Specifically, my job title will be digital product manager and I will be tasked with growing the site commercially and driving paid-for content forward. It’s a little daunting when I think about it, as online publishing is probably my weakest area; but by the same token it’s also hugely exciting as I will be learning a considerable amount.

I have had the most fantastic three years working in the aftermarket. It is a fabulous industry, full of some of the most driven people I have met – as well as some of the most creative. I guess you have to be creative in the face of VM competition if you’re to make money!

While heading CAT I have learned more about running a brand than I could have imagined. I hope that the title is in better shape now than it was when I took the helm at the end of 2007.

I know there is much work still to be done, but my successor – David Harris – is definitely the man to do it. He has aftermarket experience, is a proven publisher and I am sure will drive CAT on to greater things still.

Key in his remit should be:

• To improve the website, driving traffic to it and turning it into a viable commercial proposition
• To turn the CAT Awards into the must-attend social event of the year
• To ensure CAT remains the best, most independent aftermarket B2B brand
• To develop the Directory brand online and in print

I am certain he can do that.

He will have my help and support should he need it, as I will only be upstairs (on floor 5).

Anyway, before you all start crying onto your desks at the prospect of a Foster-less aftermarket (I think editor Emma is actually relishing the idea after sitting opposite me for three years) I thought I’d sign off with my ’most memorable’ memories of my time in this most incredible of industries…

Emma and German beer that was bigger than her. Or so it seemed.

 1 Automechanika 2008 

It was my first visit to an Automechanika and there I was, merrily taking photos of the Trico stand for Nigel Cole, when along came a couple of burly (and I mean burly) German geezers, covered in tats and with shaven heads. They wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Millwall football hooligan gang.

“Vhere eez your photo passz?” One of them hissed. Uh oh.

“Erm, I am press?” I tried to offer back. Not good enough. They grabbed me by the arms and ‘arrested’ me, before taking me to have my camera confiscated at security HQ.  Seeing as it was my own camera, I was not amused. Trouble was, neither were they.

After my camera had been taken off my person, I had to walk – accompanied by messrs Thug and Hooligan – all the way back to the press centre (a good 20 minutes trudging) where they verified I was from CAT and gave me permission to take photos.

Then it was 20 minutes trudging back to the security point to collect my camera again. Lesson learned – when you go to Automechanika, if you take a camera, get permission to use it!

Also on that trip, memories of talking to a guy called Fenton Rixon – who was trying to sell space in the aftermarket section of the Autosport Show 2009.

Fenton was full of doom and gloom about the impending financial crisis.

“The banks will all collapse! Take all your money out and stuff it under the mattress! Cash is king!” he was telling me. Two years on and wer’e still here. Hurrah for that, Fenton!

Also at this show was the Trico night, where much beer was consumed and editor Emma drank a beer in one go that was bigger than her. Most impressive!

Fenton Rixon: Doom! Gloom! Put your cash under your mattress!

2 Plastered in Paris

At Equip Auto last year in Paris, editor Emma and I ended up getting slightly merry on beers that cost a whacking 10 Euro a pint. Well actually we got plastered. We were in our hotel bar when I spied a piano! Not being one to hide a light under my bushel, I made a lunge for the piano stool and started playing. Badly. I had double vision, which makes playing piano slightly tricky, as it’s hard to control two hands, let alone when you think you have four.

The more I played, the louder the background music became in the bar and check-in area. Until eventually, two butch French security guards (with tats, and who wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Millwall hooligan gang) came over to physically tear me away from the instrument.

Maybe it was because I was playing a track by the Pet Shop Boys, after something by Elton John.

3 Visiting Sykes Pickavant

This is probably memorable for all the wrong reasons! Lobby (sales exec Karen Reilly) and I had put together what we thought was a fabulous proposal to get tool company Sykes Pickavant involved in some way with the CAT brand. We weren’t after much investment, just a little support perhaps, just so they could see that CAT might be a viable marketing tool for them to exploit.

As such we’d booked a slot to see Dave Mekie, the company’s marketing director, at their HQ in Walsall. But what a waste of time, money and effort it all turned out to be. A day in my life that was totally pointless.

After our presentation to Dave (and his PR assistant, who was lovely) demonstrating how CAT goes out to over 17,000 readers, outlining the demographics of our subscriber base (which included over 9,000 independent garages), Mekie summarily dismissed pretty much everything we’d said. It was obvious he didn’t like CAT, was never going to like CAT and possibly didn’t even believe we went out to garages.

So why bother wasting his time, and ours, seeing us?

And why, if CAT is not right for Sykes, do they keep sending us press releases? All questions I will never be able to answer! I shan’t miss days like this in my next role. Fortunately days like this were very rare on CAT.

You can’t win ‘em all!

Martin, Emma and me on a CAT day out. Lobby was behind the camera.

A day of much merriment and bonding followed. As usual though, I went one step too far. (That should be my epitah – ‘he went one step too far!)

While queueing for Stealth (one of the fastest accelerating roller coasters at 0-80mph in 2.5 seconds), Martin Lee – our sales manager – wasn’t moving as fast as the queue was. So I whacked him hard on the posterior to get him moving, same way you’d whack a cow on the arse if it wasn’t going into the milking shed properly.

Poor old Martin. He jumped out of his skin. Now, ever since I did that, whenever I move my arm near Martin he flinches!

5 Visit to Corteco HQ

Sometimes you meet clients you just click with. They get where you’re coming from, we understand what they need and the relationship works brilliantly both ways.

The guys at Corteco – Steve, Satbinder and Reiner – are all like that. What top blokes. They paid for Karen, Emma and I to visit their HQ in Germany, which we did do. A great time was had by all, even during a factory tour that actually proved quite interesting!

While being shown round Freudenburg HQ, I spied a football table. Reiner Martsfeld said he was pretty good, so I said we could have a Germany v England rematch, the first time England would have played Germany at football on German soil since we hammered them 5-1 (even Heskey scored that night).

Alas, Mr Martsfeld bottled it and the match never happened. Probably just as well for me, really. I’d have lost on penalties!

Reiner Martsfeld of Freudenberg. He bottled a game of table football with me!

Thank you

And that’s it from me. Thank you all for your support of CAT during my tenure. I hope we helped you grow your business along the way. I’m proud to leave CAT in a very strong position – we pride ourselves on delivering a top-notch product each month, something that won’t change no matter who is publisher.

My email remains the same – jim.foster@haymarket.com. I look forward to staying in touch with you all!

Our tame senior sales exec is a big pussy cat, really

Hello everyone, sorry it has been a while since my last blog but a lot has gone on!

To start with, our Awards in January were spectacular and I am so proud to be part of CAT Mag. I also got to sit next to the wonderful Jonathan Allen of Federal Mogul!

Wow what an event – Jim and Emma were wicked hosts and the venue was stunning! Also a big thank you to those of you who came to the Anglers pub afterwards – you were wonderful company.

So it was a great start to the year but I have to admit that, right now, I am a little stressed because thanks to the terrible weather, I have not been able to get out on the motorcycle. Maybe I should invest in a dirt bike!

And on the subject of biking, I want to say a massive well done to Leon Haslam for his world Superbikes performance – a Brit on the podium!!!

But the most exciting aftermarket news of the moment is …drum roll… that this afternoon, I am off on my hols to Kenya to chase baboons and lions!

This is going to be a trip of a lifetime and I am soooo excited! As many of you will know, I am a huge animal lover and cannot wait to see some sanctuaries.

I want to say a huge thank you to Tony Bhogal of Autoelectro for giving me some pens to take out to an orphanage. I feel this is going to be a real eye opener and I will see first-hand just how lucky us Brits are.

I promise to come back armed with photos for my next blog, and I am sure there will be a lot of happiness for those of you I bug all day when you see me being eaten by a lion!

I will be returning to work on 14th April (as long as I manage to avoid the crocs, that is!). While I’m gone, please contact Martin Lee on 020 8267 5839 or email him at martin.lee@haymarket.com

Take care everyone xxx

Wembley Hill's Calvin, ECP's Donna West and lime-green lovelies Satbinder and Steve from Corteco

It was great to see the supply chain working together to spread the aftermarket word this week.

I popped along to the Brent Park Tesco superstore to see Corteco, ECP and Wembley Hill Garage in action as they helped charity Asthma UK rattle their fundraising buckets.

(Well keep them quite still, actually, because apparently rattling is strictly off limits these days!).

Now you might wonder what Asthma has to do with the aftermarket.

Well, Corteco has teamed up with the charity to help raise awareness about the health benefits of regular cabin air filter replacement.

• Apparently, without a properly functioning filter the air inside the vehicle cabin can be up to 6 times more polluting than outside
• And according to Asthma UK, 66% of people with asthma say that traffic fumes trigger their symptoms

So how did our friendly chuggers get on?

Well the shoppers of Wembley are clearly a generous and health conscious lot because a surprising number of them not only made a donation, but were really interested to find out how a cabin filter can help keep respiratory conditions under control.

Many of them had never even considered that their vehicle had a cabin filter before.

Or were they just hypnotised by Steve Jarnet’s new barnet?

Taking the Putting Asthma in the Limelight campaign tag quite literally, the normally impeccably dressed UK sales manager for Corteco ditched his sartorial pride for the day to don a lime green wig – and very fetching he looked too!

But back to the serious matter of filters, one lady, Mrs Jackie Togher from Collingdale, told me that she had just been to visit her friend’s daughter, who is recovering from an asthma attack, in hospital.

“It’s really scary,” she said. “I hadn’t heard about these filters before. I’m really interested in anything that can help.”

She took away two filters, one for herself and her small son, and the other for her friend, and headed off round the corner to Wembley Hill Garage to get her free fitting.

Educating motorists

Calvin, Wembley Hill’s main man, said he was looking forward to seeing more educated motorists in his workshop.

Unsurprisingly, he said that motorists never ask for their cabin air filter to be changed without prompting.

“Most of them don’t know what it is but it’s so important, especially when you’re driving bumper to bumper and can smell the exhaust fumes of the car in front.

“We always recommend charcoal filters.”

The Wembley charity event was the first in a nationwide tour for Corteco. It is working together with various distribution partners and local garages in its month-long campaign.

Apparently, there’s still time to get involved – and that means there’s still time to see the lesser-spotted Mr Jarnet in all his lime-green glory. Coming soon to a Tesco near you…

There is one subject I really want to talk about – and that is the shady issue of ‘buying’ editorial in trade magazines.

One very important point I would like to make at the outset is this:

None of the editorial in CAT is ever linked to advertising content.

None is compromised by being linked to advertising spend.

None is ever seen by advertisers before going to print.

Ever!

Our editorial content is, therefore, completely  independent, a fact that’s an integral part of our brand’s credentials.

In fact, if I even so much as suggest a subject for our editor to write about, or a company to include in editorial, she puts on what I call her ‘cross face’!

“I decide editorial content,” she rightly says. “Not the publisher. Not the sales team.”

Our editorial is not for sale

As such, unlike some trade mags out there, you cannot ‘buy’ editorial space in CAT by placing an advert.

If we say something about someone, write a critique of a company or praise a product, it’s because it’s genuine and absolutely not as the result of an advert that’s appeared elsewhere in the magazine.

Of course, other publications are free to run their businesses in whatever way they like.

But in my view, it should be made crystal clear to readers in titles where selling editorial occurs that this is the case.

Readers have a right to know that the supposed ‘editorial’ content they are looking at might only be there because of a commercial deal undertaken with the company that’s being written about.

And therefore it should, perhaps, be labelled as ‘advertorial’.

Why people read CAT

I’d like to think that people read CAT because they want to, because they enjoy it and get something from it. We’re regularly told we are market leaders in terms of editorial quality, which pleases us greatly because that’s what we strive for.

We want our subscribers to pick up CAT and actually read it when it comes through their letterbox.

And this in turn gives our advertisers better value for their hard-earned marketing spend. We want them to know that people will be reading CAT. That our subscribers want to read CAT.

We don’t just dump batches of 300 copies with a factor to deliver to some garages sometimes.

Over 99% of our readership is requested. Every one of our readers is on a database. We know who each of them is, even if we can’t share those details with you thanks to data protection laws!

How is editorial chosen?

When editor Emma chooses her cover stories, her news stories and her features, she does so on the basis that what she and her contributors are writing about is of real (and independent) relevance to the trade.

We never mortgage our editorial. Just because you advertise, doesn’t guarantee you an editorial slot. And if you don’t have any marketing spend, we’re not going to say “you won’t get any coverage”.

If you have something good to say, you will get editorial coverage. Regardless.

The result is simple. None of our editorial is commercially biased. Readers know it’s for real. And long may it stay that way!

[Amen - Ed]

Foz & Butch in action... Foz: 'I once caught a carp that was THIS big!'

And so another CAT Awards event has ended.

Biased though I am, I have to say that it was a brilliant CAT Awards – the first time our Awards had been held as an event in its own right.

This marked a huge step up in significance from handing out a few prizes on the back of our stand at the Aftermarket Show, as had happened in previous years.

We now have an extension to the CAT brand platform that we can be justly proud of: and one that in my opinion will keep on growing.

Awards: The Benefits

There were many plusses to come from the luncheon ceremony. They included the following facts:

• Over 100 aftermarket personnel attended – we had great support from the trade
• They included decision makers from some of the industry’s biggest suppliers, buying groups and factors
• Eight Awards were presented, including six that were decided in their entirety by votes from CAT readers
• It marked the first time we included the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ and ‘Green Innovation’ categories
• We raised a total of £842 for BEN thanks to some most generous donations

The downside was that CAT had to feed everyone!

In my naivety, I had budgeted for about a 50-60% take-up on all the invitations I had sent out.

I sent out 120, expecting 60 or so people to say yes. As it happened, 100 people said yes! Which kind of blew my budget out of the water a little.

And created a few nervous moments in the days leading up to the Awards, as the maxmimum number the venue could cater for in our chosen room was 100.

But thanks to some late sponsorship support from Klarius, I managed to get together the extra cash I needed to pay for the whole thing, and generally speaking it all went off without a hitch.

Foz & Butch: The New Ant & Dec

Even the double act that was me and editor Emma Butcher (we did a joint compering job) went well – we seemed to bounce off each other pretty effectively.

So Ant and Dec had best watch out. Foz & Butch are the new double act in town. With Pinewood Studios next door, I wouldn’t be surprised if some TV producers come calling soon.

Seriously, what’s great about the CAT Awards is that they are so organic. What I mean by that is that they are the Aftermarket’s Awards – or your Awards.

CAT is the Aftermarket’s no.1, most established trade title. We’ve been going for over 30 years. Therefore when its 17,000 readers nominate their finalists and vote, people sit up and pay attention.

And this year our readers selected some awesome winners. You’ve probably all read about them by now anyway, but who can argue with Motaquip for Supplier of the Year? Or GMF as our top factor? Or the excellent ABP Motorsport as our top garage?

Or indeed the hard-working Jim Mazza, who as part of the Right to Repair Campaign has done so much for our industry.

UK Aftermarket: Pride

I think what the Awards also show is how innovative, strong, creative and friendly our industry is.

That there are some brilliant independent garages, businesses, suppliers and distributors out there that collectively are a credit to the IAM.

I for one am proud to be a part of it.

And I am proud to be a servant of it through CAT: the aftermarket’s longest-standing trade magazine, now with the aftermarket’s most prestigious Awards.

Make sure you nominate and vote for the 2011 Awards!

 Finally, a big thank you to the following people without whom none of the above would have been possible: 

• Sarah Hossack – Haymarket Events
• The CAT team
• John Stanton for a walk into Aftermarket history in his speech (which involved lots of booze stories!)
• All our sponsors – Haynes, Nulon, Klarius, ECP, Corteco, Denso, Motaquip and Castrol
• The Lensbury for its excellent service
• Everyone who contributed towards the goody bags – Nulon, UK Batteries, Saxon etc
• The Nulon girls – including Sun page 3 girl Katie Leigh - in their tight CAT suits!
• To the Aftermarket for its support. With your help, we can make these Awards something really special

We even had some page 3 girls... Courtesy of Start Ya Bastard!

I have to say my first thank you of 2010 to Terry at Universal Automotive who is now on my Christmas card list for next year [It's a very prestigious list, I've seen it! - Ed].

Why? Because he was kind enough to send me a signed Valentino Rossi poster made out to me and complete with a kiss! My very own personalised poster from the world’s greatest motorcycle racer has now been given pride of place in my front room where everyone can see it – along with a security device good enough for the Mona Lisa!

While I’m on, next week on the 14th and 15th of January I shall be attending the Autosport International show at the NEC in Birmingham.

If you want to meet up to discuss 2010 CAT Mag advertising or take a break for a general chitchat and a cuppa, drop me an email at karen.reilly@haymarket.com and we’ll make a date.

Lastly I would like to say a belated Happy New Year! I hope you had a good one. I went to Waterloo Bridge and waited for the fireworks. I will NEVER do this again – far warmer to watch it on the telly!

I challenge anyone who doubts the fantastic service on offer in the independent aftermarket to take a look at our website right now and walk away with the same view.

The messages of support that customers of motor factors, garages and retailers have left while voting for their 2010 aftermarket heroes are incredibly refreshing and really underline the passion and commitment of the people that make up this industry.

Of course you can read them all on our awards pages, but here are just a few of the comments we’ve received from motorists about independent garages who far too often get a raw deal.

I hope they brighten up your day.

• “TJ Hall and Son provide excellent service. I needed a replacement bulb the other morning and when I pulled up at 8:30am the mechanic came out and fitted one immediately so I was able to get to work on time.”
• “There are not many people to whom I would entrust my beloved Cobra! – I have no hesitation with ABP Motorsport.”
• “Dakar Cars are brilliant. Nothing is too much trouble, great service and the pricing is competitive.”

Back to the CAT Awards, voting is now closed, although my lips are sealed about the identities of our winners – sorry but rules are rules – so you’ll have to wait for the big announcements on the 22^nd of Jan.

It’s shaping up to be a fantastic event and the CAT team is looking forward to kicking off 2010 in style by welcoming all our guests at the fabulously luxurious Lensbury Hotel and Spa and sharing a few well-deserved celebratory drinks with you.

In the meantime, here’s wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year.

If ever a picture summed up a publisher's role...

It’s a good question, perhaps because there isn’t an easy one-line answer I can give that sums it all up. There are too many facets to the job.

I guess the simple response is to say this: that my main duty is to ensure CAT is well run and makes money.

Publishing CAT magazine means I have responsibilities across just about every area of the business, including:

• Planning the brand’s long-term business strategy
• Building relationships with key clients
• Writing budgets and monitoring the monthly accounts
• Putting together bespoke campaigns for bigger clients – Denso and ECP, for example
• Organising our Awards
• Selling bespoke sponsorships for the Awards
• Managing the business side of the website

From time to time, editor Emma even lets me do the occasional bit of editorial, both in the mag and online: I actually wrote half of our 30th anniversary special supplement back in June, which was fantastic as it taught me so much about the history of our industry.

Often, there can be so many little projects on the go at once, that I get into the office and don’t really know which one I should be concentrating on.

When I first arrived at Haymarket, one of my colleagues on What Car? magazine said that publishing was very much like trying to keep a dozen spinning plates in the air at the same time, and not allowing them to fall down and smash on the floor.

It was a decent analogy. That’s exactly what publishing a magazine can be like at times, even one as relatively small as CAT.

But I love it. So there!

I have just returned from Germany, on a trip to the Freudenberg HQ as guests of Corteco.

I never realised just how much research and manufacturing effort goes into seals and vibration control in cars (the vibration testing machine was awesome).

And also, I had no idea that the history of Freudenberg stretches all the way back to the 19th century, when the company began manufacturing high-quality leather for shoes.

Their automotive history began in the 1920s with the invention of a leather seal – and from then, it’s been growth all the way for one of Germany’s blue-ribbon companies.

The way they do things in Germany seems very different to the UK.

For instance, during a tour of Freudenberg’s innovation centre, I came across a ’space age’ room that changes colour depending on the aims of the people working in it!

I swear this is true: the colours used apparently help activate the brain, in order to stimulate creativity.

Office layout was vastly different to the way we do things, as well.

Space is considered very important. No-one has a desk as we know them; instead people work on portable units which they gather in the morning, plug into a work station that’s free, before packing everything away into the unit at the end of the day.

If you didn’t like the person you were working next to, you could just wheel yourself off to another work station! Brilliant! Watch out Martin Henry!!!

There are more staff rooms too, giving a breathing space that lets staff members take a break.

They even have a table football game – but Reiner Martsfeld, one of Corteco’s big bosses, seemed reluctant to indulge in a one-off Germany v England match with our publisher, Jim Foster!

Posters are displayed openly with support and a gentle prod to help staff with ideas and also the fact that there is no such thing as a bad idea.

Staff brainstorm all creative ideas. This is so important, as new ideas are the key to business success, whether it be packaging design, advert design, new products, store layout or innovations.

Anyone who speaks to me on the phone would be very aware of the background noise we sometimes get here at CAT, which drives me barmy!

What a difference it would make to have an office where we can think and work without interruption. But at the same time, I suppose I have to concede that I have never met a quiet sales person!

Reiner Martsfeld (left) and Steve Jarnet of Corteco

What a month! I have barely had a moment to draw breath so I hope you enjoy this bumper edition blog…

October kicked off with a week in the sun in Cyprus for yet another friend’s wedding.  It does seem like everyone in my circle is starting to settle down into the married way of life, and right now that’s a million miles away for me – thank goodness!

As ever, like any other holiday, the week rattled by. And before I knew it I was back in the work routine… However, after only three days in the office, I was on the Euro Star en route to the city of love – Paris.  This did a nice job of softening the blow!

I always look forward to the overseas trade shows as an ideal opportunity to meet up with European based clients who I would never otherwise see.  Also it’s ideal to maintain and grow new business relationships and listen to what new and exciting product launches are in the pipeline.

On the whole, the feedback about the show was great. Each client that I visited was delighted that they had supported it and more so that they had generated some serious business leads.

One thing I wasn’t looking forward to was the EURO.  I won’t go into too much detail about the cost of drinks out in Paris because it pains me but I think I had the most expensive round for TWO drinks ever when the bill came to 23 Euros. That’s for 1 pint and a Baileys! Can anyone outdo that?

The beauty of the overseas expos is that it’s usually acceptable to have a bottle of beer while chatting on the stands (thank you Suplex). Although I never quite expected to find myself sinking shots of Pernod and Lemon Liqueur with Lobby (my usually tee-total colleague) on the final morning with our clients EEC and MTS Exhausts.

Anyway, at least I slept like a baby on the journey home….

Finally, and on a more recent note, I have just got back from the Mechanex at Sandown Park, which looked to be a great success for everyone involved. Clearly, the CAT crew were out in force at the show ensuring that we are au fait with all the upcoming launches for 2010.

It was a non-stop couple of days and I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to chat, especially at such a busy show – your time is always appreciated and valued!