January 4, 2007
Drive with pride, with ‘W’ on your ride
There are thousands more Washington State University license plates on the state’s roads than UW ones. Thousands. How exactly do you feel about that?
Kathy Hoggan, for one, hopes the information causes you to buy a special UW license plate of your own, to even out the score a bit between the cross-state rivals. And, she adds, you can download an application to do so easily and quickly online at www.uwlicenseplates.com.
And soon there will be more healthy competition: Throughout Winter Quarter, the UW will hold a three-campus challenge called “Drive with Pride,” where UW Seattle, Tacoma and Bothell will compete to see who sells the most license plates.
As the UW’s trademarks and licensing director, Hoggan is busy enough, but she’s also manager of the UW License Plate Program, and likely its greatest salesperson. “I just love talking about license plates!” she said.
“I think it’s a fabulous program,” Hoggan said. “And all you’re doing is putting something on your car that is classy, which shows your pride in your university. And a lot of the money goes to people who rely on scholarships for a college degree.”
Washington State started selling custom license plates in 1994, and the UW joined the program the following year. Now, there are about two dozen schools and nonprofits making use of the license plate program.
The UW plate costs drivers $30, with all but $2 of that going directly to the institution as a tax-deductible donation. Additionally, there is a $15 cost for replacing the plate (any plate, whether UW or not) and a $3.50 fee to the licensing office itself.
The $30 is assessed annually, Hoggan explained, “so it’s really an excellent opportunity for us to be getting a revenue distribution every month. I measure that every month. It’s kind of like an annuity — it just keeps on giving.”
Another draw for the program this year is that the UW’s license plate has been redesigned. Many people were less than thrilled with the swoopy-looking Husky dog recently featured on the plates, but as of March, a new design created by UW graphic arts students (so you know it’s good), boasts a simple but bold “W” on the plate, in Husky purple of course. In the background like a watermark is the University seal, representing the UW’s history of excellence,
The new design is helping turn the tide away from Cougar dominance, Hoggan said, but there’s still a long way to go. Let’s look at the numbers:
- Up to March 2006, the UW had sold 4,325 plates while WSU had sold 11,671.
- But since March (and the new logo), the UW has gained ground. As of Dec. 1, the totals were UW 5,027 and WSU 11,984. That means that WSU gained by only 313 during the intervening months, while the UW gained by 702 — more than twice as much.
- Revenue from the license plates comes to the UW monthly. This June, for instance, the UW General Scholarship Fund benefited by $17,876. July brought $12,483. Even relatively slow months bring in between $8,000 and $9,000.
As inspired a salesperson of UW license plates as she is, Hoggan says the biggest draw is the plates themselves being seen on the road by fellow drivers. She said she is even stopped in parking lots by people asking about the new plate.
Hoggan likes to tell the story of when the Seattle Times asked her why WSU led the UW in license plate sales and she joked that “They have a lot of agricultural equipment to put plates on.” This attracted a concerned letter from a WSU alum serving in Kuwait, who noted, “The reason why many more WSU plates have been sold than UW plates is that there are so many more WSU alumni who live in Washington than there are UW alums. Or maybe it’s just that WSU alums support their alma mater more than do UW alums.” Hoggan wrote back offering an apology and a UW promotional license plate key fob, both of which were accepted.
There always seems to be more to know about the UW license plate promotions.
- The three-campus “Drive With Pride” challenge will run from Jan. 15 through March 9, 2007. Though UW Bothell and UW Tacoma are much smaller than the main campus, Hoggan notes those campuses also have a higher rate of students who commute by car — potential license plate customers.
- The Web site for the license plate promotion also offers a portal for plate owners to send photos and stories about their UW license plates traveling the world. Some of these vignettes will later be featured on the Web site.
- Do you have friends or relatives not working at the UW who want UW plates? Some companies offer matching donations. Learn more on the Web page.
Starting in March, when the new logo was available, Hoggan said, the license plates were numbered, which she hopes fueled a bit of friendly competition among the UW community.
There is much boasting about low numbers among true UW fans, but Hoggan said not to worry — if you act fast you can still score a number below W2000A. “Not bad when you consider the run will end at W9999Z,” Hoggan said.
