Michael Roth joins TRG Studios as Senior Account Executive
TRG Studios, a Cleveland, Ohio-based commercial photography and film studio specializing in automotive photography, has named Michael Roth as its new senior account executive. Roth brings to TRG more than 20 years of experience in marketing management, advertising and outside sales. For more than 15 years, Roth has worked extensively in the automotive aftermarket, with both advertising agencies and automotive parts manufacturers, including five years at Anthony Thomas Advertising in Akron, Ohio.
Advance Auto Parts To Host Free Monthly Car Care Clinics
Following the lead of major home improvement retailers, Advance Auto Parts has announced it will begin holding free, monthly car care clinics at its stores nationwide to teach drivers how to maintain their vehicles and perform minor repairs. The 20-minute video clinics will take place on the last Saturday of each month and are broadcast nationwide to more than 2,500 stores on the company’s in-store television network.
Learn How to Inspire Sales and Management Staff at University Forum
This year at University Forum, popular motorsports anchor Rick Benjamin and Tom Easton, AAP, a senior partner with Essential Action Design Group, will use lessons from racing to show you how to inspire managers and sales people to do their best. The University of the Aftermarket’s annual University Forum can help you stay competitive, and keep pace with our ever-changing market. The event takes place on Sunday, Oct. 31 prior to the kickoff of AAPEX 2004. This afternoon session is designed for those industry professionals who feel that their skills and talents are being stretched too thin. Easton will add his training philosophy that “learning should be fun” to Benjamin’s belief that there are parallels between news teams and race teams. The two will discuss how to stretch goals “collaboratively.”
Pac Man Fever
I grew up during the Golden Age of video games. Games like Pac Man, Space Invaders, Galaga and Donkey Kong were pretty much all I thought about as a kid. Well, kudos to the gaming industry. In the span of 20 years, the gaming industry has managed to move the needle 100 percent, doubling the price people are willing to pay to play, even on games for which I happily paid 25 cents back in ’81. Come to think of it, just about everything nowadays is more expensive. That’s just how the world works.
ArvinMeritor Launches Technical Training Web Site
ArvinMeritor’s Commercial Vehicle Systems unit has launched a new Technical Training and Product Service Web site. An enhancement to the company’s previous online training site, http://training.arvinmeritor.com is designed to provide technical training and service information on a wide range of ArvinMeritor’s commercial vehicle components.
Retailers Hope Customers Will Tune in to Ads As They Shop
Customers rushed in and out of a Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts store on a rainy afternoon this week. Most walked without pausing past two televisions flashing above the cash registers and three sets hanging in the middle of the store. Televisions advertising the latest car gadgets, Advance promotions and daily sports and weather updates aren’t new for the Roanoke, Va.-based automotive parts chain. They first were installed in some Advance stores five years ago. Now they’re in all its stores.
Auto Customizers Spend Billions, Boost Aftermarket Parts Suppliers
Some adults decorate their houses to suit their personalities. Others “pimp out” their cars. Customizing cars is a hobby that’s been around for years, but these days — with television shows such as “Pimp My Ride” and “Monster Garage,” and movies like “The Fast and The Furious,” the trend is just starting to get noticed.
MEMA to Give Away Trip to Daytona 500 as Finale to 100-Year Anniversary
As a grand finale to the yearlong celebration of its 100-year anniversary and to say thanks to the product manufacturers who have made it possible, the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) announced today that it will be giving away a trip for two to the 2005 Daytona 500 – the 47th annual “Great American Race.”
AAPEX Organizers Warn: Counterfeiters Beware
While automotive trade shows can be a bonanza for counterfeiters of replacement parts, organizers of the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX), which takes place Nov. 2-5, in Las Vegas, warn firms that make or sell fake parts to watch out. AAPEX has a long standing policy to take action against counterfeiting, according to Bill Glasgow of AAPEX show management company W.T. Glasgow Inc.
Be Car Care Aware Continuing its Success Story
This year, the Be Car Care Aware (BCCA) consumer education campaign has proudly deemed itself a “branding success story.” In the past 36 months, consumers, industry members and media alike have shown tremendous interest in the campaign. Among the impressive statistics — 3,000 people signed up for online registration of media kits in March of 2004 (up from 800 in March 2003); and there were 103,000 visits to the www.carcareaware.org Web site in March ’04 (up from 30,000 in March ’03). The campaign plans to continue to build upon its early success with a number of upcoming activities.