Driving dealer leads with a new paid media strategy for Model 1 Commercial Vehicles

Model 1

Increasing conversions from media by 143% through a new evergreen paid media approach

Model 1, a leading nationwide commercial vehicle dealer, partnered with Element Three to evolve its paid media strategy and drive more efficient, scalable growth. By shifting away from inventory-specific campaigns and toward promoting broader product categories like vans, shuttles, and buses, Model 1 was able to capture higher-intent leads across the OEMs they offer. The new and increased media investments prioritized paid search to reach in-market buyers, while paid social and display supported brand awareness, mid-funnel offers to target accounts, trade show audiences, and first party audiences on vehicle buying sites—resulting in an 11X return on ad spend.

226%

Increase in Quote Requests

247%

Increase in Deals from Media YoY

410

Deals Added to Pipeline

THE CHALLENGE

As Model 1 scaled its national presence and aimed to create more consistent growth across regions and product lines, the business needed a paid media strategy that could support long-term pipeline development—not just short-term wins. The focus shifted from driving individual transactions to building brand awareness and generating high-quality leads that could be nurtured by regional sales teams. This evolution enables Model 1 to better align marketing with its dealer-driven sales model, empowering sales reps to tailor follow-up efforts—like moving distressed inventory—once a connection was made.

THE SOLUTION

Moving beyond inventory to a full-funnel strategy

To meet Model 1’s evolving business needs, Element Three reimagined the paid media strategy from the ground up—building a scalable program designed to support national growth, enable cross-sell opportunities, and improve overall marketing efficiency. Rather than optimizing solely for short-term conversions, the new approach also prioritized long-term pipeline health and better alignment between marketing and sales.

The updated strategy centered around three core shifts:

Category-led messaging: Instead of focusing on model type, media campaigns were restructured to highlight broader product categories. This not only improved lead volume and efficiency, but also reduced competition with OEMs on high-cost keywords.
Channel-specific roles: Paid search was optimized to capture in-market demand—especially during peak buying windows—while paid social and display played a larger role in brand awareness, trade show support, and retargeting.
Sales enabled through marketing: By generating more qualified leads at the top of the funnel, the new media strategy gave sales teams the flexibility to focus their energy on personalized, high-impact activities like moving distressed inventory once prospects were engaged.

This new structure also introduced a more consistent measurement rhythm and cross-platform optimization—ensuring dollars were not only working harder, but smarter. The result: more leads, stronger attribution, and a media engine built to grow with the business.

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