Big Time Advertising Review: Traditional Media & Creative for Car Dealers Since 1998

Overview

Big Time Advertising is one of the older continuously operating automotive advertising agencies in the United States. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana, with satellite offices in Louisville, Kentucky and Orlando, Florida, the agency has spent 25-plus years focused almost exclusively on automotive retail advertising.

The agency's positioning is built around traditional media expertise — TV commercials, radio spots, print advertising, and outdoor — combined with media buying muscle. Their website claims 75+ years of combined staff experience in media buying and advertising management, and they emphasize their relationships with TV and radio stations as a core competitive advantage.

In an era when most automotive marketing agencies have pivoted hard to digital, Big Time Advertising leans into what they know: broadcast media that reaches local audiences at scale. Their tagline — "The Most Trusted Name in Automotive Advertising" — is a bold claim, but the longevity and client retention data (including a 16-year client relationship and a 5+ year partnership) give it some weight.

The agency's market focus is franchise dealerships in mid-sized markets — think Louisville, not Los Angeles; Hilton Head, not Houston. These are markets where local TV and radio still command significant audience share and where the cost-per-thousand for broadcast remains competitive with digital alternatives.

If you're a dealer spending $20,000-$100,000+ per month on TV and radio and you're tired of agencies that treat traditional media as an afterthought, Big Time Advertising is positioned to be your specialist. If you're looking for a digital-first agency, keep scrolling — that's not what they do.

Services & Specialties

Television Commercial Production

TV commercial production is Big Time Advertising's flagship service. The agency handles end-to-end production: concept development, scripting, filming, editing, and final delivery. Their approach is "theme-based branding," meaning they develop a consistent creative platform that carries across campaigns rather than producing one-off spots that don't build cumulative brand equity.

For car dealers, this matters. The dealership that runs a consistent "family-owned since 1972" message for five years builds more trust than the one that runs a different gimmick every month. Big Time Advertising's emphasis on theme-based creative suggests they understand the difference between short-term traffic drivers and long-term brand building — and they're pitching the latter.

Radio Commercial Production

Radio production covers both scripting and production of radio spots, with an emphasis on "clear, concise and compelling creative messages." Radio is a frequency medium — you need to hear a message multiple times for it to stick — and Big Time Advertising's approach of tight, focused messaging aligns with how radio actually works in local markets.

Graphic Design & Print

The agency provides graphic design services for print advertising — newspaper ads, direct mail, point-of-sale materials, and outdoor boards. While print has declined as a dealer advertising channel, it still has applications in specific contexts: service department promotions in local papers, community event sponsorships, and dealership collateral.

Web & Mobile Design

Big Time Advertising offers web and mobile design services, though the website is light on specifics about these capabilities. Based on their overall positioning, this appears to be a complementary service rather than a core competency — basic dealership websites and mobile-friendly landing pages to support broadcast campaigns, not full-stack digital marketing platforms.

Media Buying

Media buying is where Big Time Advertising claims its deepest expertise. The agency handles planning, negotiation, placement, and post-buy analysis across TV, radio, and other traditional channels. Their website mentions specific capabilities: "best reach and frequency, daypart distributions, posting and negotiating spot counts," and "proprietary buying strategies."

The daypart distribution point is worth unpacking. In TV buying, where you place your spots — morning news, daytime, early fringe, prime access, late night — dramatically affects both cost and audience composition. An agency that understands daypart strategy for automotive (morning news for service specials, prime access for weekend sales events, late night for younger used-car buyers) adds value beyond simply placing orders.

The "proprietary buying strategies" claim is harder to evaluate without seeing results, but for dealers who suspect their current agency is just placing orders at rate card, having a buyer who negotiates aggressively and structures buys strategically can pay for the agency fee several times over.

Co-op & Compliance Management

This is a specialized service that many full-service agencies overlook but that can save dealers real money. Automotive manufacturers offer co-op advertising programs that reimburse dealers for a portion of their advertising spend — typically 50% to 100% of the media cost for approved advertising. The catch is that co-op programs come with strict compliance requirements around creative approval, logo usage, disclaimer language, and placement guidelines.

Big Time Advertising handles co-op filing and compliance management, and they specifically call out "saving thousands in legal non-compliance." Dealers who've been burned by co-op claim rejections — or who simply leave co-op money on the table because the filing process is too cumbersome — will recognize the value here.

Video Production

Beyond TV commercials, the agency offers broader video production services. This likely includes digital video assets, dealership walkthrough videos, testimonial videos, and social media video content, though the website doesn't detail the scope.

Strengths

Longevity and stability. Twenty-five years in automotive advertising means Big Time Advertising has survived multiple recessions, the digital disruption of traditional media, and the pandemic-era inventory crisis. Agencies that survive that long survive for a reason. The 16-year client relationship with Hilton Head Buick Cadillac and the 5+ year partnership with Oxmoor Ford are strong retention signals.

Deep media buying expertise. In an industry where many agencies have let their traditional buying capabilities atrophy, Big Time Advertising treats media buying as a core competency. The emphasis on reach and frequency analysis, daypart distribution, and spot count negotiation suggests a level of buying sophistication that's increasingly rare.

Co-op management as a value-add. Dealers leave significant money on the table every year in unclaimed co-op reimbursements. An agency that actively manages co-op compliance and filing isn't just saving the dealer the administrative headache — it's directly improving the effective cost of advertising by recovering manufacturer dollars.

Theme-based creative approach. Many dealer agencies produce one-off creative that changes with every sale event. Big Time Advertising's emphasis on theme-based branding is more sophisticated and better suited to building long-term dealership equity. The Oxmoor Ford case study, spanning 5+ years, supports the idea that this approach works in practice.

TV station relationship. The testimonial from Marti Hazel at WDRB (a Louisville FOX affiliate) is an unusual and telling detail. When your media buyer has strong station relationships, you get preferential treatment on placement, makegoods, and opportunistic buys. An agency that can get a TV station sales manager to provide a public testimonial has real relationships, not just transactional ones.

Geographic specialization. Elkhart, Louisville, and Orlando are mid-sized markets where broadcast is still relevant. An agency that understands these market dynamics — rather than applying a national template — is better positioned to make smart buying decisions.

Weaknesses

Digital marketing is not a core competency. Big Time Advertising offers web and mobile design, but the website reveals a traditional agency that has not invested heavily in digital capabilities. There's no mention of paid search, social media advertising, programmatic display, video pre-roll, or marketing automation. For dealers who need integrated digital and traditional campaigns, Big Time Advertising would need to be supplemented with a digital specialist.

Limited transparency on team and credentials. The "75+ years combined experience" claim is vague — how many people? In what roles? With what specific media-buying track records? For an agency pitching expertise as its primary differentiator, more detail on the team would strengthen the case.

Website is dated. Big Time Advertising's website looks and feels like what it is — a traditional agency website that hasn't been substantially updated in years. This doesn't necessarily reflect on their creative output (their TV and radio work may be excellent), but it's not a great first impression for dealers evaluating vendors.

No performance marketing or attribution capabilities. Traditional media attribution is inherently harder than digital, but agencies with modern capabilities use things like call tracking, unique URLs, and promo codes to measure broadcast performance. Big Time Advertising doesn't mention any of these approaches on their website.

Midwest/Southeast geographic concentration. The Indiana-Kentucky-Florida footprint is limited. A dealer in California or the Northeast would be relying entirely on remote service, which is harder to pull off in traditional media buying where local market knowledge and station relationships matter.

No OEM-specific program expertise. The agency doesn't mention expertise with specific manufacturer co-op programs (Ford, GM, Toyota, etc.), tier-level requirements, or OEM-mandated creative guidelines. For franchise dealers, OEM program knowledge is table stakes.

Best For

Big Time Advertising is best suited for:

• Franchise dealerships in mid-sized markets where local TV and radio still command meaningful audience share. If you're in a market where the 6 o'clock news still matters and the top AM radio station drives service traffic, this is your kind of agency.
• Dealers spending $20,000+ per month on traditional media who need a buyer that negotiates aggressively rather than just placing orders. The media buying savings alone may cover the agency fee.
• Dealers who value long-term agency relationships. The 5-year and 16-year client relationships suggest Big Time Advertising prioritizes retention over new business. If you're tired of the agency churn cycle, the stability is appealing.
• Dealers leaving co-op money on the table. The co-op compliance and filing service has direct, measurable ROI — every dollar of co-op reimbursement is a dollar back in your pocket.
• Dealers who need creative consistency. If your current advertising changes creative directors every 18 months and your brand identity has whiplash, the theme-based approach offers stability.

Big Time Advertising is less suitable for:

• Digital-first or digital-only dealers who don't use traditional media.
• Dealers in major metros where TV and radio CPMs are prohibitively expensive relative to digital alternatives.
• Dealers who need robust digital capabilities (paid search, social, programmatic) from a single agency.
• Dealers on the West Coast or in the Northeast who want an agency with local market presence.

Notable Clients

Oxmoor Ford (Louisville, KY)

Oxmoor Ford has been a Big Time Advertising client since 2009 — a 5+ year partnership at the time of the agency's case study publication. The agency cites growth in both new and used vehicle sales during the relationship, with TV and radio as the primary media channels. Oxmoor Ford is a franchise dealership in a competitive Louisville market.

Hilton Head Buick Cadillac (Hilton Head, SC)

Tom Fitzgerald, representing Hilton Head Buick Cadillac, has been a client for 16 years — a remarkable retention figure in any advertising services category. The longevity of this relationship speaks to consistent performance delivery over nearly two decades, through multiple market cycles and automotive industry shifts.

WDRB (Louisville, KY)

Marti Hazel from WDRB, a Louisville FOX television affiliate, provided a testimonial as a station partner. This is unusual — media vendors rarely publicly endorse the agencies that buy from them — and it indicates strong professional relationships that benefit clients through preferential access and pricing.

The agency does not publish a comprehensive client list or detailed case studies with specific performance metrics (percentage sales increase, cost-per-lead reduction, etc.), which is a missed opportunity for an agency with this track record.

Verdict

Big Time Advertising is a specialist, not a generalist. In an automotive marketing landscape crowded with digital agencies promising to "revolutionize" everything with AI and automation, there's something refreshing about an agency that simply says: we make good TV and radio commercials, we buy media better than most, and we've been doing it for 25 years.

The agency's strengths are real and relevant for the right dealer profile. The media buying expertise, the co-op compliance management, the theme-based creative approach, and the remarkable client retention data all point to a competent, stable partner for traditional media advertising.

The weaknesses are equally real. Digital marketing is not their game. If you need paid search, social advertising, programmatic display, or marketing automation, you'll need another vendor — or you'll need Big Time Advertising to partner with one. The website and marketing materials suggest an agency that hasn't invested in modernizing its own brand presentation, which may or may not matter to you depending on what you're hiring them to do.

For a franchise dealer in a mid-sized market who believes in broadcast advertising, wants a buyer who negotiates aggressively, and values long-term agency relationships over chasing the latest digital trend, Big Time Advertising deserves serious consideration. Just don't expect them to run your Google Ads — and make sure you have a plan for the digital side of your marketing if you're not handling it in-house.

The 16-year client relationship with Hilton Head Buick Cadillac is the single most compelling piece of evidence on the table. Agencies don't keep clients for 16 years by accident. Ask about that relationship during your evaluation — how it started, how it's evolved, and what the agency has done to maintain it across nearly two decades of industry change. The answer will tell you more than any case study could.