Ernie, I don't do much advertising myself. It is EXPENSIVE !!!! Kevin/CMW actually does more advertising than I would think necessary. He has a truly long term outlook. He is really committed to this line.
There are many kinds of advertising, but they generally fall into one of two major categories.
Recognition advertising is a long term saturation program. You are trying to build recognition and familiarity for your product, logo, or company. Logos on sports arena's walls and product placement in movies are examples, but any constantly repeated ad can fall into this category. How many people walk around with cola logos, Orange County Choppers, or other sport logos and products on their T-shirts?This is an incredibly expensive long term program that runs all year, every year, in many venues. Done well, we get institutions such as McDonalds. Done poorly, well, who remembers the phone company MCI?
Directed, or niche, advertising is a little different. In this you are trying to market a specific product, service, or feature. The return of the Dodge Hemi is an example. While this type of advertising can be part of a saturation program, it is usually seasonal or regional in scope. It also is narrowly focused on a target audience. How many swimsuit ads do see this time of year?
Kevin's ad program makes great use of available funds. He puts display ads in cycle magazines, but the ads are timed for the part of the season that people are in an active purchasing mode, I.E. spring time. Even getting bikes to the magazines is part of this plan. A road test is a 2 to 4 page display ad for much less money than a magazine advertising department would charge. Hormel may advertise in Home & Garden, but an Enfield ad would be wasted there.
Dealer flooring requirements are a type of saturation advertising. Several units on the floor are more attractive and noticeable. It is easier to sell when the customer knows that you are committed to the product. Dealer requirements are not quite so onerous as you describe, but there has to be some level of demonstrable commitment from the dealer. There are enough horror stories on just this forum to drive home the need to have committed dealers.
In the most basic sense, this web site with this forum is saturation advertising. The magazine ads are directed/niche ads.
Advertising vs. sales is a chicken or egg question. Will more advertising net enough additional sales fast enough to pay for the ad program? If Kevin had a product line like Yamaha, probably. With the Enfield line, probably not.
Don't forget to take into account factors such as the state of the economy when you budget and plan your campaign.
This is a difficult and complex subject. There is no hard and fast guide. After a certain level of knowledge in attained you have to make a judgment call as to when and how to advertise. Advertising does include dealer commitment and involvement.