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ACPN at Connect

May 11 – May 14, 2026
Atlanta, Georgia

^{*formerly called the ACPN Knowledge Exchange Conference.}

Join the ACPN Community at 2026 Auto Care Connect for the association’s largest educational event.

Engage with the entire industry in high level keynote sessions, networking opportunities, and discovering business solutions at the tradeshow or deepen your community knowledge and relationships in the ACPN Community specific learning track, ACPN Chair's Dinner, and networking events.

The ACPN community learning track at Auto Care Connect* is where most major manufacturers, distributors, and parts experts in the automotive, heavy duty, equipment, agriculture, and/or powersports content management space come together to share best practices, network with peers, and interact with business solution providers. At Auto Care Connect, content professionals can learn how to develop more accurate electronic catalogs, gain insights on more efficient production processes and become aware of new technology and techniques, which will ultimately help them and their companies:

Sell more products
Reduce costs
Increase efficiencies

Overview

The Pitch Competition is returning as part of 2026 Auto Care Connect, taking place in Atlanta, GA from May 11-14, 2026. This pitch competition is designed to unearth ideas for new features or improvements to the data standards or industry best practices.

Participants will have the opportunity to submit their ideas through this form. A select group of finalists will present their ideas in a high-energy session at 2026 Auto Care Connect, vying for a chance to win a $500 prize and gain industry recognition.

How it Works

Submit your idea through this form by Match 13, 2026.
The Auto Care Association Technology Standards Committee TSC will choose three finalists to present their ideas at 2026 Auto Care Connect and notify these selected finalists by March 31.
If selected as a finalist, a TSC or Aftermarket Content Professionals Network (ACPN Committee) member will coach you to fine-tune and prepare your pitch.
Finalists will pitch their ideas on Thursday, May 14, 2026 during the TSC’s Your Standards, Your Voice session at Auto Care Connect.

Eligibility

Your employer must be a member of the Auto Care Association, and you must be able to attend Connect Week in Atlanta, GA, May 11-14, 2026.
The pitch must relate directly to the data standards and/or data best practices.
The pitch should not be related to an open TSC project.
If selected as a finalist, the pitch presentation may be no longer than 5 minutes.
The pitch may not include references to any product or service offered for sale, other than the data standards or best practices themselves (i.e., no plugs for your employer).

If selected, the applicant must register and attend the 2026 Auto Care Connect conference.

How to Prepare Your Pitch

Demonstrate the problem.
Propose a solution.
Describe how your solution would be implemented.
Estimate the value this solution brings to the industry.
The more concrete you can be, the more impact you will have! Remember, you have no more than 5 minutes to convince your peers that they should vote for your pitch!

NEW FEATURE: Save a draft of your application form! Want to start your application form, but finish it later? You can now save a draft and return to complete it a later date. For more information on saving a draft submission form, see here. For information on how to return to complete your saved form, see here.

Dates & Deadlines: