Co-op Funds Need an Owner

Co-op and MDF are among the most under-used profit levers on a powersports floor. Dealers know the money is there. What stops it is that claiming it takes somebody who owns all seven steps:

1. Eligibility. Which campaigns qualify? Under which program? What percentage comes back?
2. Pre-approval. Does the OEM require it? What is the cutoff? Which creative rules apply?
3. Compliant creative. Does the ad carry the right logo lockup, the required disclaimers, and the correct model-year and date references?
4. Proof. Did the ad run in the right window, on the right platform, to the right audience?
5. Invoicing. Are the platform invoices, screenshots and spend reports pulled and organized?
6. Submission. Did the packet go in before the deadline, in the required format, through the right portal?
7. Tracking. Was the claim approved? Was it paid? At what rate?

Miss one step, or hit it late, and the money stays with the factory. Most stores have no one carrying all seven. That is the gap.

What we find most often

• Eligible activity goes unclaimed. Initial audits frequently uncover advertising that qualified for reimbursement but was never submitted.
• OEM-funded and dealer-funded spend gets mixed. If the split is not made at the planning stage, the claim gets denied on a technicality after the money is already spent.
• Creative does not meet program requirements. A missing disclaimer, a logo in the wrong position, or a stale date reference can sink an otherwise eligible claim.
• Deadlines pass because nobody is watching. MDF windows are quarterly. Co-op cutoffs are specific and they do not move. With no one on the calendar, the money expires.
• Approved claims sit unpaid. The OEM approved it. The check never came. Nobody chased it, so it stopped existing.

Campaign Planning & Budget Separation

We build the campaign plan with co-op eligibility in it from day one. OEM-funded activity gets its own budget line, separate from dealer-led activity, so no claim gets denied because the two ran out of the same pool.

Pre-Approval Support

Where the OEM requires pre-approval, we prepare the creative, targeting and budget documentation and file it through the program portal before the campaign goes live — not the week after somebody notices it launched.

Compliant Creative

We build and check the advertising against each program's requirements: brand standards, required disclaimers, logo placement, date and model-year references, and the platform-specific rules that differ between a Meta ad and a print insert.

Proof & Invoice Collection

We pull and file what each program asks for as the campaign runs: ad screenshots, platform invoices, spend reports, audience targeting records and placement verification. Claim-ready before the deadline, instead of reconstructed from memory the week it closes.

Submission & Deadline Tracking

We keep the deadline calendar — every program, every submission window, every claim status, monthly and quarterly, across every OEM the dealership carries.

Claim Tracking to Decision

We follow each claim from submission to approval to payout, and chase the ones that stall. When a claim is denied, we find out why and whether it can go back in. Approved in a portal is not the same as deposited in the dealership's account.

• Harley-Davidson MDF (Motorcycle Division Fund)
• Can-Am / BRP co-op programs
• Sea-Doo / BRP watercraft programs
• Yamaha co-op and dealer advertising programs
• Honda powersports dealer programs
• Kawasaki dealer advertising assistance
• Polaris co-op and advertising programs
• Indian Motorcycle dealer programs
• Additional OEM programs as applicable to the dealership's brand portfolio

Every one of these has its own portal, its own deadlines and its own creative rules, and they change. We work each program to its own current specifications rather than a house template.

• Run it end-to-end. We carry the whole claim process inside the operating system: planning, creative, proof, submission, tracking.
• Strengthen your current process. We go through your co-op history, set the tracking cadence, train your people on submission requirements and deadline management — then hand the process back once it holds on its own.
• Fill the claim-tracking gap. You keep creative and planning. We watch the deadlines, pull the proof, file the claims and chase reimbursement to payout.

Verified finding: Initial audits frequently uncover eligible activity or available MDF funds that were not being actively tracked.

• One owner for every open claim: a person carrying eligibility, proof, submission and payout
• A monthly co-op status report: which programs are active, which deadlines are coming, and which claims are submitted, approved or paid
• Budget separation at the planning stage: OEM-funded and dealer-funded activity on separate lines, so reimbursement is not denied on a technicality
• Fewer expired funds: the deadline calendar gets worked ahead of the window, not after somebody asks about it