Sure Shots
Blakeway Panoramas Proving Picture Perfect as Licensed Products
November 6, 2007

Of all the external factors faced by companies in the licensed industry, few can claim the extremes that Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas must go through to get a product ready for market. But that’s life when your livelihood is full-cover panoramic photographs of skylines, golf courses, racetracks and stadiums. Indeed, Jim Blakeway spends more time than most people in a helicopter thousands of feet off the ground.

Daytona International Speedway, the panorama that got Blakeway started in NASCAR product.

“It’s quite a project,” says Blakeway. “Factoring in logistics with the helicopter—plus the weather, licensing and security clearance, photographing each venue takes months to put together.”

For Blakeway, those venues used to be reserved to Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, Churchill Downs and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Beginning in 2006, however, the company took on Daytona International Speedway, its first NASCAR project. Since then, Blakeway notes, the floodgates have opened.

“NASCAR has been huge,” he says. “We spent all last year shooting different tracks, including Atlanta, Bristol, Talladega, Chicagoland, Darlington, Phoenix and Las Vegas. We really got our feet wet in the licensing world in a bigger way than we expected.”

Blakeway’s panorama of Tony Stewart’s #20.

From the track shots, Blakeway segued into individual car panoramas in 2007. The current roster features Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Blakeway is curious to see if these shots can match the popularity of the track photos.

Blakeway’s work with NASCAR has led to collegiate product, too. In production are licensed panoramas of the football stadiums for Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona State and Oklahoma. Like the NASCAR shots, they will retail for $30, unframed.

Blakeway will have all of his items on display this January in Las Vegas, when his company debuts at the Sports Licensing & Entertainment Marketplace and Tailgate • Picnic Show. His goals are twofold. “First, we want to increase our retail distribution,” says Blakeway. “We’re also interested in looking into other licensing deals.”

“This is an untapped market, especially with NASCAR,” he adds. “Our panoramas will outsell less expensive products. They are always eye-openers.”