Element Three expands dealer network analytics with Sextant acquisition
Marketing agency Element Three is expanding its data and dealer network capabilities through the acquisition of dealer analytics firm Sextant, a move aimed at giving powersports OEMs a more comprehensive view of dealer performance, market coverage and marketing effectiveness.
Announced July 28, the acquisition combines Element Three’s marketing services with Sextant’s dealer network analytics platform, creating a single offering designed to help manufacturers make more informed decisions about dealer development, product allocation and go-to-market strategy.
Sextant, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, provides dealer network analytics and software to manufacturers in the powersports, RV, marine, commercial vehicle and heavy equipment industries. The company’s platform is built on a national dealer database covering more than 55 brands. It incorporates vehicle registration and market data to help manufacturers evaluate dealer placement, competitive coverage, service opportunities and overall network performance.
Element Three, headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, said the acquisition addresses a longstanding disconnect between marketing initiatives and dealer performance management.
“Manufacturers have long treated marketing and dealer performance as separate problems, and most marketing firms never create real value in the dealer channel because they lack the operational intelligence behind it,” says Kyler Mason, CEO of Element Three. “We acquired Sextant to close that gap. Together, we’re giving manufacturers a better way to decide where to invest, how to support dealers and how to grow.”
The companies said the combined offering will allow manufacturers to connect marketing campaigns with dealer strategy and network performance through a single partner, rather than relying on multiple vendors and disconnected data sources.
Sextant will continue operating under the name Sextant, an Element Three company, with founder Larry Daniel serving as senior vice president.
“Manufacturers have never really had one partner who understands both the marketing and the health of the dealer network, so the two have worked in isolation,” Daniel says. “Together, we can plan where dealers should be, see how they are performing and act on it in the same place.”
For powersports manufacturers, dealer network optimization has become increasingly important as OEMs navigate fluctuating retail demand, inventory balancing and changing market conditions. Access to more detailed dealer and market intelligence can help brands identify underserved markets, evaluate dealer performance and better target marketing investments.
The acquisition also reflects a broader trend toward data-driven decision-making in the powersports industry. In recent years, OEMs have increasingly relied on registration data, geographic market analysis and dealership performance metrics to refine dealer networks and allocate inventory more effectively.
Element Three said the acquisition is part of a broader strategy to combine marketing, dealer analytics and dealer performance tools into a single platform for manufacturers selling through dealer networks.
