Hats on for Mental Health

image courtesy of BEN

The Good Garage Scheme is supporting Hats on for Mental Health day on Friday 13th October alongside the automotive charity, Ben.

The day is part of a wider mental health campaign run by Ben and spotlights how mental health can affect anyone, at any time.

The campaign is particularly relevant as recent research shows two thirds of British adults say they have experienced mental ill-health at some point in their lives, according to a survey by the Mental Health Foundation.

In an industry which has a workforce of over 800,000 people, that equates to over 500,000 people potentially affected by mental health challenges!

Last year marked the first year of Hats on 4 Mental Health day – their first ever national fundraising event for the automotive industry. Everyone working in the industry was asked to get involved by wearing a hat to work for a day and an amazing £13,000 was raised! So, hats off to those who took part last year and made the day such a success.

The Good Garage Scheme has joined in with a hope to help raise even more this year.

Head office staff will be participating and posting photos on social media to show support and hoping as many member garages as possible will join in to help. Miles Better has already starting to show his support.

Simply text HATS97 £1 to  70070 or visit the justgiving page to donate here.





For more information about how Ben can help, please visit www.ben.org.uk

Don't miss our TV Advert

If you haven't seen the Good Garage Scheme's message on SKY featuring our own Miles Better, you can view it here any time.

 

It's like having a friend in the know!

Good Garage Scheme on DAVE TV

DAVE TV is the 9th largest commercial television channel in the UK and reaches over 24 million adult viewers per month.

Photo courtesy of Lawlor Motor Company, member garage where advert was filmed

The Good Garage Scheme's television advert will once again appear on DAVE TV from Monday, 15th September. The campaign aims to increase awareness of the Good Garage Scheme and how easy it is to find a local garage to trust with car servicing, car repair or MOTs.
The Good Garage Scheme's animated TV Star, Miles Better, will appear on DAVE TV alongside popular programmes such as Top Gear, QI, and Room 101.

To view the ad, simply visit www.goodgaragescheme.com/tv-advert.

It's like having a friend in the know!

Christmas Surprise for BEN

On Tuesday, 17th December, staff from the Good Garage Scheme, including Mr. Miles Better, delivered a Christmas hamper to Arthur Wilson House in Coventry, one of BEN's day care centres. Manager, Lynn Walker, was grateful for the items which will be shared in a raffle for the patrons.

 
BEN is the UK’s dedicated charity for those who work, or have worked, in the automotive and related industries, as well as their dependants. Care centres like Arthur Wilson House do a fantastic job caring for those most in need.

If you would like to learn more about BEN and the work they do, please visit www.ben.org.uk.

Channel 4OD Hosts Good Garage Scheme Advert

From Monday, 18th November, the Good Garage Scheme's TV advert encouraging motorists to find a local garage they can trust on GoodGarageScheme.com will be appearing for the first time on Channel 4OD (4 on Demand online viewing platform).

With changes in consumer television viewing habits, the Good Garage Scheme is sending its message directly to viewers of Channel 4's most popular programmes with an opportunity for them to click directly to the Good Garage Scheme website and find their local garage or download the app.

The Good Garage Scheme has advertised on ITV Player, SKY and Dave already this year and hopes to extend brand awareness to an even wider audience.

Miles Better, the popular animated star of the television ads will appear once again alongside Good Garage Scheme member garage, Lawlor Motor Company in Tyne & Wear, where the advert was filmed.

Good Garage Scheme Kicks off on DAVE TV

The Good Garage Scheme is pleased to have kicked off its winter advertising campaign on Monday, 7th October.  Miles Better appeared once again on on Dave TV and its plus-one channel, Dave Ja Vu TV, encouraging motorists to visit the website and find a local trustworthy Good Garage Scheme member garage.

So far results have shown an increase 120% of visitors to www.GoodGarageScheme.com and the number of motorists downloading the app has increased by 160%.

photo courtesy of Lawlor Motor Company

The advert was filmed at long-standing member garage, Lawlor Motor Company in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. John and the team, along with our own Miles Better, will be appearing on Dave TV alongside Jeremy Clarkson and the Top Gear crew and other favourites on Have I Got News for You.

If you missed the advert on DAVE or Dave Ja Vu, click here to watch now.

The Good Garage Scheme is now promoting its Winter Check. The temperatures have started dropping. Make sure your car is ready for winter. Find a Good Garage Scheme member near you offering a Winter Check.

It's like having a friend in the know!

It's MOVEMBER

Over the past eight years, November has become a time when men (or "mo bros") cultivate a moustache to raise awareness of men’s health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer.

Miles Better would like to participate this year and has set up a donation page for the Prostate Cancer UK Charity. For more information about the charity, please visit www.prostatecanceruk.org - we'll be updating the progress of  his moustache on his Facebook and Twitter pages.

Help him decide which style to grow. He'd like to encourage fellow Good Garage Scheme members to send their own photos to post on the Good Garage Scheme Facebook page as well.

This is a great opportunity for all Good Garage Scheme members and their customers to give generously to this worthy cause.


To support Miles Better, please visit www.justgiving.com/Miles-Better
Here are some of the moustaches Miles is thinking of growing. Help him decide by choosing your favourite.

Mo 1

Mo 2

Mo 3

Star of the small screen wins social media popularity vote

Miles Better, better known as the friendly, animated character from the Good Garage Scheme’s TV campaigns has taken the social network by storm.
 
With a rapidly growing social media following, Miles is already attracting many Facebook fans and has built a strong Twitter profile with nearly 1000 people following his every tweet, giving valuable words of advice.  Miles has become increasingly popular for posting top tips for car drivers, advising them how to keep their vehicles performing well whatever the driving conditions.
 
Miles Better was born out of a nationwide television advertising campaign across the Sky network and DAVE TV for which he was the face of the Good Garage Scheme, explaining to motorists why they should use an independent garage for their servicing needs. He was given his name after the Good Garage Scheme asked members of the public to take part in a naming competition through social networking websites.
 
The Good Garage Scheme already has a widespread social media presence itself, with over 4,500 Twitter followers and over 1,000 Facebook likes.
 
Anndi Sheppard, Marketing Manager for the Good Garage Scheme said: “The growth and development of Miles Better has been phenomenal since we introduced him to our brand. He has become an instantly recognisable friendly figure for motorists that represents the quality service that drivers can expect from independent garages. His driving tips and advice have made him a really popular figure on social networking websites and he is a great addition to the Good Garage Scheme team.”
 
Miles Better can be followed on Twitter at @MilesBetter_GGS and liked on Facebook via Facebook.com/milesbetterggs

If you missed Miles Better, you can catch him again on SKY in September or have a look at the ad here.

Lights, Camera, Action at Lawlor Motor Company

Long-standing Good Garage Scheme member, Lawlor Motor Company in Newcastle-upon-Tyne were only too happy to help when we asked to film our latest national television advertising campaign at their premises. 

Photo courtesy of Lawlor Motor Company

Photo courtesy of Lawlor Motor Company

We are grateful to the team at Lawlor Motor Company for taking time during a cold February day of filming and especially to owner, John Lawlor - quite the natural film star!

The Good Garage Scheme advert is currently appearing on SKY TV during June and you can see John alongside our newly named animated character, Miles Better.

Many thanks again to John and all of the team at Lawlor Motor Company. For more photos of the making of the advert, visit Lawlor Motor Company's Facebook page.

Click here to see the Good Garage Scheme's TV advert currently running on Sky TV.

Say Hello to Miles Better

Thank you to all who participated in our “Name Our Star” competition.
 
We invited all Good Garage Scheme members, staff and our followers on Facebook and Twitter to come up with a name for the new star of our TV advertising campaign. We had some great suggestions including Gary Toogood, Frank, Carter Fix, Harry,  Mike the Mechanic and even a Tarquin, but the popular choice was Miles Better.

Congratulations to Heidi Twigg, whose husband owns MT Cars Ltd in Whittlesey. MT Cars has been a member of the Good Garage Scheme since 2007 and has a five star feedback rating. Heidi came up with the name and won a free tank of fuel for her creative name.

Colin Austen presents cheque to Heidi Twigg.  Also in photo: Mark Twigg, Chris Simpson and Kim Vawser

Miles Better will next appear on SKY television in June during the Good Garage Scheme's next national television campaign helping to spread the message, "It's like having a friend in the know!"

Follow Miles on Facebook here and also on Twitter: @MilesBetter_GGS