AKRON, OHIO — Steve Marks, senior vice president of marketing and advertising for Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, is currently serving as chairman of the National Car Care Month Committee, the group charged with the task of promoting and organizing National Car Care Month in conjunction with the Be Car Care Aware campaign.
With more than twenty years of experience in the automotive aftermarket, Marks spent 14 years at Straus Frank Co., a large CARQUEST WD. He started there as a manager trainee and within a few months became a company-owned store manager. After four years as a store manager, he was promoted to company-owned store division merchandising manager where in the span of four years, he set up and/or remodeled more than 60 company-owned stores. Following that he served as marketing manager for the Straus Frank Automotive Division and was responsible for developing and implementing the CARQUEST marketing programs for 80 company-owned stores as well as 275 independent jobber customers. He has served on many CARQUEST national committees, including Advertising and Communications, Retail, Store, Special Task Forces, and is a past chairman of its Marketing Board.
In 1995, Marks became the director of marketing for Auto Value Associates, Inc., a program distribution group with more than 1,900 auto parts stores and 800 service centers. In 2000, he was named vice president of marketing and advertising for Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, following the merger of All Pro/Bumper to Bumper and Auto Value. In 2003, Marks was promoted to his current position — senior vice president of marketing and advertising for Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance.
Here, Marks give us an update on the progress of this year’s National Car Care Month initiatives and some background on his involvement in the campaign.
Why are the “Be Car Care Aware” campaign and National Car Care Month such important initiatives for our industry?
Consumer education is the best way to drive traffic to the bays and parts stores. Research has shown many consumers don’t perform routine maintenance because of misconceptions about vehicle care. “Be Car Care Aware” informs consumers about the benefits of regular vehicle care, maintenance and repair. As awareness continues to build, consumers will take action, thus reducing vehicle neglect. Reversing unperformed maintenance will increase profitability in the aftermarket, conserve energy, improve highway safety and benefit the environment. National Car Care Month is a rallying point for the entire campaign.
How did you become chairman for the National Car Care Month committee?
I sit on the AAIA Marketing committee and we were discussing the need to increase the number of vehicle check up events during National Car Care Month. We decided to approach the program groups and get them behind this program. Since I’m on that side of the business, I thought I could lead by example to get the other groups involved. Being the chairman would afford me the opportunity to see the development of the program so I could get it to the streets in a timely manner.
This will be the second year that National Car Care Month has been celebrated in April (previously it was held in October). Has this strategic move to get drivers thinking about vehicle maintenance in Spring been successful?
It is gaining momentum. Spring is the time when most drivers start thinking about their vehicles and vacation road trips. This also allows us to ‘ride the wave’ as we move into our busy summer season.
What’s the key to raising consumer awareness when it comes to caring for their vehicles?
Educate, educate, educate. The more that is written about vehicle maintenance and the more it is talked about the better chance we have of making the vehicle owner understand the need for regular check-ups especially as the age of the vehicle increases.
Do you have any exciting news to report from this year’s National Car Care Month program?
More than 400 Vehicle Check events will be held this month and that’s just the locations we know about. Our success this year will be a launching pad for a huge push for next year. We will be videotaping selected events to use in a “how to” DVD for the industry to use in the planning and execution of events in 2006.
How can consumers find out about the location of National Car Care Month Vehicle Check events?
When an organization registers their vehicle check-up event on the Car Care Council Web site — www.carcare.org — it is added to a “Find an Event” locator. In addition, a press release is sent to the local media in their area. These announcements help raise community awareness at the local level.
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