Five years ago, dealerships were pouring nearly every advertising dollar into search, social, and digital lead generation. Today, Owen Moon believes one of the biggest opportunities in automotive marketing is hiding in plain sight.

As consumers spend more time on streaming platforms like Hulu, Peacock, Prime Video, and live sports broadcasts, dealerships have a chance to tell a bigger story than price, payments, and promotions.

When Owen Moon sold his previous company, FixedOpsDigital, he could have taken a break.

Instead, he spotted an opportunity.

As more consumers shifted from traditional television to streaming platforms, Owen noticed that many dealerships were treating connected TV and streaming advertising as little more than a checkbox in their marketing strategy. The audience had moved, but the approach hadn't evolved with it.

In this episode of ASOTU Unscripted, Owen shares the story behind Dealer Stream. His goal is simple: help dealerships take advantage of where consumer attention is actually happening today and create advertising that does more than promote monthly specials.

The conversation explores how streaming television has changed the advertising landscape, why local dealerships now have access to premium placements alongside major national brands, and how audience targeting has become increasingly sophisticated. But according to Owen, technology is only part of the equation. The bigger opportunity lies in storytelling.

Rather than relying solely on price-driven advertising, Owen believes dealerships should use video to highlight the people, culture, and community involvement that make their stores unique. Customers can find inventory online. They can compare pricing online. What they can't always find is the human side of the dealership experience.

Owen also reflects on Dealer Stream's rapid growth over the past year, lessons learned while entering a competitive market, and why transparency has become one of the company's core values. For him, the difference between a vendor and a partner often comes down to one thing: being willing to show exactly what's working and what isn't.

Whether you're a dealer principal, marketer, agency partner, or simply curious about where automotive advertising is heading next, this conversation offers a look at how consumer attention continues to evolve—and how dealerships can evolve with it.

Timestamped Takeaways

00:00 – Live from ASOTUCON 2026

00:54 – A one-year update on Dealer Stream's growth

01:56 – Owen Moon's background and the founding of Dealer Stream

02:35 – Why streaming advertising needed a new approach

03:32 – Moving beyond "check-the-box" OTT advertising

04:15 – Audience targeting and the evolution of connected TV

04:45 – Why transparency matters in dealership marketing

06:23 – Building trust between agencies, vendors, and dealers

06:50 – The return of storytelling in automotive advertising

08:03 – Why dealerships need more than price-and-payment ads

09:01 – How streaming changed consumer viewing habits

10:03 – What publishers are demanding from advertisers today

10:47 – Bringing dealership people and culture into marketing

12:24 – Lessons learned during Dealer Stream's first year

13:15 – Building a company through partnership and collaboration

13:45 – Why Owen believes the best days are still ahead

Owen Moon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/owen-moon/

DealerStream: https://dealerstream.com/

Learn more about ASOTU CON: https://www.asotucon.com/

More Than Cars: https://www.morethancars.com

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