McGovern Automotive Group Case Study

How McGovern Auto Group Cut $200K in Monthly Ad Waste and Scaled from 8 to 33 Dealerships with Clarivoy

“When we originally partnered with Clarivoy, we had 8 dealerships. Clarivoy helped us find hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising waste. Five years later, now with 33 dealerships, Clarivoy is an integral part of our advertising decision making.”

— Chris Benvie, Director of Digital Marketing, McGovern Auto Group

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Executive Summary

Facing pressure to reduce marketing spend while continuing aggressive growth, McGovern Auto Group turned to Clarivoy in 2021 to shift from a "spray-and-pray" advertising strategy to a data-driven model. Clarivoy’s multi-touch attribution revealed which channels actually drove sales, including previously invisible “drive-by” buyers who never submitted a lead. With this clarity, McGovern slashed underperforming spend, held vendors accountable, and scaled marketing operations efficiently. The result: $200K in monthly savings, better vendor performance, and expansion from 8 to 33 rooftops, all while improving ROI and shopper visibility.

Customer Overview

McGovern Auto Group, based in Greater Boston, is one of New England’s fastest-growing automotive retail groups. Known for innovation and aggressive growth, the group operates dealerships across premium and mainstream brands with a strong focus on marketing efficiency and digital retail.

The Challenge

Before Clarivoy, McGovern’s marketing approach relied heavily on broad, untargeted advertising across marketplaces, display, and traditional media. Their CRM only tracked form fills and phone calls, leaving the majority of online shoppers completely invisible. Without accurate attribution, they had no ability to optimize spend or hold vendors accountable for real outcomes.

“We used the spray-and-pray model…hit as many people as possible with general advertising.”
— Chris Benvie, Director of Digital Marketing, McGovern Auto Group

The Solution

Clarivoy delivered a full-stack, multi-touch attribution platform designed for automotive:

• Cross-Channel Attribution: Tracked every digital touchpoint across CTV, marketplaces, Google My Business, and more.
  
  
• Vendor Scorecards: Enabled direct performance comparisons across channels, campaigns, and partners based on actual vehicle sales, not impressions.
  
  
• “Drive-By” Sale Visibility: Uncovered high-intent buyers who never appeared in the CRM, revealing the true value of previously undervalued marketing channels.
  
  

Implementation

Clarivoy was rolled out across McGovern’s 8 initial rooftops in 2021. With minimal disruption, Clarivoy tags were deployed to digital properties, and CRM and marketplace integrations were completed. Within weeks, McGovern had actionable performance data, and within months, the team was able to reallocate their marketing budget based on real attribution insights.

Results & ROI

• $200,000 Monthly Ad Savings: Eliminated low-performing spend and redirected budget to high-ROI channels like marketplace display and CTV.
  
  
• 25 New Dealerships Added: With proven ROI, McGovern leadership confidently scaled from 8 to 33 rooftops.
  
  
• Complete Visibility into Anonymous Buyers: One CTV-attributed sale in June 2024, previously invisible in CRM, became a case study internally, proving Clarivoy’s value.
  
  
• Vendor Accountability: Real-time scorecards prompted vendors to compete on performance, not promises.
  
  
• CRM Amplification: “Garbage in, garbage out” was replaced with a full-funnel view, aligning attribution with business impact.
  
  

“If you’re not capturing these anonymous, high-intent shoppers, you’re simply throwing money away. Clarivoy makes the invisible, visible—so you can’t ignore what’s really driving your business.”
— Chris Benvie, Director of Digital Marketing, McGovern Auto Group

Why It Matters

McGovern’s success story proves that real-time, multi-touch attribution isn't just a “nice to have”, it’s a growth enabler. As dealers face increased competition and shrinking margins, platforms like Clarivoy shift marketing from guesswork to performance. The days of relying on CRM-only signals and click-based reporting are over. Clarivoy’s partnership with McGovern shows that when data clarity meets execution, growth follows.

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