Across the published plans we analyzed, the brand rules are strikingly consistent: current logo, product illustrated, brand name prominent, no competing products, no claims the brand does not make, no distress pricing, only eligible media. Every one of those is a template constraint. So that is where we put them.
The brand decides how much freedom each template allows. The system enforces it.
Used for national promotions and regulated claims. The dealer inserts name, address, phone, and hours. Colors, logo, layout, and copy cannot be touched.
The dealer picks from approved product photos, swaps in a local offer, and writes a short headline within an approved layout and palette. Price zones can be validated against a minimum advertised price list.
For events and one-off needs. The dealer composes from the brand's logos, fonts, colors, and photo library. Anything outside the library is blocked, including uploaded competitor logos.
Where a brand allows shared ads, the template defines the zones for each product or brand and locks them. Each brand's share of the ad is fixed by design, so nothing is prorated after the fact.
| The old way still the industry standard | Co-Op Managers |
|---|---|
| A reviewer checks every ad for logo placement and prominence. | The logo zone is locked. Placement and size are the template's. |
| A reviewer checks for competing products or logos. | Open zones accept only assets from the brand's library. |
| A reviewer checks pricing language and MAP compliance. | Price zones are hidden, locked, or validated against the MAP list per program. |
| A reviewer checks that the media is eligible. | Ineligible media is not offered at checkout for that fund. |
| A reviewer checks that claims match the brand's own. | Copy zones are locked or limited to pre-cleared phrases. |
| Violations are caught after the ad has run, when the claim is denied. | Violations cannot be produced, so there is nothing to deny. |
Because every asset and transaction lives in one system, the brand can see who ran what, where, when, at what cost, from which template, and against which fund, for any location, at any time. That is a stronger compliance record than a filing cabinet of approved tearsheets, and it costs no one any time to maintain.
A program review walks through your current rules, where the manual work is, and what disappears when the program runs on Co-Op Command.