UF license plate first in the state with more than 100,000 sales in 2007

January 24, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Thanks to the University of Florida specialty license plate, more than 100,000 Florida drivers now have The Gator Nation behind them wherever they go.

The UF plate outsold every contender and beat the second-place plate, “Protect the Panther,” by more than 20,000 sales last year. Among universities, the closest competitor was Florida State University, which sold about 30,000 fewer plates.

The 105,361 sales spell good news for the plate, which was redesigned for 2007 with a Gator Nation theme to better fit the university’s overall marketing plan.

The high sales can be attributed to many things, including UF’s recent success in sports and the effectiveness of The Gator Nation branding campaign, said Dan Williams, UF director of marketing.

Most of all, he said, the plate is successful because people are proud to be associated with UF.

“The Gator Nation brand is based on pride,” Williams said, “and there’s no stronger emotion to base a brand on than pride.”

In addition to bragging rights, UF license plate sales bring with them a financial benefit to the university.

The extra $25 fee to purchase or renew a Gator specialty plate goes directly to UF. Of that revenue, 60 percent goes to scholarships as distributed by the provost, and 40 percent is used for the university’s general fundraising operation.

In total, UF received $2,634,025 from the 2007 license plate sales.

There are no plans for further revisions of the UF plate in the immediate future, Williams said. As long as sales are strong, the current design will live on.

“We don’t want to mess with success,” he said.