“You’re Getting the Diluted Version”: How Dealers Are Being Underserved by Their Own Ad Vendors | Subi Ghosh, EVP Partnerships at fullthrottle.ai
Dealers are spending more on advertising than ever… and according to Subi Ghosh, many of them are still playing the game wrong.
This conversation from NADA 2026 might be one of the most important shifts we’ve discussed on The Dealer Playbook.
She believes the real issue in automotive advertising isn’t traffic. It isn’t creativity. It isn’t even budget.
It’s fragmentation.
In this episode Subi Ghosh who is the Head of Partnerships at Fullthrottle and one of the driving forces behind Auto Media Marketplace breaks down why dealers are often buying media in silos, relying on diluted data, and unknowingly limiting their own performance. She explains how platforms fighting each other instead of aligning is quietly costing retailers reach, influence, and ROI.
And here’s the part that hits hard.
While many dealers are still pouring money into search and social the way they always have, behavior has shifted. Discovery has shifted. AI has changed how people find information. And the brands that understand how to unify premium media, activate real data, and collaborate across channels are starting to pull ahead.
Subi makes the case that this is no longer about buying ads.
It’s about infrastructure.
It’s about coordination.
It’s about influencing buyers before they ever type into a search bar.
If you’ve felt like your ad spend isn’t stretching as far as it used to…
If you’ve noticed performance becoming harder to maintain…
If you’ve ever wondered whether the platforms are truly working together for you…
You need to hear this conversation.
Because the shift is already happening.
And the dealers who recognize it early will not just compete better. They’ll operate at an entirely different level.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
02:57 Auto Media Marketplace Explained
04:57 Why Streaming + Premium Inventory + Data Layers Are Changing Advertising
05:41 From Search & Social to Full-Funnel Media: Staying Top of Mind in a New Era
06:47 Real-World Targeting Story: ‘Landman’ Ads, Audience Data & Influence in Action
09:24 Competitors as Allies: How to Align, Take on the ‘Big Fish,’ and Win Together
11:52 Unity on the Show Floor: Building a Cohesive Strategy Across Channels
13:43 Connect with Subie + Final Wrap-Up and Podcast Outro
Episode Brought To You By FlexDealer
Need Better Quality Leads? FLX helps car dealers generate better quality leads through localized organic search and highly-targeted digital ads that convert. Not only that, they work tirelessly to ensure car dealers integrate marketing and operations for a robust and functional growth strategy.
Watch The Full Episode
Prefer to watch episodes? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel and turn on notifications to get full access to our content.
Episode Transcript
Intro
What's up gang?
We are here, Dealer Playbook live at NADA 2026 at the Auto Media Marketing booth with I Heart Media Automotive and Full Throttle.
I'm with my pal Subi.
0:25
*Subi Ghosh*
Hi.
0:25
*Michael Cirillo*
Welcome to the show.
0:27
*Subi Ghosh*
Thank you for having.
0:27
*Michael Cirillo*
You've been running around like crazy.
0:29
*Subi Ghosh*
I have been.
0:30
*Michael Cirillo*
Actually not crazy with poison decorum.
0:33
*Subi Ghosh*
It's been controlled chaos, I would say, you know, it's been a really busy, incredible conversations exciting like we talked about like brain on fire, you know, you're really activated and coming up with all these really great ideas and potential things that we can do together type of.
0:51
*Michael Cirillo*
Events.
Well, and I'm glad you say this because you're one of the most organized people I know.
And So what is your secret for taking all of the energy and the conversations about what you do back to the office to like actually put them in execution?
1:08
Because I feel like a lot of people miss the execution piece.
1:11
*Subi Ghosh*
Oh, I completely understand that.
And I, I wouldn't even say that I'm the most organized person.
It's more of I want to prioritize what I know I'm most excited about that's going to have the greatest impact and make sure that I'm communicating with the people that need to, to do it.
1:29
And so for some reason, I'm able to, to organize for others to make sure that those outcomes happen than for myself.
So it's more about for each conversation, making sure I'm taking notes on my phone of what is the one thing that we're excited about from our conversation that we can pursue.
1:46
Because I think this industry is filled with visionaries, people who are entrepreneurial in spirit and have a lot of great ideas, but are surrounded by teams.
So when there's an idea that they come up with, it's hard to follow through because there's so many priorities that take your day-to-day attention.
2:05
And so if I can help by uncovering what that idea is and making sure that we're chasing it together with identifying the next steps.
2:15
*Michael Cirillo*
Well, so and I mean you're the head of partnerships at Auto Media Marketplace.
I would say this, I don't know if you're the take the credit type.
I don't think you are, but I will give you the credit.
You brought this all together speaking about speaking about, I mean partnerships and and all bringing everything together in one place.
2:35
I mean, gosh, we've had I heart here.
Comcast, Televisa, Univision, I have to say it that way.
Oh my gosh, who am I missing?
Next star Roku for a common purpose like you, you've seen a thread through all of these things.
Talk to me about what you're seeing from your vantage point and why it's beneficial that that all of these entities come together.
2:57
Auto Media Marketplace Explained
Yeah, so auto media marketplace is not a company, it's a mission.
So full throttle is the the data and the the, the, the actual activation of everything.
But what we found is that there's so much misinformation and mis education in the space when it comes to media.
3:18
There's also a lot of conflicting information and siloed like every, every platform has their own thing and it makes it really hard to serve your clients, not just in automotive, in advertising in general.
3:34
And so my thought was, and it's not even my idea.
Dave, Dave Ren, our and Amal are our founders.
If we can make it easier for people, will we be able to serve our clients a lot better?
3:50
And the reality is, while all of these brands that we had just mentioned our competitors, Experian is, is a good partner too on the data side versus the publisher side.
If we can bring everyone together on the things that we all agree upon, can we then serve the community better by making advertising easier, educating everyone, sharing the latest and greatest in all those different apps?
4:15
There's there's Disney and Netflix and Spotify and all of these fragmented places that unless you have really experienced media people, you're not really leveraging those places for your clients.
4:31
*Michael Cirillo*
There's a there's a dilution that happens if you don't bring all the, you know, this, this came up when we did the panel yesterday.
I'm like, Oh my gosh, this makes all the sense in the world.
If anybody was feeling skeptical, they should be feeling skeptical of someone who is getting the diluted hand me down version of the data.
4:47
Not that like and what you're talking about is what I feel is tapping directly into the source so that you do have the best opportunity to say, OK, now what do I do with this?
4:57
Why Streaming + Premium Inventory + Data Layers Are Changing Advertising
But it's also, it's not just getting access to streaming media, it's premium content, premium inventory direct from the sources we're layering in both first and third party.
So what's in my database?
5:12
Help me generate the right audiences and influence the household by using all of these partners that serve me best, that serve my clients best based on their behaviors.
It's a very different world.
I don't think people realize that this can actually be done.
5:28
And so that's where the education piece comes in.
Let's talk about the things we all agree upon, even if we're competitors and shift the narrative.
Search and social isn't serving people the way that it used to, and if we can help.
5:41
From Search & Social to Full-Funnel Media: Staying Top of Mind in a New Era
So there we've been.
Obviously we have a lot of data.
The thing that was most fascinating to me is that recently we've uncovered as people were shifting dollars from search and social to media, not only was search and social performing better, they're not.
5:58
We're not taking anything away, but at lower costs.
So now we're serving our retailers better, we're influencing them throughout the entire funnel.
We're bringing them further and further, and we're staying top of mind in a way that we haven't been able to do because search has been shifting.
6:16
ChatGPT and AI's have changed the game and how people search, the algorithms have changed, search behavior has changed.
And so this is a great way to stay top of mind and why don't we all come together with a singular mission, join forces, and really elevate what advertising means and AD tech means to all of our clients across every vertical.
6:39
*Michael Cirillo*
OK.
6:41
*Subi Ghosh*
Did you hear?
Did you hear what she just said?
Is that what you were going to?
6:47
Real-World Targeting Story: ‘Landman’ Ads, Audience Data & Influence in Action
Say, I was going to say yesterday we were talking about how I watch Land Man on a service called Vid Angel.
I need to tell you about Vid Angel.
It takes out all the stuff I'm watching it.
But you know what's so interesting about Land Man?
7:04
They know the demographic of who's watching this show.
And so the commercials are oh, so manly boots hats thing that the I found myself for the first time realizing I was being influenced by wanting to feel like the characters in the show who are so cool.
7:30
Yeah.
And went to a store in Dallas to try on clothes that they were talking about in the.
I don't look good in them.
They're not for me, but I think about the tremendous data layer that actually powered the placement of that media.
7:50
Like this is what I'm taking from what you're saying that that that did in fact drive me to action because somebody was using a better source of data to understand the audience and what could potentially move them to action.
8:03
*Subi Ghosh*
Because in the traditional sense, when you're building campaigns, you have to know your persona.
So then you're building it to say, these are the age groups and income levels and interest that I believe that is best for my audience versus let's load up technology that can function and process so much more data than we can in a single second to tell me what those are and build that out.
8:28
To then take the right interesting concepts and put them in front of the audiences that it's going to convince and be interesting to rather than us trying.
Because the reality is we find out months and years later what has shifted because people go back to research and then we evolve.
8:50
Oh, so now this particular manufacturer says this age group and these behaviors are what we want to target, whether it be aspirationally or you know it from the past of what we've learned versus in the moment.
9:03
*Michael Cirillo*
Right.
I want to shift gears slightly.
It's still, it's adjacent to what we're talking about, but you said it a two or three times and I know this is something that you have been a huge advocate for, OK, for years.
9:16
*Subi Ghosh*
Should I be nervous?
9:17
*Michael Cirillo*
No, no, the the hamsters in my brain.
The hamsters.
9:23
*Subi Ghosh*
Getting there.
9:24
Competitors as Allies: How to Align, Take on the ‘Big Fish,’ and Win Together
You brought up competitors coming together.
Yeah, you've advocated for this for a long time because it's like, yeah, we're competitors, but are we actually like, do we have more?
So how do you facilitate that conversation?
Because there's a there's a, there's a problem in the halls, people, people doing that evil side eye to their competitor.
9:44
And you're like, guys, there's an opportunity here.
How do you convince quote UN quote competitors to see the common thread and come together like this?
9:52
*Subi Ghosh*
That's what I've been working on for the last year and a half, right of going to these big, huge corporations and trying to convince them to abandon the instinct to differentiate versus align right.
10:08
If we align every company, whether it's we did, we had these discussions about search few years back and in this in this instance, there's so many things that every single pitch from every single one of these companies that is the same that we all agree upon.
10:28
But if we then look at who are we competing against that is much bigger than us, right?
We tend OK, we tend to abandon the large fish to fight against the smaller.
10:43
*Michael Cirillo*
Fish over pennies to get to dollars, Yeah.
10:46
*Subi Ghosh*
But because we say that fish is too big and it's going to eat us, so I'm going to ignore that fish, right?
But what if we can all rally together and have a school to attack that big fish?
Do we stand a better chance of taking those dollars and making them count for a mutual win across the board?
11:07
The retailer or the dealer in the automotive instance is then getting better quality advertising, far more targeted, better return on their investment to increase their visibility and brand exposure and conversions for sales or service.
11:25
That's a win for them.
The media companies are then getting their media out there and their brands out there and they're winning.
We are.
It's a mutual win across the board because everyone's gaining something and I think that is what's missing because I've you're just looking for an individual win versus a win across the board.
11:45
I can then convince these people to say let's improve the industry because a rising tide lifts all boats.
11:52
Unity on the Show Floor: Building a Cohesive Strategy Across Channels
And I've really felt that energy here.
This is why I wanted to talk to you about it because like there's been no, even though, you know, you go around the auto media marketplace space here, the booth, everyone's got their space, but everyone was integrated.
Like there wasn't just I heart people over there and just, you know, Univision people like everyone was mingling and working together.
12:14
And I think that's an inspiring demonstration of unity.
Yes, that our industry needs.
There needs to be more unification, especially, especially.
12:26
*Subi Ghosh*
Tap, tap, tap.
12:27
*Michael Cirillo*
In the world today, tap, tap, tap, We need more.
There's more that unites us than divides us.
12:33
*Subi Ghosh*
Right, because then what you're doing is not focusing on the negative right of of, you know, loading up your arrow.
What you're saying is these are the things we all align upon, but here's what makes us super unique in this space.
We have a broadcast company, we have TV stations, we've got audio.
12:50
And so you get to shine for the things that you do best.
And thereby, instead of saying give, you know, just focus on us as an individual, everyone it we're serving the retailer better and we're all winning because we're able to, to identify the the pros of each singular thing and put it together for a much more cohesive and valuable strategy.
13:17
*Michael Cirillo*
Guys, I love you.
Know that I love you.
13:24
*Subi Ghosh*
I love you.
13:26
*Michael Cirillo*
And people don't know this.
We've been friends since we were.
13:32
*Subi Ghosh*
Children.
13:34
*Michael Cirillo*
20 years ago, 20 years, which was when we were six years old, correct?
13:40
*Subi Ghosh*
That's exactly how old I.
13:43
Connect with Subie + Final Wrap-Up and Podcast Outro
Am OK, I want to as we wind down this is your camera like that like that show where they eat the wings and everything gets hotter and hotter.
This is this is your camera.
How can those listening and watching connect with you and learn more?
13:55
*Subi Ghosh*
I'm very easily accessible on LinkedIn.
My e-mail is Subi dot Ghosh at Full throttle dot AI and I'm happy to connect on socials because I think the more we communicate and engage and and help each other, we improve the industry.
14:14
And I think that's my core, what activates me.
So please connect with me if you have any questions or even ideas.
If there's ideas that you have for all these people in the marketplace, I want to hear them because I can take it to them and they're so willing to work together to improve our industry and I that's so exciting to me.
14:32
*Michael Cirillo*
This is my good, good dear, dear friend, Subanthani Gosh, Head of Partnerships, Auto Media Marketplace with full throttle here at the Auto Media Marketplace booth live at NADA 2026.
This concludes, yes, our live streaming ended on the highest note I could end on here at NADA at Auto Media Marketplace.
14:56
Subi, thanks so much for joining me.
14:58
*Subi Ghosh*
Thank you for having me.
14:59
*Michael Cirillo*
(Outro) Hey, thanks for listening to the Dealer Playbook Podcast. If you enjoyed tuning in, please subscribe, share and hit that like button. You can also join us and the DPB community on social media. Check back next week for a new Dealer Playbook episode. Thanks so much for joining.
