Proposal v7 for Mike Ferris and ILJIN leadership. RMC Marketing. September 15, 2026.
The point
ILJIN enters the North American aftermarket with an OE product, a warehouse in Greer, and a sales pipeline. It does not yet have the marketing infrastructure a distributor or retailer expects before committing shelf space.
RMC proposes to operate as ILJIN USA's aftermarket marketing department for twelve months. One team, one budget line, one weekly report.
Where ILJIN starts
What exists today
- OE hub bearings already in the boxes competitors ship today
- Warehouse in Greer, South Carolina
- Sales pipeline: distributors, buying groups, retailers, private label
What does not exist yet
- No brand kit
- No US website
- No catalog lookup
- No customer-facing deck
- No video
- No CRM
Sales targets this program supports
Revenue targets
- Year one: $8 million
- Year two: $22 million
- Year three: $41 million
Channels
- Distributors and buying groups (APSG, Auto Care, AWDA in 2027)
- Retailers on a six to eight month onboarding
- Private label
- Amazon as a marketing opportunity, fulfilled through distribution
The calendar marketing has to hit
September 17
Presentation to J.W. Park and Korea leadership
October
Auto Care and AWDA with Teddy Hughes, retailer paperwork
November 3 to 5
AAPEX 2026, attend with no booth. Scheduled meetings with contacts, new sales materials, swag
Week of November 30
Post-Thanksgiving customer tour with the full materials batch
January 2027
United Auto Supply, distributor follow-ups, CRM live, spiffs
Spring 2027
First retailer stocking orders
AAPEX 2027
First physical booth, modular for regional shows, built inside year one
Positioning
OE the way OE was designed, without the premium. Same part, ILJIN box, priced right below the boxes it ships in today.
One brand
ILJIN USA, built from the existing mark
Two domains secured week one
US brand domain and a separate email sending domain
Short descriptor options
For example ILJIN USA Hub Bearings, delivered with the brand kit in week two
Private-label program sheet
For retailers and buying groups
The first 30 days (September 21 to October 20)
The twelve-month playbook
Days 1 to 30
Brand kit, deck, line card, AAPEX kit, CRM spec, first photography
Days 31 to 60
AAPEX meetings, US site live, catalog v1 with ACES/PIES lookup, Thanksgiving batch delivered by November 20
Days 61 to 90
CRM live, first webinars, box redesign concepts, day-90 review
Days 91 to 185
Retailer onboarding, spiffs and incentive programs, VDP materials, buying-group email campaigns
Days 186 to 365
Technician content, quarterly add-ons, AAPEX 2027 booth built and shipped, year-two plan
What the marketing department delivers
Strategy and account leadership
Playbook, weekly report, quarterly review, Korea liaison
Brand
ILJIN USA identity kit, descriptor, box redesign, apparel and swag people keep
Web and digital
US site, online catalog with ACES/PIES lookup, torque guide, video library and tech resources, gated distributor resource portal, social
Sales enablement
Company deck, line card, spec sheets, co-brand kits, distributor email and text kits, VDP materials, private-label sheet, spiffs, sales blitz kit, annual promo calendar
Content and video
Two videos per week from the studio, YouTube and site video library, quarterly webinars, live-stream installs
Demand and channel
LinkedIn, buying-group email, trade press outreach
CRM and reporting
Right-sized CRM (inbound, email, text), lead routing to Mike, dashboard for Matthew Kim and John Dix
Distributor onboarding: sales blitz and promo calendar
Every new distributor gets two things on day one of the account.
90-day sales blitz template
- Week 1: counter kit, branch announcement, intro video, opening-order promo, swag
- Weeks 2 to 4: counter days, install webinar, counter spiff live, catalog training
- Weeks 5 to 8: member email to shops, co-branded flyer, social kit, first branch report
- Weeks 9 to 13: 90-day scorecard, restock promo, second spiff round
Annual promo calendar
- Q1: post-holiday restock and winter hub push
- Q2: spring suspension and brake bundle
- Q3: summer road-trip campaign, fleet and shop push
- Q4: AAPEX follow-up promo, year-end volume incentive
RMC designs, prints, tracks, and reports. Mike sets the offer.
The studio program
Six production days per month inside the fee: two videos per week, product photography, install video, distributor webinars, live-stream installs, social clips.
Option 1
RMC studio from day one so AAPEX and Thanksgiving materials are not waiting on equipment.
Option 2
ILJIN supplies a vehicle lift for the studio (about $7,500 installed) in month one and a 360 imaging machine decided at day 90; RMC operates both.
Quarterly add-on menu
Studio expansion to ten days, podcast and PR, forum response system, technician content, AAPEX 2027 booth design.
Investment and terms
$65,000 per month, twelve months, fixed
$780,000 for the year
Scope additions priced and approved quarterly
Pass-throughs outside the fee
Advertising, memberships, data, product data enrichment, trade show builds, print runs, and hardware are outside the fee, approved line by line, reported one for one
Product data enrichment
Quoted separately after the week-three gap assessment
Start date
Monday, September 21, 2026
Year-one budget outside the fee (recommended level)
Pass-through totals
- Lean: $292,600
- Recommended: $537,900
- Full: $820,600
Trade shows and events represent the largest single line at $210,000, covering AAPEX 2026 (attend only) and the AAPEX 2027 modular booth built inside year one.
Data program (separate proposal)
Parts intelligence platform, hubs first
$10,000 onboarding, $2,500 per month
Each add-on category or data source
$500 per month
VIO module, fifty states to zip level
$20,000 one time plus $1,000 per month
OE-to-aftermarket cross builder
$7,500 one-time build (optional)
Year one, hubs plus VIO
$72,000
ACES/PIES enrichment
Quoted separately after the gap assessment
Year one, all in
How we measure it
Weekly report
Tied to the sales pipeline: materials shipped versus planned, leads routed to Mike, site and catalog usage
Milestone reviews
Day-30, day-90, and quarterly reviews with Mike and Matthew Kim
Dashboard
For Matthew Kim and John Dix
Advertising accountability
Reported one for one against return
Who does what
Andrew (RMC)
Account lead, weekly report, quarterly review
RMC team
Brand, web, content, studio, CRM, sales enablement
Mike Ferris
Approvals, sales calendar, distributor and retailer relationships, spiff and promo offers
Matthew Kim and John Dix
Leadership review, Korea liaison
Teddy Hughes
Auto Care and AWDA
Next steps
September 15
Mike reviews with Matthew Kim; agreements out for review
September 17
Korea leadership presentation
September 18
Signature
September 21
Day one
ILJIN USA Aftermarket Marketing Program