Detroit has been "on a run" and we couldn't be happier about it. When we say" Detroit" we mean the entire automotive industry, of course. The past few years have been particularly successful in the fleet market for both cars and light trucks, matching anything previously recorded it) retail and then some.
Automotive Fleet has shared in this success thanks to those fleet marketers who continue to invest with us to influence this exciting and volume buying market segment. This has been AF's sixth record year in a row, with advertising pages over the 1,000 mark for the first lime in our history. In July we will be celebrating 25 years of publishing with a special 25th anniversary issue. It is a bit humbling to remember the early days when everyone connected with the fleet market, including Automotive fleet, was struggling for recognition as well as a reasonable degree of success.
There are some clouds on the horizon, not unlike other times, with stiffer competition from import entries, federal legislation and regulations penetrating even deeper into our business lives and the more difficult economics of maintaining profitability at the end of the fiscal year. Also, marketers are more hungry than ever before for solid sales leads; product quality is an industry must; the bottom line is synonymous with survival; and communications are more vita] than ever before.
Our Fact Book is specifica1ly designed to meet changing market needs as well as to provide important bench marks for past and future calculations. We are especially happy to take the lead in this role for the fleet market to which we are so dedicated. This Fact Book contains more statistics and data than ever before and is as accurately presented as our professional staff could put together.
This issue also carries nearly 120 pages of advertising. We will not forget that with this kind of support we have a heavy obligation to meet our responsibilities. Just part of our latest effort was a complete graphics redesign beginning with our January issue. The response has been upbeat and rewarding and the new design should ultimately reflect even greater readership and action. Next month at the NAFA meeting our regional marketing managers and editors will have the results of a comprehensive Readex readership study that covers major advertising as well as editorial content. If you'd like to hear about this study or see the results, just talk to any of our staff.
We know our advertisers are cost-efficient with their products and services and we're pretty proud to be able to intelligently advise you that with Automotive Fleet, you're getting your money's worth. And we appreciate your business.
Ed Bobit
