Plan Ahead for ATE 2009: Market your exhibit well in advance of the Expo. An effective marketing plan to promote your products or services at ATE 2009 may include some or all of the following. Promoting your exhibit, as well as the overall show, will assist in drawing large numbers of buyers to the West Coast's largest automotive trade event, and help you sell more! Plan ahead to determine what you want to display in your booth – new product lines or services, overstock items, or products and equipment that are seasonably popular to market in late March. Once you have determined what you want to promote, create Expo Special pricing for the products or services you want to market. You may want to create special signs for your booth, flyers to be mailed to your existing or potential new customers, or advertise what you will be promoting in Parts & People/Northwest Motor Edition (in conjunction with ATE, they offer special Expo advertising in the January, February and March editions and ATE receives a rebate on that advertising to help cover education/training costs at ATE). Parts & People covers the entire Northwest with more than 12,000 copies mailed to automotive firms in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska each month. Parts & People/Northwest Motor Edition is the Official Media Sponsor of ATE. Talk to your customers and let them know you will be offering Expo specials at ATE. Create a reason for them to attend the Expo and take advantage of special pricing, special financing, or some other special offering that will be available only at ATE. Prepare well in advance of the Expo as to what staff members will be working your exhibit booth, what you will be transporting to the Expo, how much time it will require to set-up your booth, and what you will need to effectively market your company at the Expo (business cards, product line cards, show special flyers, product brochures, pricing information, give-a-ways, etc. If you have products or equipment that would be conducive for hands-on demonstrations, plan ahead and let us know well in advance so both you and the show producers can promote these demonstrations. Finally, if you need assistance with booth set-up, equipment installations, electrical service, or other special needs, contact ATE well in advance to make your show experience less stressful and more productive. back to top Advertising and Marketing of ATE 2009 In order to attract attendees to ATE 2009 the following will take place: Starting in October three direct mailings will take place covering 36,000 separate pieces of mail. Inserts and ads will be placed in the following automotive trade publications: • Parts & People / Northwest Motor Edition 12,500 • Collision World News 3,000 • Automotive News 3,500 • Northwest Automotive Journal 5000 • Washington Dateline 1,200 • Collision Quarterly (Canada) 6,200 • ARA NEWS (Canada) 2,000 Parts & People / Northwest Motor Edition is the Official Media Sponsor of ATE and will provide special Expo advertising for exhibitors in its March 2009 issue, as well as a special show promotion section. In addition, more than 1000 extra copies of Parts & People / Northwest Motor Edition will be distributed at the Expo itself. For any exhibitor that indicates "See Us at ATE 2009" in a March 2009 issue ad, a portion of that advertising revenue will be donated to the ASA Education Fund by Parts & People / Northwest Motor Edition to assist with training and education efforts at ATE. News releases and articles will be sent to all automotive publications. The Automotive Management Institute (AMI) and AutoInc. (the publication of ASA National) will promote ATE 2009. A variety of other marketing and promotional services will also be implemented in order to attract show attendees from throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Northern California and Western Canada. Reach Your Target Audience! • Independent Automotive Service Facilities • Collision Repair Facilities • Body & Paint Centers • New & Used Automotive Dealerships • Franchise Repair Centers • Quick Lube Facilities • Local & Regional Community Colleges & Technical Schools • Fleet Vehicle Repair Centers • City & State Municipality Garages • Transmission Repair Facilities • Engine Rebuilders • High-Performance & Vehicle Modification Installers • Automotive Recycling Centers • Gasoline Service Stations • Tire & Wheel Dealers • and many more! back to top Exhibitor Schedule As stated in the Exhibitor Space Agreement, all Exhibitors must have the booths set up two hours before the official opening of ATE 2009. Thus, booths must be set up by 7:00 a.m. on Friday, March 13. For liability reasons, early teardown will not be allowed – this will be strictly enforced. As per the Exhibitor Space Agreement, a $200.00 fine will be assessed to any Exhibitor tearing down their exhibit before 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 14. Expo Hours • Friday, March 13: 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. • Saturday, March 14: 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. back to top