[Bill Gardner]

Originally Posted by Kim Rudisell Here are just a few tips I use in my line of work every single day.... 1. Qualified Prospects: Make sure the corporation you are calling on is a proper fit for you and or your racing team. 2. Don't just show up at the local Ford Dealership and ask if they'd like to be a sponsor. Get a set in stone appointment with the proper person. Usually big corporations you will need to find out the contact information for the district or regional manager, the local managers usually don't have the authority to do anything, and if they say they'll pass it along....they usually don't. 3. Research your prospect. Knowing their business is a huge compliment and can only help you in the long run. 4. Don't take in a "canned" sports marketing campaign. Meet with your prosepct and find out their needs, opinions, concerns, and qualifications of becoming part of your racing team. Then, set up another appointment to present a CUSTOMIZED sports marketing campaign. Remember, you are selling a business a product, not asking for a donation. Put yourself in their place....after all, when was the last time you purchased a product that you did not understand, need, or want? Most big corporations operate on a fiscal year. This is very important because most fiscal budgets are set in stone by end of August. If you get in about July, you can get lucky and get "left over" money that they have to spend before the end of the year, or their budget gets cut for the following year. When presenting your racing team as a marketing opprotunity, it helps to present with Benefits, Not Features: For example: Feature: I've been the local track champion for the past 5 years.... Benefit: Your business will be participating in an exceptional community maintaince program, as I have been the local track champion for the past five years and are a key feature at local charity events, grand openings, etc....etc.... Which brings me to my next point: Media coverage and press releases are just the icing on the cake. Big corporations want to see PROMOTION! Participate in local grand openings, drive your car in parades and hand out information about that business, offer to unload the car whenever and wherever you can.....there is much more brand exposure and a higher percentage of loyalty and recognition than just a glimpse on T.V. or in a magazine. For example, I had a friend car dealer in town who was having a race themed sale, he asked if I knew any local drivers who might want to bring their car just for show....well....I put flyers at the payout window and asked every driver there, who had no interest at all....better things to do....how much does it pay to unload the car......I even presented it as an opprotunity for your sponsors....anyway, I have to say Go BECKS! They were the only team who took advantage of the opprotunty, and from what I understand, they might have even got a new sponsor! Most importantly, don't write off the No's: keep trying. If you have a corporation who said No for whatever reason, keep in touch. Send them a Christmas card, or a picture of your racing team with a note saying "Hope we can work something out next year...." Didn't mean to write a book....but if anyone ever has any questions PM me, I'd love to help!

Great post for the average racer... And I didn't even read it all. I didn't have too! :wink1::thumb:

[Bill Gardner]

Originally Posted by illinisprintfan Unfortunately, a large amount of the cars are packed up and on the way out when the pit gates are opened. :thumbsdown:

It is a catch 22...

I know a ton of work goes into getting these cars ready to race each and every time... Or at least it should be alot of work to maintain a quality maintenance program on all the cars. With that said... To run the amount of nights the teams run... something has to give. I think that is the catch... Stay over and wait on fans?.?. or get home, get some rest, whatever that means... :emote20: and get the car ready to compete for next night.

Does this have much to do with sponsors... probably not as much some people might think. More to do with the relationship fans have with race teams and drivers.

There are so many issues about obtaining quality sponsorship that you could go on and on.

Lots of good info in this thread.

I'm not an expert on sponsorship, but my current employer receives a fair number of sponsorship proposals each year and I get a chance to see or hear about most of them. I wanted to add a few comments.

I can tell you that right off the bat, the ones that simply offer decals on the car are pretty much disregarded, regardless of the driver or dollars involved (unless there is already some personal connection). Ditto for anything that doesn't appear to be professionally produced and tailored to our business (generic stats about the loyalty of race fans doesn't cut it).

As others have said, teams need to make an effort to understand a potential sponsor's business and needs, and offer creative ways to deliver value to that sponsor (and that doesn't always mean simply selling more products).

For example, in our business, many of our products are very expensive and purchased primarily by other businesses. The people that use these products on a day-to-day basis may have a decent percentage of race fans among them, but the people running the businesses (and making the purchasing decisions) seem to enjoy other things like golf, NFL football, other major league sports, etc. The ones that do enjoy racing prefer higher-profile events like the Indy 500, NASCAR Cup and Busch races, etc. One of the reasons they enjoy these higher-profile events is because they often provide better (nicer) entertainment opportunities (suites, hospitality, etc.). And we do spend a lot of money to entertain customers.

However, we just spent a decent amount to sponsor a front-running top fuel team at the NHRA US Nationals. We didn't entertain any customers, didn't get a suite, and having our logo shown on national TV wasn't really even a factor (since our territory is Indiana only). This team figured out that we have a big need for diesel and heavy equipment technicians, and they put together a proposal to use the sponsorship of their team to help us with our recruiting efforts. They arranged for booth space in the midway, our employees manned the booth and the area by the team hauler, and the team helped us collect and compile the names and contact info of several hundred potential future employees. They identified a need and put together a creative solution. I wouldn't say that writing the check was a total no-brainer, but having a specific, measurable outcome was a huge plus.

It's often said that in order to maximize the benefit of a sponsorship, a company has to be willing to spend 2-3 times the original sponsorship dollars to promote it. So unless they have a sophisticated marketing organization with experience in this, don't leave it up to them to figure out ways to promote it. Make it easy for them, and understand that actually racing the car is only part of it. There's a lot more work you're going to need to do.

Obviously, every business is going to be different, and what works for one might not work for another. But that's the point. Making a race car go fast is hard work, but finding good sponsorship is probably going to take as much if not more effort.

Again, this is just my perspective from where I happen to sit, but maybe some of this info will help someone. If I had to sum it up in one sentence I'd say "think outside the box".

Instead of coming up with ways to attrack BIG sponsors, the question should be why doesn't the purses keep up with the rising cost of racing. The purses need to be ALOT more than they are now. JMO

[Seadog]

Originally Posted by swindellfan Instead of coming up with ways to attrack BIG sponsors, the question should be why doesn't the purses keep up with the rising cost of racing. The purses need to be ALOT more than they are now. JMO

Wow, I wish I would have thought of that!. I'll have that fixed right away.:doh::rolleyes:

Uh... I think most around here have kind of known that for awhile now. Tell me how you propose doing that, taking all things into consideration. It's an easy question, with a very difficult answer.

[Charles Nungester]

Originally Posted by swindellfan Instead of coming up with ways to attrack BIG sponsors, the question should be why doesn't the purses keep up with the rising cost of racing. The purses need to be ALOT more than they are now. JMO

Who attacked anyone?


The whole purpose of the thread was for sponsors to see potential benifits in this sport and the ways teams can go about it.

The poster a few post back made a good point, That the actual sponsorship of the car is the small investement in some cases. Suite rental and wooing their buisness interest adds to this.

There are tons of companies that rent suites for the year at Great American Ballpark, RCA field, Paul Brown Stadium and for the most part. Most of that isn't even for the Buisness that is renting but to TREAT others.

Chuck

With no TV Coverage to help out. If we could get more LIVE races on the Internet like what race/network has planned for the Western World
https://www.indianaopenwheel.com/showthread.php?t=1365

Maybe that could help out race teams in the way of trying to get sponsorship ?? I know that race tracks even need sponsorship and when they can get sponsorship it leads to higher purses, bigger car counts , more fans. So I hope more tracks go to this new world of LIVE Internet video broadcasts. I believe it will help out both drivers, car owners and tracks.

[Pat O'Connor Fan]

It is all about who you know................
Here is a press release about a new big $$ sponsorship:

Armor All Goes All In With Tony Stewart

Car Care Pioneer Aligns with Racing Champion in Season-Opening

NASCAR Nationwide Series Race at Daytona and World of Outlaws Sprint Series in 2008



CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 12, 2007) – Armor All will sponsor two-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Tony Stewart in the 2008 season-opening NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Donny Schatz in the 2008 World of Outlaws Sprint Series.


Armor All has aligned with Stewart to promote its innovative line of interior and exterior car care appearance products, with its NASCAR race at Daytona and World of Outlaws sponsorships augmenting an ad campaign that will launch in spring 2008.


The advertising campaign will feature Stewart in both television and print ads. It marks the first time Armor All has used a race car driver in its advertising. Stewart is also being featured on the package of Armor All’s Holiday Gift Pack, which will be in stores nationwide beginning in November.


“We are thrilled to be working with a racing icon like Tony Stewart,” said Augie DeLuca, marketing director for the Armor All/STP Products Company. “Tony is a great fit for our brand. He’s a car guy who knows what it takes to keep his car looking great inside and out. And he knows a few things about winning, too. It’s a coup for Armor All to be on Tony’s legendary No. 20 car.”


Stewart will race his signature No. 20 at Daytona for Joe Gibbs Racing. Stewart won the kickoff event to what is currently known as the NASCAR Busch Series in back-to-back seasons in 2005 and 2006 while driving for Kevin Harvick Inc.


With that Feb. 16 race serving as Stewart’s debut as an Armor All spokesman, his open-wheel racing team will carry the familiar orange, black and yellow colors of Armor All for the entire 2008 World of Outlaws season.


TSR, winners of the 2001 World of Outlaws title, will have the reigning World of Outlaws champion and two-time Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals winner Schatz behind the wheel of the No. 15 Armor All winged sprint car. Schatz will compete alongside the No. 20 Bass Pro Shops/Chevrolet machine currently fielded by TSR.


“It’s an honor to represent Armor All,” said Stewart, who before coming to NASCAR was the 1997 IRL IndyCar Series champion and a four-time USAC champion. “People who know cars know Armor All. I’ve been using their products on my street cars for years, but I’ve been using them on my race cars even longer.


“We use Armor All products all over the bodies of our sprint cars because it helps keep the dirt off the cars. The less dirt gets on the car, the less it weighs and the faster you go. We use Armor All for competitive reasons in racing, and I guess you could say I use Armor All for competitive reasons on my street cars too, because I want to make sure my car is the best looking car on the block.”


Also included in Armor All’s agreement with Stewart is a $50,000 donation to the Tony Stewart Foundation. The Foundation supports groups that care for chronically ill children, drivers injured in motorsports activities and charitable outfits specializing in the protection of various animal species. Charities actively supported by the Foundation include, but are not limited to, the Ronald McDonald House, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Indiana Special Olympics, Greyrescue (Greyhound Rescue Organization) and the Victory Junction Gang Camp.


About Armor All The Armor All/STP Products Company is a subsidiary of The Clorox Company, headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Clorox is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer products with fiscal year 2007 revenues of $4.8 billion. With 7,600 employees worldwide, the company manufactures products in two dozen countries and markets them in more than 100 countries. For more information about Clorox, visit www.TheCloroxCompany.com. For more information on Armor All, go to www.armorall.com or aa-ownercenter.com.

[Bill Gardner]

Originally Posted by Charles Nungester Who attacked anyone? Chuck

Chuck... I don't think that was meant as an attack... A word spelled wrong maybe... but we're all guilty of that from time to time.

Attract... OR attack. :emote20::wink1:

[Dwight Clock]

Originally Posted by Bill Gardner Attract... OR attack.

Attract - Where we go to see the races. Attack - What we hang up notes with.:rolling::kookoo2: