Logo-product partnership is beneficial to both sides

Bulldogs and Gamecocks make good mascots, but they're big moneymakers, too.

Buy a hat, flag, piece of clothing, key chain - anything with a collegiate logo on it - and an average of 10 percent of the wholesale price is kicked back to the school.

It's called product licensing, and about $105 billion worth of licensed products were sold last year.

The process of paying to use a name, likeness, logo or graphic happens for more products than most people realize.

"The biggest segment is entertainment, but it can be practically anything you can think of," said Charles Riotto, the president of the Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association.

Movie studios incorporate licensing into revenue calculations, raking in the dough on films such as Spider-Man. Sports teams license an array of items for fans. Auto companies such as Jeep license lines of clothing and equipment.

Licensing agreements are, in a sense, partnerships.

The licensor benefits from an increased awareness in its logo, in addition to royalty payments, while the licensee uses the familiarity and popularity of the licensed motif to sell more of its product.

"Certainly that's a strategic advantage in the marketplace," Mr. Riotto said.

The association between well-known images and a lesser-known product is what Everthere Carriers LLC is hoping to benefit from by using sports team carrier covers and Realtree camouflage patterns.

"We're interested in what the consumers want to buy," said George Pocisk, Everthere's sales and marketing director.

But not everyone who wants a license gets one; having the right product is key.

"Being a brand owner, you certainly want to look for something that's going to compliment the brand and not be something that is too far away from the essence of it," Mr. Riotto said.

The Elvis Presley estate is well-known for tight restrictions on which type of products bear the Elvis name.

But even the sports-logo industry has a dearth of companies interested in logos only to be rejected.

"We have probably one person a week that comes to us with an idea that they created in their garage that they think is going to be the next big thing," said Jay McLaughlin, the vice president of Academy Awards Inc., which will manufacture the sports banners for Everthere. Many of those ideas just aren't feasible, he said.

"We hurt the feelings of about 95 percent of those people when we tell them it's just not going to work," he said.

Everthere's hitch-mounted cargo carrier, however, is perfectly suited for tailgating, and lends itself to a college football banner that will attach to it, Mr. McLaughlin said.

Although there are many ways to get a licensing agreement, Everthere has worked through Collegiate Licensing Co., which handles licensing for many college football teams.

Collegiate Licensing is reviewing Everthere's idea for banners that will cover the carriers, and officials expect an approval soon.

Reach Adrian Burns at (706) 823-3352 or adrian.burns@augustachronicle.com.