Advertising
that sells
more cars.
McKenzie Partners is Sydney's full-service automotive advertising agency. From digital lead generation to broadcast creative, we have driven results for 300+ dealerships across Australia for over 25 years.
What is a specialist automotive advertising agency?
A specialist automotive advertising agency plans, creates, and manages advertising specifically for car dealerships and automotive brands. McKenzie Partners is a full-service automotive agency in Sydney, founded in 1999, with 25+ years of experience and a portfolio of 300+ dealerships across Australia.
We understand how car buyers think, how they search, and what moves them from browsing to buying. Our strategies are built around the full purchase journey, from brand awareness through to in-market leads and showroom conversions. We are not a generalist agency that occasionally takes on a car dealer. Automotive is central to what we do.
Automotive specialists since day one.
Why choose a specialist automotive advertising agency in Sydney?
Choosing a specialist automotive agency means working with a team that understands car buyer behaviour, dealership economics, and automotive-specific platforms. McKenzie Partners combines 25+ years of automotive experience, a fully in-house team with no outsourcing, and Google Premier Partner status to deliver measurable results for dealerships.
25 years of automotive experience
We have worked in automotive advertising since 1999, through market booms, the GFC, COVID, and the EV revolution. That depth means we know what works in this industry and what does not, and our clients benefit from that knowledge every single day.
Fully in-house. No outsourcing.
Strategy, creative, video, media buying, digital, SEO, social, and reporting, all under one roof in Sydney. No hand-offs, no middlemen. The team you meet is the team that builds and runs your campaigns, which means faster turnaround and full accountability.
Performance you can measure
As a Google Premier Partner, we have access to advanced tools, priority support, and benchmarks unavailable to most agencies. Every campaign is tracked with clear reporting on leads, cost per lead, and return on ad spend, down to the individual enquiry.
Which advertising channels work best for car dealerships?
The most effective dealership advertising combines Google Search to capture active buyers, social media to reach in-market audiences earlier, programmatic for precise targeting at scale, and Catch-Up TV for broadcast reach with digital targeting. McKenzie Partners delivers all of these channels in-house, plus creative and traditional media.
Google & Search Marketing
We manage Google Ads campaigns tuned for automotive, capturing in-market buyers at the exact moment they search for a car. As a Google Premier Partner, we access beta features and insights unavailable to standard agencies, running Search, Display, YouTube, and Performance Max campaigns built for dealership lead volume.
Social Media Advertising
Automotive buyers research on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok before they ever step into a showroom. We run social campaigns targeting in-market audiences with precision, using model-specific creative, dynamic inventory ads, and retargeting to keep your dealership front of mind, all tracked back to enquiries and test drives.
Programmatic Advertising
Programmatic lets us reach car buyers across thousands of websites and apps, with targeting that goes far beyond search or social. We use first-party and third-party data to reach buyers by make, model interest, location, and intent. It is particularly effective for conquest campaigns and new model launches.
Catch-Up TV Advertising
Catch-Up TV is one of the fastest-growing automotive channels in Australia. Platforms like 9Now, 7Plus, and 10 Play deliver broadcast-quality reach with digital targeting, serving a TVC to viewers in a specific postcode or demographic. We offer an end-to-end service, producing the ad and booking the placements.
Automotive Creative & Video
Great automotive advertising requires creative that moves people. Our in-house creative and video team produces dealership TVCs, social video, digital display, outdoor billboards, and radio scripts. All creative is designed to perform, not just look good, delivered fast without the overhead of a traditional production company.
Traditional Media Buying
Television, radio, and outdoor remain among the highest-impact channels for automotive, particularly for brand building and major sale events. We have long-standing relationships with all major publishers and broadcasters, giving clients competitive rates and preferred placement, planned and bought with full transparency.
What results has McKenzie Partners delivered for car dealerships?
McKenzie Partners has delivered measurable results for automotive clients including Canberra BMW, Penfold Motors, and Isuzu Ute. Our campaigns are measured by enquiries, test drive bookings, and cars sold, not impressions, using full-funnel strategies across Google, social, programmatic, Catch-Up TV, and traditional media.
Canberra BMW
Canberra BMW needed to drive qualified leads for new model launches and used vehicle stock in a market far smaller than Sydney or Melbourne. We built a full-funnel digital strategy combining Google Search, social retargeting, and programmatic display, targeting affluent in-market audiences across the ACT. The result was consistent monthly lead volume at a cost per lead that beat the national BMW dealer benchmark.
Penfold Motors Blackout Sale
Penfold Motors needed maximum reach for their annual Blackout Sale, a high-pressure short-window event requiring peak results in minimum time. We launched a coordinated campaign across digital, social, Catch-Up TV, and radio simultaneously, with bold high-contrast creative designed to cut through on every screen and format. The campaign generated record enquiry volume across the Penfold group during the sale period.
Isuzu Ute
Isuzu Ute required a campaign reaching both private buyers and commercial fleet decision-makers simultaneously, two audiences with very different motivations. We developed separate creative streams for each segment across Search, social, programmatic, and outdoor. The commercial campaign focused on total cost of ownership; the private campaign led with lifestyle, each tracked independently for ongoing budget optimisation.
Which automotive brands does McKenzie Partners work with?
McKenzie Partners works with 300+ dealerships across Australia, spanning brands such as Kia, Nissan, Suzuki, Subaru, BYD, and MG, along with major dealer groups including Suttons, Eagers Automotive, and Penfold Motors. Our clients range from single-location dealerships to multi-franchise groups operating across several states.
Automotive advertising, answered.
Answers to the questions we hear most from dealerships and automotive brands considering a new agency partner in Sydney.
What does an automotive advertising agency do?
An automotive advertising agency plans, creates, and manages advertising campaigns for car dealerships and automotive brands. This covers strategy, creative, media buying, digital marketing, and performance reporting. A specialist agency focuses only on automotive, giving it deep knowledge of car buyer behaviour and dealership marketing that a generalist agency will not have.
How much does automotive advertising cost in Sydney?
Automotive advertising costs vary by channel, market, and goals. Most dealerships invest across a media budget plus an agency management fee. McKenzie Partners builds each plan around your objectives and budget rather than a fixed package, and reports transparently on cost per lead so you always know what your investment returns.
Which advertising channels work best for car dealerships?
The most effective dealership advertising combines several channels. Google Search captures active buyers, social media reaches them earlier, programmatic targets precise audiences at scale, and Catch-Up TV delivers broadcast reach with digital targeting. The right mix depends on your market, budget, and whether the focus is brand, a launch, or retail leads.
Does McKenzie work with single dealerships or only dealer groups?
We work with both. Our portfolio includes single-location independents, multi-franchise dealer groups, and national automotive brands. Every client receives a strategy tailored to their market and objectives, not a one-size-fits-all package. Whether you have one showroom or twenty, we build a plan that fits your situation and budget.
Can McKenzie Partners produce our creative in-house?
Yes, and it is one of our key strengths. We have a full in-house creative team covering copywriting, design, video production, and animation. We produce TVCs, social video, digital display, outdoor, and radio creative internally, giving faster turnaround, lower production costs, and creative fully integrated with your media strategy from the start.
What is Catch-Up TV advertising for car dealerships?
Catch-Up TV refers to on-demand streaming platforms like 9Now, 7Plus, and 10 Play. They let advertisers serve video ads to viewers watching broadcast content on demand, with targeting not available in traditional TV. For dealerships, this means running a TVC seen by viewers in your specific area and demographic. We produce the ad and book the placements end-to-end.
Ready to sell
more cars?
Talk to our automotive advertising team. We will review what you are currently running and tell you honestly where we think we can improve results. No obligation, no sales pitch.