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Wednesday
February 25, 2009

Ideas for the Auto Body Market

Filed under: Education, Members, Using Ad Specialties

When I was a teen, I got around my hometown of St. Louis Crossing, Indiana, in a beat-up 1968 Rambler Ambassador like the one to the right. 

I’m sure some nearby auto shops could have used a magazine like FenderBender to help me with my car.  FenderBender – a trade publication mailed to 55,000 collision repair and auto body shop owners around the U.S. – recently asked me to share the value of promotional advertising with their readers.

Click here to check out the article.  

The new publication, which hits a whopping 85% of the collision repair market, helps shop operators “think outside the blocks” with their marketing, which we all need to do these days.  I shared some results from ASI’s latest end-user study, which indicates that over 80% of recipients who receive a promotional product remember the brand on the item.

You know those car air fresheners everyone seems to have?  I suggested that shops could give one away stamped with a special Website customers can visit for a monthly prize drawing.  Business owners get proof of traffic because that item is the only marketing vehicle carrying that Website.  Another thought:  include a clickable link online so customers can send the contest Website to friends and expand the shop’s referral base.

Creativity is the limit and being practical is key.  According to the ASI study, about 81% of recipients keep an item because it’s useful.  For shop owners, that means anything from imprinted collectible toy cars and travel mugs to portable CD carriers and iPod cases. 

To find products, shop owners can search their local area for qualified ASI distributors at successfulpromotions.com, hosted by ASI. 

If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them.  Post a comment on the blog or email me at tim.andrews@asicentral.com.

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5 Comments

  1. Itai Says:

    Hi Tim ,
    I read your blog and felt the words you say are actually My thoughts in the last 4 month ,just when you say it ,it sounds like something that a reasonable person can’t disregard.
    We are the inventor of the Polder http://www.orelproducts.info/polder that I believe gives a suitable ,innovative and practical solution the the challenge you have described .
    could you advise what would be the best way to expose it to the ASI members ASAP?
    Your insight is like a music to my ears!
    Best Regards
    Itai
    itai@orelteam.com
    +972523129045

    Thursday February 26, 2009
  2. Tim Andrews Says:

    Thanks for your kind comments.

    If you’re a member of PSI, a major European advertising specialty organization, we have reciprocal membership rights and therefore you could exhibit at an ASI Show.

    If not, you could find a North American supplier to provide your product to the market here. You can find the names of Top 40 Suppliers at http://www.asicentral.com by entering “Top 40 Suppliers” in the search box and clicking ‘go.’

    Thursday February 26, 2009
  3. Lee Steinberg Says:

    I am running a promo with 1/24 scale die cast cars.
    Does anyone know of any vendor producing them overseas?

    Monday March 2, 2009
  4. Logo Bar Stools Says:

    If you are looking for an American Made quality automotive promotion, you might consider suggesting a custom imprinted logo bar stool. Logo bar stools work great with anything related to automotive. Almost every company throughout the entire automotive supply chain has a parts counter, repair counter, or sales counter. All counters can use logo bar stools.

    http://www.richardsonseating.com/logo-bar-stools.aspx

    Friday March 13, 2009
  5. auto body Says:

    You have provided some very good ideas about choosing the quality body parts. Even I was looking for this kind of stuff only.

    Sunday October 30, 2011

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