management as core services. Groups that need those should pair Pinnacle with one of the agencies or platforms below.
2. Strong Automotive
Strong Automotive is a Birmingham, Alabama agency that works only with the automotive industry. It says it has over 45 years of experience, over 150 employees and more than 400 dealership clients nationwide, and that it is still a family company, led by John Paul Strong.
Best for: Franchise dealers and groups that want one automotive-only agency for mail, video production and digital, with co-op support.
What they offer: Direct mail (it says it sends over 6 million pieces a year), email, video and commercial production, graphic design, digital marketing, co-op, a retention program and OEM programs. It says it is a Google Premier Partner.
Worth knowing: Strong is an advertising agency. It does not advertise on-site event staffing, so plan events separately.
3. PureCars
PureCars lists its address as 931 Monroe Drive NE in Atlanta. It combines dealer advertising with customer data: its site describes market insights and reporting, the AutoMiner customer data platform, identity matching, and outreach across social, streaming video, direct mail, email and BDC call lists. PureCars says it has 375+ employees, 18 years in business and more than $250 million in media under management.
Best for: Groups that want their customer data cleaned up and used to plan media across many stores and channels.
What they offer: Planning and insights, a customer data platform, multi-channel advertising with partners including Google, Meta, TikTok and Amazon, and Rylie, which it calls an AI assistant for dealers. It lists 25+ OEM certifications.
Worth knowing: PureCars is a technology and media company. The value depends on how well your DMS and CRM data feed it, so budget time for setup.
4. Force Marketing
Force Marketing is based at 3098 Piedmont Road NE in Atlanta and calls itself a full lifecycle digital marketing engine for dealers and OEMs. It says it serves over 1,200 dealerships and holds certifications with brands including Honda, Acura, Hyundai, Nissan, Porsche, Audi and BMW.
Best for: Groups that want streaming TV, conquest targeting and fixed ops retention run by one vendor.
What they offer: The "Force Stack": DRIVE (OEM-compliant streaming video ads), CONQUEST CONNECT (a customer data platform for reaching new buyers), RECAPTURE (remarketing to shoppers) and ATOM (email and direct mail automation for service). It also runs paid social, paid search, display and SEO.
Worth knowing: Force is digital-first. Mail appears inside its service retention product rather than as a standalone sales mail program.
5. Team Velocity
Team Velocity says its headquarters are just outside Washington, D.C.; its public business listings place them in Herndon, Virginia. Its product is Apollo, which it calls a customer experience platform. It says it works with over 76 of the nation's top 100 dealerships and 23 manufacturers.
Best for: Large groups that want websites, advertising, retention and digital retailing on one platform.
What they offer: Apollo websites, advertising (streaming, display, paid social, video and search), a retention customer data platform, Command Center for lead management, AssistantAI, the Transact digital retailing tool, SEO and analytics, and OEM programs.
Worth knowing: Northern Virginia is the northern edge of our region. Apollo works best when you adopt several modules, which is a bigger commitment than hiring an agency.
6. CMG Local Solutions
CMG Local Solutions is the marketing services arm of Cox Media Group, headquartered at 1601 West Peachtree Street in Atlanta. Its automotive page says it has served 360+ automotive clients. The markets it lists include Atlanta, Athens, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, which covers much of the region.
Best for: Dealers who still buy local TV and radio and want streaming and digital planned alongside it.
What they offer: SEO and SEM, social and video ads, display, streaming (OTT) and pre-roll video, email marketing, reputation and listings management, and campaign analytics.
Worth knowing: CMG serves many industries, and its reach is strongest in the markets it lists. Confirm coverage for each of your rooftops.
7. Action Integrated Marketing
Action Integrated Marketing is based in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. Its pitch is unusual: "You pay us for our services only on how many cars you sell." Its client list includes dealer groups across the region, from Mississippi and Alabama to Chattanooga and Florida's Gulf Coast.
Best for: Dealers who want an agency paid on cars sold rather than a fixed retainer.
What they offer: Full-service, digital and traditional marketing, used car promotions and IdentifyAI, which it describes as an identity resolution tool.
Worth knowing: Performance pricing needs clear rules. Agree in writing on which sales count and how they are matched before you start.
8. Automotive Experts
Automotive Experts lists New Orleans, Louisiana as its location. It sells the same core services as Pinnacle, including staffed events, direct mail and BDC, and says its services have generated $200,000 to $550,000 or more in extra gross profit for dealers.
Best for: Gulf Coast dealers, and any dealer who wants a second staffed event quote to compare.
What they offer: Direct mail, staffed events, BDC, direct voicemail, Facebook promotion, a data product called Profit Miner and branded "Jimmy the Boxer" sales events.
Worth knowing: Automotive Experts competes directly with Pinnacle. Compare staffing, guarantees and who works the phones before choosing either of us.
9. JVS Marketing
JVS Marketing is a full-service advertising agency at 860 Jupiter Park Drive in Jupiter, Florida, and says its design team specializes in automotive strategies built to drive traffic. Dealer testimonials on its site come from Florida and Virginia stores.
Best for: Florida dealers with a meaningful TV, radio and print budget who want one agency to plan, produce and buy it.
What they offer: TV, radio and print, direct mail, digital media, media planning and placement, research, and TV and radio production.
Worth knowing: JVS is a smaller, broadcast-heavy agency. Groups needing a data platform should look at PureCars, Force or Team Velocity.
How to Choose a Marketing Partner for a Multi-State Group
A single store can judge a vendor by one month of results. A group running stores in several Southeast states needs to know the vendor can do the same job well in Richmond, Charlotte, Atlanta and Tampa at once.
Insist on rooftop-level reporting
Group dashboards hide weak stores. Ask for results by rooftop, matched to your sales records, and agree on the method before launch. Our guide to dealership marketing attribution lists the questions to settle.
Check co-op and state rules brand by brand
Co-op rules differ by manufacturer, and a group with six brands has six rulebooks. Advertising and consumer protection rules also differ by state. Ask who checks each piece against both.
Split the work honestly
No company on this list does everything best. Many groups pair a digital platform with a traffic vendor for events, mail and phones. If you split the work, make one person responsible for the calendar so a staffed event and a digital push do not fight over the same weekend.
Questions to ask
- Which of our markets do you already work in today?
- Who owns our data and creative when the contract ends?
- What is the contract length, and what does it cost to leave?
- How fast can you change a campaign when one store has an inventory problem?
Frequently Asked Questions
Which states count as the Southeast for this list?
We counted Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. A company qualified only if its headquarters is in one of those states. Many national agencies serve Southeast dealers, but we left out any that are headquartered elsewhere.
Why are so many dealer marketing companies based in Atlanta?
Four of the nine companies here are based in metro Atlanta: PureCars, Force Marketing, CMG Local Solutions and Action Integrated Marketing. Headquarters location matters less than whether a vendor can show results in your own markets.
Should a dealer group use one marketing company or several?
Most groups end up with more than one: a digital agency or platform for search, social and streaming, and a separate vendor for events, mail and phone work. One vendor is simpler to manage, but only if it is strong at everything you need. Make someone in-house own the calendar and the reporting.
Which Southeast companies run staffed sales events?
On this list, Pinnacle Sales and Mail and Automotive Experts both run staffed events alongside direct mail and BDC. Pinnacle publishes a $300,000 sales guarantee on every staffed event. See our separate ranking of sales event companies for a wider comparison.
How do I judge a dealership marketing company's results claims?
Treat every published figure, including ours, as the vendor's own number. Ask for results from stores like yours, matched to actual sales, and ask for a reference you can call. Compare cost per sold vehicle rather than cost per lead or impression.
Summary
The Southeast has strong dealer marketing companies at every scale: data platforms in Atlanta and Northern Virginia, an automotive-only agency in Birmingham, broadcast shops in Florida and event companies in the Carolinas and New Orleans. Pinnacle Sales and Mail runs staffed events, mail, BDC and training for groups across the region and beyond, and does not sell SEO, websites or ad management. For a wider look at event vendors, see our sales event company rankings, or talk to us about your stores.
