Sponsorship

B

BobsAuto

New member
I realize that there are all the "how to" in books on racing for getting sponsorship. However, I find that all those "how to's" are geared toward professional teams. I, for one, would like to know how the "common racer" finds sponsorship. What I'd like to hear from you all is:
1. What types of businesses do you target?
2. What type of money do you REALLY ask for?
3. What creative ideas do you use?
4. What perks do you offer the sponsors?

I would really appreciate some input from all of you and I would certainly love to give you feedback as well.

In the old days, I used to get sponsorship by the race -- the business would give me entry fee for a race and I would have their name on the car for two races. Some businesses stayed with us for the entire year. Some worked out barter -- use of equipment, space, paint, etc. Our first championship year with both the ITA Capri and my S2000 was basically paid for as far as entry fees were concerned. (Back in the day when a double regional was $125!) So, you see, I have many questions.

Thanks for your input.
 
You should borrow Ray's copy of my book and read the sponsorship chapter. ;)

Answers to your questions are dependant upon ones goals. This year my plans are to seek out a couple of sponsors, but just for fun. The best approach is if you get one, cool; if not, no biggie. My biggest advice for someone whose a "common racer" and doing this for fun is never to put yourself in a position where you are become reliant upon sponsors. It creates stress and takes away from the fun.

I kinda put myself in reliant situation to a certain point with my previous auto body sponsorship. Each year they helped with painting the car (no out of pocket cost for me) and fixed the frame when I bent it. The bad news was they were always crazy busy and for obvious reasons my racecar wasn't a priority for them. (They since sold their business.)

I think it's easiest to target businesses that can help you without having to dish out hard cash. One of my former sponsors gave me an old Bronco to tow with, which I later sold (not for much). To them, it didn't cost much at all. (Used car dealerships typically buy their cars in "lots" where they often receive cars they won't sell at their dealership and will bring them to auction.) For new car dealerships, maybe you get parts at their cost. Instead of me going after a body shop, I'll probably speak with some shops that sell auto paint and do all the work myself.

I'm not even kidding with this one...one other sponsorship I'd like to get is a relatively small brewery. Yum, yum! :birra:
 
I like the brewery idea for the "after racing blues and celebrations"!
Seriously, I'd LOVE to borrow Raymond's book, but I'm in line to borrow it. I looked it over at Driving Impressions and am quite impressed.
As for your sponsorship ideas, I like them. You have helpful ones and ideas on barter are great. You are right, one mustn't "rely" on the sponsorship because the sponsorship may go away. One must look at it as a bonus to any budget one has. I wonder what others think.
 
Sponsorships can be great, but I think it is key to find someone who understands what they'll get for their money.

And getting and keeping sponsors is a lot of work, and trouble.

Allow 20% of the received money to go right back to the sponsor in terms of entertainment.

In our world, as a one man show, it's generally not practical for me to do all the work and spend time entertaining a sponsor......it's just easier for me to work a couple more hours and just spend the overtime, LOL.

However, some have created excellent and mutually beneficial relationships...Tim Klavana seems to have a great reletionship set up, and it appears that both parties benefit. Thats the key. If you can do that, great. otherwise, just work extr hours, LOL.
 
Seriously, I'd LOVE to borrow Raymond's book, but I'm in line to borrow it. I looked it over at Driving Impressions and am quite impressed.
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You could always buy your own..... ;)


I think at our level, unless you have a relationship with the potential sponsor, it's a tough sell.

For the last two years, I've been going to the same local NAPA (independantly owned) store. I get almost all my "stuff" there (both race car and tow vehicle). He started to realize I would always go to him and started giving me some great deals. Sometimes it's a small freebee, he gives me two for the price of one on my rear wheel bearings ($190 from the dealer, I go through a set every two to three race weekends and he gives me two for $77.00) and gives me way off list for everything else. Last time I was there I gave him a nice 8x10 of my car (thanks Doug, www.the16v.com) and he was all excited!! We even started talking about getting decals for next year.

Honestly, he probably won't get anything out of this sponsorship and he knows that. It's all about the relationship........
 
The whole idea of spending a lot of money entertaining esp. at the club level is not necessary. As previously said, you need to go into the relationship and be honest with them (and yourself!). The way I've looked at this is kinda like when I was in college dating my now wife. Man, I was Po'! I couldn't do things that too much, but I sure could show some effort and creativity. O.k. How does this transition into a sponsorship? One should take the time to listen to the potential sponsor, and talk with them about what you can offer them. Neither of my sponsors ever made it to an event, although they were invited. Their motivation also wasn't having decals on the car, as was the case with most sponsors at this level. One sponsor just wanted me to stop by their shop, and give them updates how my season was going. While at their dealership, I noticed that they didn't have any flyers to hand out to customers. I have fun doing some of that type of marketing stuff, so I asked them to give me a bio of their company and took some pictures of their dealership. A couple of hours of work later, I brought them the flyers telling them I'll be bringing them with me to the track. They really, really appreciated the effort and even went as far as using them at their dealership. (That was pretty cool!!)

The other company I would also stop in to see every once in a while. After one race I brought in two trophies I won and gave them my second place one. Boy, was he ever psyched about that! They kept it in a very prominant place in their office. At the end of the year I typically brought something to them such as a photo and bottle of wine.

Since companies are typically not sponsoring a club racer due to the amount of exposure they get from having their name on the car, how well a person does really isn't too important. In my case, I had my first two sponsors before doing my first competition school.

What Jake said about working equals guaranteed income is true. I will say that doing the sponsor thing can be very rewarding. It also takes a lot of persistance and willingness to hear no many times before landing the first sponsor.
 
What other than your nine-to-five???

No, but seriously, I'd have to agree at the amature level it's all about the relationship. The only non- sanction sticker on my car is from Kevin's race shop. Because He and Dan did a good job on finishing up my car, and he also gave me a break on some of the labor costs involved. I agreed to have the name of his shop on my car. This Friday Kevin took my car out during a couple of practice sessions. First, to give me an idea of what the car could do and also to get a more experienced perspective on how it reacted; but also I wanted him to have some fun with it out there too. He had a blast and put up some good times too. Sometimes, Friendship is the biggest Jackpot.

James
 
As I have my own vinyl cutter, I make a potential sponsors logo, put it on my car, then go ask for a discount on parts etc. It isn't a lot of money, but it helps.
 
Has anyone been successful in obtaining cash sponsorships from someone unrelated to them? When going to the sponsor, how did you ask for money and determine how much the sponsorship should be?

I'd love to hear more good ideas on how to obtain sponsorships. (From someone you never had a relationship with before.)
 
What I am doing for Raymond and Stephen is offering the rolling billboard method of advertising to local businesses. I determined how many square feet the potential advertising space is on the enclosed trailer and have set a price per square foot. I am also putting it together with a package which includes driver profiles from the time they started in competitive driving, a brief history of RST Performance since they took it over from me, the major races they would like to hit, an explanation of the rolling billboard, and a cover letter. Last but not least is a picture page of the cars, team, and the "rolling billboard". I have two potential sponsors, one for a square foot and one for 5-10 square feet. I hope to land that larger one in a few weeks. I have offered to have the boys park the trailer at their place of business occasionally, have meet and greets and car displays. It was initially designed to fund the ARRC, but since the time and effort is too cost prohibitive, it is being reworked to fund the development of a possible new car for endurance races. I am also using blogs on the local NH news website to attract potential sponsors.

In the past, as I said before, I used to hit local businesses to pay for a race to get their names on the car for two races. I was able to get restaurants back then.
 
My sponsor is probably typical.

My local NAPA store where I bought parts was interested, so we struck up a deal. He sold me stuff at a low cost, and added delivery and "emergency hours" to his list of benefits, and I put his name on the side of the car and made sure he got in for free and ate for free when I'm racing.

Now, the initial cost was cheap. $75 for the stickers on the doors. Then I put the car in the tire wall. Ka-ching...$75 more. Then an Integra hit me ...in the door...ka-ching..$75...you see where this is going.......by the time I ended up paying for the darn stickers, I might as well have payed full price on my Brakeclean and other parts, LOL.

Sadly he ended up selling the business, so the best part, going and hanging with him and having him at the track, is gone, as he runs a bank in Califrnia now.
 
Let me offer some random observations from the perspective of a manufacturer:

First, as has been mentioned, the easiest way to do this is with a sponsor you already know. You're buds with Bob down at the parts store, he's a race fan, etc. Bob is probably willing to give you parts at cost--or some discount--and you put a sticker on the car and talk up Bob's parts store (keep that in mind). You get a saving, Bob gets a little exposure without being cash negative and everybody's happy. This works because, from Bob's perspective, it is low risk (Bob knows you) and the sticker targets his audience (people who buy car parts like cars and watch races).

Let's go to the other end of the spectrum, say F1 or NASCAR. The audience is so large (read expensive) that free parts will not get you a sticker--and Bob couldn't write a check big enough if he wanted to. The companies that sponsor can only do so because their products are sold to a broad spectrum of consumers, not just car nuts. The car is a rolling billboard. There are no personal relationships to speak of, and that's why the lawyers show up to practice a little contract law to minimize the risk.

Now, from the catalog of sponsors' horror stories, just in time for Halloween. These are my two favorites; witnessed firsthand, and having nothing to do with our business.

True Story #1:
Driver A: "Hey, I see you're using a such-and-such."
Driver B: "Yeah."
Drive A: "How do you like it?"
Driver B: "It sucks."
Driver A: "Then why do you use it?"
Driver B: "They are a sponsor"

How many such-and-suchs will Driver A buy?

True Story #2:
Phone rings.
"Thank you for calling the such-and-such company. How may we help you?"
"Director of Galactic marketing, please."
"That would be Mr. Braindead. Please hold."
Pause.
"Braindead here. What can we do for you?"
"You can give us $10,000 to put a sticker on our car. We've just moved up to a televised racing series and you'll get a lot of exposure."
"Great! That's within our budget. How many units of our product do you need?"
"Oh, we don't need your product. In fact, we are using your competitor's product. We just want your money."
Click.

Even Braindead knows he will become the laughing stock when this guys rolls into victory lane with all the cameras on the competitor's product.

In the end, a sponsor will go with you if they are reasonably certain you are a good investment of their promotional dollar.
 
Reminds me of the time Lance Armstrong won his time trial on a Titanium Trek. BTW, Trek only makes bikes out of carbon fiber the bike was really a rebadged Litespeed. Or how about when Tony Stewert jumped into the crowd to avoid going to the Pepsi winners circle because he's sponsored by Coke :P

At our level and with the economic realities of today, I just don't seen cash reimbusement as a viable sponsorship avenue. Now YMMV, and good luck.

James
 
Good stuff there Gregg.

I get asked for sponsorship quite often. It's usually "I'm building a racecar. Will you sponsor me by providing a cage?"

99% chance that it ain't gonna happen

1) I have no idea of who they even are, their racing history, their background, goals, achievements, the Sanctioning body etc. or what the car even looks like, and 2) because they're not offering ME the sponsor anything. First and foremost is what the sponsor can expect to recieve out of the deal.

Not being a big company, most of the guys I sponsor get upgraded cages (extra doorbars, triangulations or gussets etc) or fab work at a very reduced shop rate. Also, most of the guys are people that I approached that I knew would hold up their end of the Sponsorship (Talking up the work provided, handing out business cards and flyers, wearing my shirts I provide at the event, links in their sigs on various forums and lots of exposure at the track).

I've been burned a few times as well where my logo's never went back on after a repaint.
 
You could always buy your own..... ;)
I think at our level, unless you have a relationship with the potential sponsor, it's a tough sell.

For the last two years, I've been going to the same local NAPA (independantly owned) store. I get almost all my "stuff" there (both race car and tow vehicle). He started to realize I would always go to him and started giving me some great deals. Sometimes it's a small freebee, he gives me two for the price of one on my rear wheel bearings ($190 from the dealer, I go through a set every two to three race weekends and he gives me two for $77.00) and gives me way off list for everything else. Last time I was there I gave him a nice 8x10 of my car (thanks Doug, www.the16v.com) and he was all excited!! We even started talking about getting decals for next year.

Honestly, he probably won't get anything out of this sponsorship and he knows that. It's all about the relationship........
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Jeff - Is that the Colchester or East Hampton NAPA? I might have to make new friends!
 
As a racer your focus is on developing a market programs, not sponsorship. The word “sponsorship” is guaranteed to scare away many small and large companies alike. For many, the word “sponsorship” means that allot of money will be going out, with no real return, or value, while “marketing” means that we are creating a business strategy that will sell product, or create value. As a racer looking for funds for your race team, it is imperative that you are a value creator. Return on investment is the key to any marketing program.

Companies need to be shown how they can earn a profit by associating with your race team. It is your job to show them how your unique race team can help them not only attain a profit, but capture the mind and hearts of the race fans, creating an emotional connection between their association with your team, and their brand.

Pick out several companies (10) to target. Do your homework on these companies, see what their needs are? Who are they targeting and how are they doing it? If they advertise in the paper, phone book, television, bill boards, etc… find out how much they are paying and the demographics they are reaching. This will help you build a proposal and how much to ask for. Find out who makes that discussion and write the checks for their marketing. That’s the person you want to impress with a marketing proposal. I have hard a lot of successes get money for my dirt racing program treating it like a business.
Five years ago when I was road racing in EP and in ITA I used my business to leverage my vendors for monies. You just have to be creative.

This is a very tough topic especially when it comes to CLUB racing. When it comes to competing in SCCA (Secret Car CLUB Association), PCCA and other nonprofit association marketing (sponsorship) package is a hard sale to potential clients. I am going to pick on SCCA sense they are the biggest and best known. Lets look how SCCA markets itself by asking a couple of question. The first and most important question we need to ask is, what does SCCA have to offer my potential client with its marketing program? Let look at there demographics, who and how many are watching the regional/national races? Are these spectators in the stands or watching from home?

Here what I found on SCCA Official web site regarding its demographics, “The foundation of the SCCA remains its Club Racing program, as more than 8,000 licensed participants compete in 300 amateur road racing events conducted at the regional and national levels. The year culminates in September with the annual Valvoline Runoffs, which determines the national champions in 24 classes.”

I live in Topeka, Kansas and was once a member of the SCCA Midiv. I took a couple of years off to go back to dirt racing, but I missed road racing and I will be building a car for ITS. Anyway I decided to go to the Runoffs as a spectator. I was surprised to that there were hardly any spectators at the Runoffs. I saw a couple of late night TV commercials advertising the races, but yet there were no spectator in the stands or in the paddock. That got me thinking about how I was going to get marketing partnership for my racing program. It would be easier if I was going to campaign a national class with the hopes of getting some tv time while at the Runoffs or go run the Speed World Challenge (don’t think that is happen any time soon).

I do think it is possible to get marketing clients for club racing, but it will be twice as hard due to lack of exposure and club promotion. As I said before you just have to be creative and honest.
 
I do think it is possible to get marketing clients for club racing, but it will be twice as hard due to lack of exposure and club promotion. As I said before you just have to be creative and honest.
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You said it! Now, think about how that translates into a Regional level, and for a guy who frankly knows he's not likely going to be at the very pointy end of the field.

Creative deal wrangling as you suggested, by using your existing biz to "leverage" support, or getting things from suppliers at no cost to them, or providing a sponsor with some entertainment seems to be the best avenues. It's not about putting the name on the side of the car and hoping the 14.7 peple in the stands rush out and buy the prooduct. That just aint gonna happen, LOL.
 
That's exactly why I came up with the billboard advertising. As a rolling billboard on the highway, the trailer WILL be noticed. It's also parked on what is considered the main street in town, not the highway, but the locals will notice it....and let's face it, when you see names on a trailer, you check it out.
 
I was on the fence about writing an article on this, from my experience stand point. Now I'm sure I will. But it will be for SoPac News but I might inspire to send it too Sports Car. The hidden world or secret world of Sponsorships.

1st thing you need is a profile - Driver team bio, and a proposal for a potential sponsor to look at. Something that illustrates what deal you would like to make with the sponsor reading it. Of course so much more. But I'll save that to the article. lol
 
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