OH State University (OSU) has "joined the ever-growing
ranks of exposure-hungry entities wanting their logos" on
race cars, according to Bill Bush of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH.
The school has signed agreements with three race car teams,
and, beginning this week, a new OSU Motorsports logo will
adorn each teams' cars -- a dragster, a stock car and a
pickup truck. OSU hopes the program will be a "low-cost way
to increase exposure" for its Center of Automotive Research
and related student projects, and Bush writes that
"technically, the school is not sponsoring the cars." OSU
Assistant Dir of Trademark and Licensing Services Rick Van
Brimmer said the school "will not financially support" an
entire season's racing. The "only cost" to OSU will be
painting the vehicles, and the school will split with its
teams "a percentage of revenues" from merchandising the new
logo, which features scarlet-and-gray checkered flags behind
the OSU block "O," surrounded by the words "Ohio State
Motorsports." Van Brimmer said that OSU execs are "keeping
open the possibility" that alumni or corporations "might
donate money" to allow the university to fully sponsor a car
in the future, but said that for now, OSU cars "will be
rolled out only at selected events" (DISPATCH, 7/29).
PIT STOPS: A NASCAR Barbie will make its debut at this
weekend's Brickyard 400, and will be available in stores in
September (USA TODAY, 7/30)....OH-based Goodyear will
contribute $25,000-$50,000 toward this year's All-American
Soap Box Derby, August 8 in Akron (PLAIN DEALER, 7/29).
ONE LESSON IN WEB ADVERTISING: Racing Champions, a
marketer of die-cast models of NASCAR stock cars, began a
special promotion last month to collectors visiting its Web
site at www.racingchamps.com, and has picked up more than
$250,000 in sales as a result. The company says that
Internet sales "could soon bring in more than" 5% of total
revenues, which now run at $140M, through sales to "big
retailers and hobby shops" (David Henry, USA TODAY, 7/30).
