Concept & Promotion
Metzger Associates’ client Green Garage is an eco-friendly, full-service car care shop with locations in Boulder and Denver and future plans to franchise nationally. Their goal is to make people’s cars run longer and help save the environment with innovations like green oil filters to increase time between changes, snow tires for harsh Colorado winters and inflating tires with nitrogen for increased fuel economy.
Green Garage is different not only for their green tactics but also in their target market: middle-aged women – a class of customer who often feel taken advantage of at other auto repair shops. Such treatment preys on these ladies’ perceived lack of knowledge and leads them to feel ripped off and overcharged for unnecessary services. In response, Green Garage promotes a policy of transparency when it comes to their customer relationships. GG technicians consult directly, pointing out what’s wrong with the car instead of fixing it and handing clients the bill. They also offer quick tips on car care so clients can do some maintenance themselves and be prepared for possible problems. Green Garage staff goes over a number of simple practices like the penny rule for measuring tire tread and the three millimeter rule for knowing when to change brake pads. The staff takes the time to show their clients how car care works and what to expect in terms of repairs, answering questions with honest answers and always listening.
This drive toward a daily service ethic of car care transparency led Metzger Associates to recommend consolidating the content into an educational seminar for women. We named it Women, Wine and Wrenches and designed a series of events geared for women who want to learn more about their vehicles, avoid trips to the repair shop and use green techniques to make their vehicles last longer and respect the environment.
To publicize each event, we distributed news releases and posted advisories to calendar sections in local and special-interest media outlets and blogs. We contacted women’s groups and printed posters and flyers to hand out to ladies around the city. We designed and released an email to the Green Garage mailing list about a month before each event and a second reminder a few days before. We kept members of the Facebook and Twitter pages aware of each event by regularly posting messages about WWW. The day before, we put out media alerts to get coverage in “daily doings,” event and news sections.
Results
At the six Women, Wine & Wrenches events held thus far, Green Garage staff have given talks on basic how-to’s about car care and issues customers need to be prepared for, such as weather conditions, flat tires and other possible problems. Women and men alike have walked away from each event more knowledgeable about their cars, and Green Garage continues to spread their message of transparent car care to a wider audience.
Green Garage’s visibility has spread regionally, and even nationally with coverage in media outlets including Fast Company, Westword, CNN and many others. The company continues to attract more business, and Metzger Associates gets to work with a great staff dedicated to enlightened customer service and promoting environmental practices in the car care industry.
