February 27, 2018

Consumer Research across North America Drove New Brand Positioning

New Television Commercial to Debut throughout Canada during the Winter Olympics

CHARLOTTE (February 2018) – While CARSTAR continues to lead the collision industry in performance, network growth and customer satisfaction, it is constantly striving to understand consumers’ needs when they have an accident and build its brand awareness and business to meet those needs.

This year, CARSTAR North America will launch a new brand campaign across the U.S. and Canada, its first ever integrated campaign for North America.  A new television spot, titled “It’s Your Car” will be unveiled in February, airing for the inaugural time during the Winter Olympics across all of Canada.  CARSTAR stores in the U.S. will air the spot in local markets.  The commercial shares the story that at CARSTAR, “We care, we are efficient and we are accountable. It’s not just a car. It’s YOUR car.”

The campaign will be extended through radio, digital, billboard and print advertising, and supported on social media platforms.  It was developed by Mythic, based in Charlotte, NC.

The enhanced brand positioning and marketing campaign is based on extensive research with consumers to understand their needs when they have an accident, motivations for choosing a repair company and the attributes of the CARSTAR brand that appeal to them in their decision process.  The research was conducted with audiences throughout the U.S. and Canada.

“Our key findings reinforced our understanding that we know no two accidents are the same,” said Michael Macaluso, President, CARSTAR North America. “Every car is different, and each deserves to be treated with care. That’s why we are committed to making every job count. Because when it’s your car, it matters most. At CARSTAR, we work with you to find a solution that best fits your needs, and make sure that when your car is returned, it’s exactly what you expected.”

The marketing campaign builds upon CARSTAR’s focus on growing the CARSTAR network across the U.S. and Canada, delivering continued operational improvements and providing purchasing efficiencies.  Key initiatives include:

• Driving unit growth across the U.S. and Canada through aggressive store development, with a goal of 600 locations by mid-year
• Increasing organic growth at its current locations through the CARSTAR Proprietary EDGE Performance Platform, operating efficiencies and new fleet and insurance programs
• Continuing to execute against performance-based agreements with the major insurance carriers and secure more of these relationships
• Leverage the Driven Brands synergies for efficiency and cost-savings

To view the television spot, visit CARSTAR US Commercial and CARSTAR Canada Commercial, and to learn more about CARSTAR, visit CARSTAR.com and CARSTAR.ca.