They’re Coming for You

Like I said, in last post, I know a lot of people. This is why I am not going to use the real name of my friend Mike in Southwest Florida. If I did, Mike would be able to figure out who I was. So his name as been changed to protect me.But Mike’s a real guy running an independent shop just inside the Tampa area and he was mighty worried when Safelite unleashed its onslaught of advertising in Buccaneer Bay during the last few weeks. “This is it,” he commented woefully one day. “This is the ‘branding’ thing they were talking about and I’m doomed.”

Safelite had hit the area with a major advertising blitz hyping windshield repair. They’d bought a lot of airtime so Mike was beside himself.

He called me when the dust had cleared and the ads had quieted. I wasn’t sure what to expect when he called me but I knew it wouldn’t be good.

Well, Mike was beside himself all right— beside himself with happiness. A funny thing had happened. The ads by Safelite had increased the amount of repairs being done in Tampa Bay—for Safelite and for Mike.

“This is great,” he said, so I could hear the smirk in his voice. “They paid for the ads and my work increased. Is this a great country or what?” he chuckled.

I didn’t want to burst his bubble that day so I’ll do it now with a simple analogy. Suppose you were McDonald’s and you had just opened your first location in a new country. While some people had heard about hamburgers and a few had even tasted one, the concept was relatively new to most people. What message would you advertise?

FIRST, you would advertise to get the people to eat hamburgers.

THEN, once you had them hooked on burgers, you would advertise to get them to eat them at McDonalds.This is what Safelite is doing. FIRST, they are attempting to increasing the amount of repairs being done and increasing awareness of repairs. THEN, they will link quality repairs with Safelite. That’s the real branding thing.

So Mike, buddy, I love ya, but don’t sit there smiling. Because they’re still a’ coming and they’re a ‘comin for you.

Next time: what you can do about it.

P.S.: Just for the record, my name’s not Mike either.

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

I know what you’re thinking: who is this guy and why should I read this? Is Uri Thane his real name? If not, why not? What’s this blog about? When should I check this page? Okay, I’ll take ’em in order.

Who is this guy?
Chances are, you know me. We’ve met at a supplier meeting or conference, or maybe I’ve been in your shop to sell you something. I’ve been around for quite a long time, so chances are we are old friends.

Why should I read this?
Maybe you shouldn’t. I am going to be pretty frank. It’s for you to decide if reading this is worthwhile to you. I’m going to give you my opinions and it’s up to you to decide.

Is Uri Thane my real name?
No. Now that would have been quite a coincidence if it was.

If not, why not?
Hey, with some of the things I plan on saying here, I want to be completely candid. We all know how this industry works. I want to be able to speak the truth without regard for whether or not it’s going to cost me business or customers. The editors know who I am. That’s enough for now.

What’s this blog about?
It’s about the absurdities of the AGRR industry. Sometimes, it will be about the players and sometimes about the little victories. I have promised those same editors only that I will call ‘em as I see ‘em. It’ll be about topics you want to talk about too. Uri Thane is here for you.

When should I check this page?
I’ll be writing every other week or so … unless I get agitated about something, then I gotta let off some steam.