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Making news. Changing minds. |
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CARSTAR StarPlex CARSTAR Automotive Canada was founded in Hamilton in 1995 and has since become the fastest growing automotive franchise in North America, offering high quality collision repair at 92 locations in Canada. In November 2003 CARSTAR opened a 25,000 square foot flagship location in Mississauga, Ontario, called the CARSTAR StarPlex. The facility is open twelve hours a day, seven days a week, offering state-of-the-art collision repair. CARSTAR hired Polaris Public Relations to secure media coverage of the Mississauga flagship location. Objectives The new CARSTAR StarPlex offers consumers the first real, retail experience in Canadian collision repair. Polaris aimed to generate coverage that would position the new StarPlex location as a groundbreaking new collision repair center. The Solution Toronto media were invited to the opening event and offered a tour and interviews. They  were
also invited to cause as much damage as possible to CEO Sam Mercanti’s
Mercedes, and given a sledgehammer to do so. The car would be repaired
overnight by StarPlex employees on a time-coded video so that the
media could see the results for themselves the next day. This demonstration
aimed to physically illustrate the impressive work that could be completed
at the StarPlex facility in a short period of time.Results Media response to the CARSTAR campaign was positive and extensive. The Toronto Star dedicated a half page feature to the StarPlex in its Saturday edition. Plus, both Global TV and CFTO covered it in their consumer reports on the evening news. The total audience reach of the program was estimated at over 3.7 million, with cost per thousand people at a mere $2.92. Most importantly, sales at StarPlex have been expanding steadily since opening in November.  |
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Big body shop aims to kick bad habits The big box approach to auto body work: the new stars of the car repair biz CARSTAR debuts StarPlex facility Big box concept arrives in collision repair |
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