The automotive aftermarket has no boundaries, as evidenced by the thousands of articles that are produced every year by journalists throughout the world. These reporters are constantly on the hunt for the latest automotive trends to report to their readers and often rely on SEMA to learn about new parts and technology in the marketplace. By attending the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas or following one of SEMA’s programs that help member companies expand into international markets, journalists are able to stay abreast of the latest happenings in the industry. The following are some international publications that keep an eye on SEMA’s efforts.
The seventh annual SEMA Battle of the Builders contest featured more than 330 submissions from a talented pool of builders who were looking to win the prestigious competition in 2020. The Top 40 and the Top 12 finalists were selected by a panel of industry experts before the 12 finalists performed the judging duties and rated their peers to name a winner in each category (Hot Rod, Truck/Off-Road, Sport Compact, and Young Guns) and one overall Top Builder. Brady Ranweiler (Hot Rod), Mark Giambalvo (Truck/Off-Road), Chip Foose (Sport Compact), and Cody Medeisis (Young Guns) won their respective categories before Ranweiler was named the overall winner. Below are some of the media that followed the competition.
SEMA regularly partners with media to help members succeed and the automotive aftermarket industry thrive. Just as the industry has changed through the years, so has the media landscape. Traditional media are now joined by online outlets, social-media channels and podcasts—many of which cover SEMA’s different events and services, resulting in an increase in the association’s audience reach. The following are some of the podcasts that have recently hosted SEMA guests and helped spread the word about SEMA’s initiatives.
The SEMA market research department’s primary focus is to develop research reports on consumers and the automotive aftermarket industry to help SEMA members make better business decisions. In addition to providing rich data for businesses, the SEMA market reports available at www.sema.org/research provide journalists with quality data that is often used in their reporting. Below are a some of the journalists who have referenced SEMA’s findings in their stories.
Since 1963, SEMA has been at the forefront of the automotive specialty-equipment market, creating programs that support companies from all market segments of the industry. Manufacturers, distributors and resellers from all over the world look to SEMA to help them grow their businesses and identify new products and trends. They’re not the only ones; media, such as those below, rely on SEMA to keep a finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the industry as well.
Although the SEMA Show has been cancelled for 2020, the annual event continues to have unique value propositions. Collision-repair professionals attend the SEMA Show every year to learn about new tools and products coming into the auto-body repair market. They also attend the SEMA Show to participate in niche-specific educational seminars and network opportunities focused on their market. Below are media outlets that have recently reported on the 2019 SEMA Show and collision-repair technology.
To help aftermarket companies manage their product data and generate more business, the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) offers a centralized database that enables manufacturers to author, validate, store and distribute product data to distributors and retailers. With the SDC’s comprehensive set of online data-management tools, businesses can manage data such as descriptions, pricing, images, UPC codes and other information critical for online and in-store sales. For more information about the SDC, visit www.semadatacoop.org.
Since 2013, the SEMA Launch Pad program has given young entrepreneurs, students and business owners age 18–39 an opportunity to launch their products into the $44.6 billion automotive aftermarket industry. The top 15 participants in this year’s program have moved on to the online voting stage of the competition (www.sema.org/launchpad).
The annual SEMA Show is where manufacturers in the automotive specialty-equipment industry exhibit their latest trends, newest technologies and hottest products. Many exhibitors enter their products in the New Products Showcase. As the number-one destination at the SEMA Show, the Showcase provides companies with a great opportunity to highlight their latest offerings, and it allows exhibitors to not only shine a spotlight on specific products but also generate foot traffic to their booths.
In 2019, the Jeep Wrangler was named SEMA 4x4-SUV of the Year for the 10th time, and was joined by the Ford Mustang (Car of the Year), Chevrolet Silverado (Truck of the Year), Audi RS 3 (Sport Compact of the Year), and Polaris RZR (Powersports Vehicle of the Year).