The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Minnesota (AASP-MN) has launched a campaign called, “Get to Know Your Neighborhood Auto Repair Pro” to promote the benefits of doing business with independent auto repair shops.

More than 60 member shops in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area are participating in the initial campaign.

“The independent, locally-owned automotive shop is a part of every neighborhood’s landscape,” says Tom Aldridge, AASP-MN Mechanical Division director and owner of Dale Feste Automotive in Hopkins, Minn.

“And we know both from industry and customer surveys that people are more satisfied with work at independent shops than at auto dealerships," he adds. "We finally decided to work together through our association to invite more people to get to know us.”

The campaign launched via radio the week of Sept. 14 and will run 10 weeks, ending just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. During that time, the association will air 900 radio commercials on five of the top radio stations in the area.

In addition, the campaign features a Web display ad on Star Tribune.com, with almost 79 million page views each month. The campaign also has a dedicated website, www.autorepairpro.net to help consumers find participating shops in their area.

In addition to radio spot tag lines naming their shop, program participants receive point-of-sale materials and templates for web/print advertising.

Dan Swenson has owned Alexander's Import Auto Repair in south Minneapolis since 1996. He’s president of the AASP-MN Board of Directors. Swenson helped convince many shop owners to support the program.

“It took us a full year to bring everything together, but it’s been worth the work and wait," says Swenson, who adds the campaign focuses on the two primary benefits of the independent automotive repair shop: namely, capabilities and relationships. “So when we say 'Get to Know Your Neighborhood Auto Repair Pro,' we want people to know independent shops can perform just about any repair or service the dealer can, plus give them more options to save money. And local, independent shops are scaled to really know and serve the customer.”

AASP-MN Executive Director Judell Anderson says the campaign has already generated positive feedback from Minnesota members and even interest from affiliated automotive associations in other states. “Working with members who are independent businesses, the key is getting a critical number of courageous members to move forward," says Anderson. "I think we’ve really surprised a lot of people with the influence an association can generate when the members decide they’re serious about their association.”