New advertising, marketing agency to be formed

Longtime collision repair industry professionals, Tony Lombardozzi and Peter Abdelmaseh, are forming a new advertising and marketing agency serving independent body shops throughout the United States. The agency will work with participating shop owners whose businesses operate without contractual arrangements with insurers. In addition, the company will provide proactive coaching services to shop owners who wish to transform their current insurer-contracted business models to a completely non-contract model.

Lombardozzi says, “For far too long, shop owners have made important business decisions based on fear. It has been proven over time that an owner can operate successfully without contracts with insurers, especially if they use sound marketing practices. We intend to help these shop owners directly reach the customers they need so that they can serve those customers more effectively, make more profit, and operate without third-party interference.”

In Abdelmaseh’s opinion, “Effective marketing and advertising will easily create more profits for shop owners than trading discounts and giveaways to insurers for more cars in the shop. Owners of shops need to move to a higher level and make money.”

Company co-founder Lombardozzi is President of the Coalition for Collision Repair Excellence (The CCRE) and recently sold his Hudson, NH body shop, Automotive Collision Repair Services, Inc. (ACRS), which he owned and operated for over 40 years. Tony has been a longtime collision industry advocate who has conducted dozens of seminars to encourage shop owners to operate truly independent businesses.

Co-founder Abdelmaseh is President of ECD Associates, Inc. of Belmont, MA, a marketing and management company that has served clients in the architectural and automotive glass, foodservice, specialty foods, precast concrete construction, and the automotive mechanical and collision repair industries. Abdelmaseh served as executive director of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP) of Massachusetts from 2003 to early 2013, and he earlier managed his family’s five-location auto parts and auto paint business for 20 years.
 
Further details about the new company will be released later this summer.