Headlines & News

10/15/2009: Western Kentucky Big Red was featured in a television commercial! Click on this link to view Big Red in action! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am1UkMPrQDE

9/18/2009: Kansas Big Jay was seen on display at the schools bookstore! To view Big Jay on display please visit-http://www.inflatableimagessports.com/headlines.aspx

9/11/2009: Inflatable Images Brutus Buckeye & Block 'O' will be featured on ESPN College Game day tomorrow Saturday September 12. Tune in to view Brutus & Block 'O' in action!

8/31/2009: Market blowing up Inflatable Images expanding to include retail products featuring pro, college football By Paula Schleis Beacon Journal business writer Will football fans put out $119 for an 8-foot-tall lawn inflatable of a player wearing their favorite team's colors and logo? Inflatable Images, which has been manufacturing custom-designed cold-air inflatables for corporate clients since 1982, is counting on it.The Brunswick company's first step into the world of retail is a $3 million gambit, said David Scherba, who founded the company with his brother, Robert.That's the amount invested in everything from half a dozen new engineers and designers to ready-to-sell inventory to the monthslong process of winning National Football League and 29 collegiate licenses to produce the traffic-stopping characters.''We're hoping to see that come back to us over the next 24 months,'' said Scherba, who's aiming for the company to sell 40,000 or more products through the holiday season.John Kleban, vice president of sales, is also confident of his target audience: ''Our marketplace are fans, which is short for fanatics, and when they see something like this, they gotta have it.''For more than 25 years, Inflatable Images has done business exclusively with other businesses. Stores and restaurants order images of their brands for promotional campaigns. Even the U.S. military has ordered cold-air replicas of tanks and military equipment to fool spy planes.And since the 1990s, the company has been supplying NFL teams with the inflatable tunnels that players run through, as well as 25-foot-tall players called Tiny (who has been on the field at five Super Bowls) and Bubba (who had his own tour in Germany).But over the past five years, Scherba has been watching with interest as demand for lawn inflatables has grown, especially at Halloween and Christmas.''So we looked into it and discovered there was a real void in the marketplace for a quality inflatable that could accurately replicate a licensed [sports] product.''It represented a lot of growth for us,'' he said, with the potential for millions of new clients.Tiny and Bubba were tapped to be the stars of the new retail effort. Tiny stands 8 feet tall, with his hands raised in victory. Bubba, in a three-point stance, is 5 feet tall. They weigh 8 pounds, contain an internal blower, and fit inside an 11x11-inch box when deflated.While the company's Brunswick staff produces about 150 custom-made pieces for corporate clients each month, the tens-of-thousands of retail inflatables are being made overseas to keep the price down, Scherba said.The products are being shipped to distribution points, which include some campus stores, NFL team shops, NFL.com online, Dick's Sporting Goods, a handful of other online outlets, and even a few grocery stores.Getting the rights to reproduce the NFL and college football brands was a long and expensive process, Kleban said.Inflatable Images won its first license from Ohio State University, the most coveted of licenses in the country at the college level. OSU handles its own licensing agreements.The Collegiate Licensing Co. handles many other large and midlevel schools, and Inflatable Images worked through it for the rights to make images for 28 other schools.The University of Akron and Kent State University are not among them, but remain a target for the future, said Kleban, who noted that the goal is to get into more than 200 markets.The challenge, he said, is that a minimum of 1,000 must be ordered, so someone in the university community has to see the demand and be willing to offer the product.Bookstore representatives or alumni groups from schools such as Western Kentucky University, Colorado and Texas Tech offered to take that chance, so Inflatable Images shared the risk, requiring they buy only 500 pieces.If those markets prove successful, it will help pave the way for other schools next year. Kleban said it's too late to add schools now because they would miss the peak football season of August through December.Meanwhile, the company worked from last fall through April to win approval from the NFL.''I dealt with someone in quality control on a daily basis for two months,'' Kleban said, as company designers worked to perfect logos and match uniform colors.While the NFL requires large up-front royalties, Scherba said that probably benefits his company ''because it keeps some of the smaller competitors out of the marketplace.''Story & photo courtsey of The Akron Beacon Journal

8/18/2009: Football season is fast approaching, have you contacted Inflatable Images to purchase your universities character shape, logo or mascot? There are many inflatables that are available for purchase: Florida Albert, University of Georgia Hairy, University of Nebraska Lil Red, Penn State Logo, University of Syracuse Otto, University of Tennessee Smokey, University of Michigan Split M, University of Florida Tiny, University of Missouri Tiny, University of Texas Longhorns Logo, University of Auburn Aubie, and University of Oregon Bubba! Don't miss the opportunity to have your very own university character shape, logo or mascot. Items are going fast. Contact Inflatable Images today!

6/25/2009: The ALL NEW air inflated NCAA licensed character shapes, logos and mascots will be available for purchase starting in July 2009! Each airLite lawn inflatable has been crafted to replicate your characrater or mascot. The products are hot so contact Inflatable Images today for any inflatable needs!

6/24/2009: Inflatable Images displayed inflatable characters, mascots and logos abound at the 2009 Orlando National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) National Convention.Inflatable Images has formed a partnership with NACDA and have been exhibiting at every annual convention. “I have been working with Inflatable Images for the past twelve years and the service has been great and the products are wonderful,” said Bob Vecchione, Senior Associate Executive Director of NACDA. “Our clients love the products and our member institutions love the way the product line has been expanded. The new product line has offered us a great opportunity to enhance our events and has been a great way to promote the intercollegiate teams.” The 2009 NACDA National Convention was held in Orlando at the World Center Marriott Resort from June 18- 21. NACDA is the professional and educational association for more than 6,500 collegiate athletic administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 2,300 athletic administrators attend the annual NACDA convention. Inflatable Images is the world’s largest manufacturer of cold air inflatables and is currently an official supplier of NFL and collegiate air inflated mascots, logos, and character shapes. For additional information regarding Inflatable Images, visit www.inflatableimages.com.

12/23/2008: Michigan State University approves Sparty for sale as an Inflatable Image. Go Spartans!

12/15/2008: Inflatable Images announces it will exhibit at the Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show being held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada January 21 - 23. Visit Inflatable Images in booth #2902 and check out the all new high quality line of never before seen collegiate and NFL licensed airLite inflatable products!

12/15/2008: Inflatable Images new collegiate airLites website officially goes on-line. The site features new and forthcoming collegiate licensed airLite lawn inflatables replicating university specific mascots and logos.

11/24/2008: Inflatable Images is approved as an offical licensed supplier of Michigan State University airLite inflatable products.