My name is Frank Bird and I was recently named publisher of BodyShop Business. Congratulations goes to Sean Donohue, the previous publisher, who was recently promoted to vice president of sales for Babcox Media. Sean did an excellent job maintaining BodyShop Business’ position as the No. 1 trade magazine in the collision market. With Jason Stahl, our exceptional staff and experienced writers, we intend to do the same.

Let me be honest and say I am new to the collision industry. As a publisher, my role is to uphold the tradition of delivering smart and innovative content that resonates with our readers and creates opportunities for our clients. I look forward to learning as much as I can about this dynamic and ever-changing industry.

However, I am not new to the media industry, which you can probably tell from the gray hair. I have over 30 years of marketing and content development experience. Most of my understanding comes from the business-to-consumer (B2C) industry, but I also have several years of experience in business-to-business (B2B) publishing.

There is a current trend where B2C marketing and storytelling is invading the B2B media industry. For the readers, I’m hoping to leverage my existing know-how to make your experience with BodyShop Business that much better in print or online. For new and existing clients, BodyShop Business has the channels, content and defined audience to promote your products/services. We know you need to reach your best prospects when, where and how they want collision information and solutions: digital, print and video/audio.

In the short time I’ve been behind the wheel of BodyShop Business, I’ve met some wonderful people. I look forward to meeting more of you and learning about the collision repair industry. Please feel free to bend my ear at the collision events I plan on attending soon.

In the meantime, call me at (330) 670-1234 ext. 209 or email me at [email protected] to introduce yourself or educate me on the state of the auto body industry.