The show experience can't be matched without being there. However, for the first time in ABRN's history, we expanded our show offerings to include daily electronic coverage of industry events. The goal was to bring more information to those of you who couldn't make it to Vegas, and to give those who were there complete coverage of the week's events. If you receive our electronic newsletter, E-Pillar, you should have received the Las Vegas Auto Show Daily during the week of NACE. This property included all happenings in the collision market, but also covered events at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show, the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) and the Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) — the three other shows taking place during Industry Week.
This year also marks our maiden voyage into video. Online videos have grown in popularity in recent years and we used Industry Week as a launching pad into this medium. Show week vendors had a chance to explain their newest products and services and we caught up with show organizers to learn more about the various events. Complete video and news coverage from Industry Week can be found on our Web site at www.abrn.com/NACE.
If it's been awhile since you've visited our site you will notice a vast change from where we were at this time last year. Videos obviously have become a part of the site, and we'll continue to grow video offerings in 2008 and beyond. What's significant is that we now fall under a larger community devoted to the entire automotive world. While collision repair is the focal point of your business, more and more operators are finding value in other business opportunities — mechanical repairs, custom work and more. The integration of ABRN.com into a larger automotive portal (search-autoparts.com) is aimed at providing you and other business owners with knowledge about the entire market. This means giving you broader coverage to completely enhance your business without losing site of the fact that collision repairers have special interests and needs. The collision repair community will continue to be our primary focus with new offerings.
If you haven't visited the site recently, I suggest you take a look, as new features are being added all the time. For example, our new search functionality allows you to locate current and archived stories on our site and throughout the Web. You'll also notice a digital edition for one of our sister publications, Styling & Performance. In January 2008 look for ABRN to go to a similar digital format for those of you who prefer electronic delivery of the publication news, rather than the print version.
As 2007 draws to a close all of us at ABRN wish you, your employees and your families Happy Holidays! We hope that 2008 will be as busy and exciting for you as it will be for us
Michael Willins
