Last year, the Concord, NC street that takes hundreds of thousands of racing fans to Lowe’s Motor speedway was re-named Bruton C. Smith Boulevard in honor of the Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner. Next year, the track itself will undergo a name change as well. On Thursday, Lowe’s announced that it will not renew its naming rights for the Concord speedway.

Lowe’s brokered exclusive naming rights with SMI in 1999, making Lowe’s Motor speedway the first major naming-rights deal of a NASCAR track. The partnership has been viewed by many as a success, as the fairly young Lowe’s brand has enjoyed exposure to millions of NASCAR fans for nearly a decade. But, but as priorities and budgets shift to survive in the recession, so too will the marketing resources of the company.

According to a NASCAR press release, SMI owner Bruton Smith expects the track to work to find a new title sponsor. If a new sponsor can’t be found, the track’s name will revert to Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Of course, this is not the only corporate sponsorship to dissolve within the past year. Professional sports across the board are having more trouble holding on to their lucrative deals with companies, specifically those in the financial and automobile industry. With this decline, yet another reflection of a downturned economy, might we see the pendulum swing back to a world of stadiums and fields without corporate monikers?

If so, which sports venues would you like to see returned to their original names?

Contributed by: Maghan Cook

Do you remember your first car? I’m sure you remember when you first got it—how liberating it felt to hold the keys to your very own car. My first car arrived as a Christmas present from my generous grandparents. It was the perfect car. Shiny, clean, fast, fun.

It was a 1996 Saturn, and man, it was cool. My friends drove around in brand new 2002 VW’s, Jeeps, and Hondas. But 1996 was a great year for car manufacturers, and my car was better. The windows had to be rolled up manually, this is how major league baseball players used to build arm strength, before steroids. The stereo system sported a state of the art cassette deck. But best of all—it had a rubber bumper. Okay, maybe it was plastic, but if functioned like rubber. I could back into anything from a tree to a public library and just bounce right off. Perfect for new drivers.

Saturn built a brand around experiences like mine. Launched in the late 1980’s by General Motors, Saturn quickly became positioned as a family friendly brand. Their smaller, affordable, comfortable and safe models suited customers of all ages. New car buyers chose Saturn vehicles not only for the car, but for the Saturn experience. The Saturn sales staff quickly became your new family friend, concerned not only about your financial limitations but about your safety, your life, your children, your family. Saturn also cares about the bigger picture. Community involvement is a Saturn standard, they participate not only in sponsoring national causes but also make an effort to contribute to each local community that hosts a dealership.

As General Motors recently filed for bankruptcy protection, executives announced that they have a plan in motion for the company to quickly rebound and maybe even one day turn a profit again. Hummer was sold. Pontiac may dissolve. The future of the Saturn brand has yet to be set in stone. If it is sold, how would it be integrated into a new brand, and would the new ownership change Saturn’s core values, personality and voice? A possible sale to Penske Automotive Group is in the works, some say the pending sale could change the face of the way cars are manufactured and sold in the US. There are rumors of Penske shopping for a foreign manufacturer.

General Motors is proceeding with caution, as they should. The disappearance or tarnish of the Saturn brand would truly be a shame, and not just to Saturn owners. Saturn is an icon for the American family, and a model to branders everywhere for how to build a brand that embodies its core values in every internal and external communication outlet available.

Now, only time will tell what will happen to the Saturn brand. In the mean time, I hope whoever ended up with my old ’96 Saturn is taking care of my favorite car. And anytime they want to trade, I would be glad to have it back.

Contributed by Laine Beyerl

Inspired by a recent discussion on the NYTimes about Dating in a recession I was curious to find out the origins of the term “Going Dutch”.

Definition: When every participant in a shared activity pays his or her own way.

Etymology: First of all it appears that Dutch etiquette has always promoted the act of paying separately when going out in groups. However, during the Anglo-Dutch wars in the 17th and 18th centuries (4 in total) the rivalry inspired the English to concoct many phrases referencing the Dutch in a negative manner, “going dutch” being one of them. Other phrases include: Continue Reading »

Remember the phrase, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it?”

Not anymore. Just yards away from our Charlotte location you can find yet another example of business responding to Americans’ new appreciation of frugality.

The Ballantyne Resort (owned by Bissell Family of Companies, which developed our Charlotte home, the Ballantyne Corporate Park) has changed its name to The Ballantyne Hotel and Lodge. The transition has been taking place over the past two months.

For those not familiar with the area, the Ballantyne neighborhood has become a who’s who of Charlotte’s corporate and social elite, and the Resort is one of the best places to meet, golf, and stay in the area.

According to an article in the Charlotte Observer, “The luxury meeting place and golf course has officially changed its name to The Ballantyne Hotel and Lodge after hearing from corporate customers who said the term “resort” carried too much of a high-dollar stigma in today’s economic and political climate.”

And who can blame them? After public and congressional backlash from recent corporate retreat / Continue Reading »