I am curious what is contanined in a sponsorship proposal and how the car advertisements are priced. Some say you get what ever you can, but there has to be parameters. So does anyone know what a door panel goes for or a hood? Or is it based on size of the ad, time of advertisement and if so what are the cost?

 

oh man...that depends. What are you racing, what kind of publicity and what are you going to be providing the sponsers with(track hospitality etc). Listen to get big sponserships in the US is quite a task. I tried to do this with open wheel racing and most companies do not gain enough from sponsering your car to dish out money to have you put their name on the side. If you are not racing on TV(and events have to be well watched) then forget about any substantial sponsership. I tried to do a sponsership package for the companies where if I got sponsership they could come out to events with employees and have track side hospitality etc etc and still got very few bites. It is quite a task getting big sponserships, but I dont know everything about it....What are you trying to get and how much are you looking for? You might be able to get some small things here and there.

 

Other than some free products for diplaying decals, and contingency money if you are really good...podium finishes, press wants to talk to/interview you, it won't happen. TV, TV, TV....and be a proven team with numbers/names that look good on the wall of a board room. A friend of mine and I are partners in Fusion Motorsports Marketing (amongst other things), where we bring corporate sponsors and race teams together (Speed World Challenge, SuperCross/Motocross). It is basically a bit like herding cats......

 

"It is basically a bit like herding cats......" Do you want to borrow my Dobe for herding assistance? She works for biscuits and couch time during racing and hockey games.

I guessed it would be lots of leg work and hand shaking for mostly discount parts ect. However, not to long ago some college student E-bayed his forehead for something in the neighborhood of 40K for an Ad. I was wondering what it may be worth for a local or regional business to plaster their company name on your car to a target market in that region? In example there is a local company whose fleet is distinctive looking cars, ie. PT cruiser, bugs, mini's and an old Ferrari that have the company name all over them. For a car that is local and will also be trailered in the surrounding state areas I am wondering if it may have any appeal?

 

You would have to ask them....and they would have to believe that there was a market for their "distinctive looking cars" amongst the people who might notice their name on your car....and "get it", that is make the conection to their product/service AND go buy them. How do you know that there is a "target market" for their products amongst the people you would be driving with at an event? If you do know that there is such a target market, you just need to make the sponsor into a believer!

 

There are much better markets than your car at the track, much better for the money, unless your price is $5/yr...and thats more than a nice vinly sticker costs, in which case it would mean a company merely gives you a sticker, which almost every company does anyway

If a company is going to sponsor an amatuer/club car, if anything it'll be discount parts/labor, but there is almost never cash directly given for advertisement space. Small businesses and small budgets don't allow this. The companies that have the money to spend are smart enough not to waste it on that kind of advertisement, as there are much better marketing methods to get to the potential clientelle they want.

 

It's very VERY rare that a non-professional team will get actual cash for sponsorships because of the limited exposure. You'll be much better off trying to work with companies who you spend the most money with and negotiate some discounts. I sponsor a few drivers by providing them parts at wholesale cost, which is the same as was done for me. I know these sorts of deals saved me a TON of money over time and is nearly as good as cash.

Cost/level is really determined by the series you run in, your success, and your ability to demonstrate TANGIBLE results back to your target companies. You have to answer the "What's in it for me?" question for them ahead of time. Once you've identified that number you can much easier calculate a "cost". Untill then, as mentioned, get what you can.

 

There are so many levels to sponsorship. Without writing a 10 page overview I'll say to you what I've said to others; no matter what level you are at...F1 all the way down to PCA racing...yes PCA racing is at or near the bottom....it's a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" proposition. Very often the hood is a by product and not the main benefit. There are other benefits that the sponsors get that justifies the expense.

You need a unique angle and often the unique angle is different for every company you go after.

Good luck with it and think beyond stickers on cars. Perhaps there's something unique you can offer the company you are pitching the idea to...something that they cannot get anywhere else.

It's a tough business but very rewarding when you sign that "killer" deal.

 

If there's a will, there's a way. It is never easy, but it isn't impossible - with or without TV coverage - with or without a winning record. I used to be sponsored for the local club autocross series, for example, and I am not a good autox driver - I think I finished 7th in a class of 10, and 50th overall in the region that year.

In the end, I found getting sponsorship involved so much time-consuming market research and incredibly painful work (I do not have the salesman personality) that I decided that if I needed other people to pay for my participation in my motorsports hobby - which for me it is - then I wouldn't participate.

I think the most important thing is attitude - you are not looking for sponsorship, you are selling a poor/bad marketing opportunity. You have to know and understand marketing first. The rest is work, pure and simple. There are lots of references on the 'net, and some companies that hand out money for motorsports even post how they want to be courted. (If you can't find these, or you have to ask for a link, you aren't researching hard enough - and just googling is not enough.)

For someone with no TV coverage, and not in some big racing series, etc., local businesses are the best bet - an owner of a local business (car-related or non-car-related) may be a race fan, or dabbled in some kind of motorsports years ago when they were younger. (You research will help you figure out who these people are.) These are the people who will give you discounts (if they are in the auto industry), or give you a few hundred bucks, maybe a thousand (if they are not). They also need swag back - figure on spending at least 25% of the money they give you on things you give back to them, but they'll often be good for the long term - I've had the same tire shop (www.talontire.com) help me out for 20 years now ...

And, of course, know who writes human interest stories in your local paper, who writes the motorsports stories, ditto for the local radio stations, local TV stations ... right? These folks are always looking for good stories, it is up to you to give them one ...

Couple of stories:
- a fellow competitor of mine, who has run a motorsports marketing business for decades, once gave a seminar to local racers - this was when he was responsible for the motorsports marketing activities of a major aftermarket conglomerate, i.e., he was the guy deciding which racers would get sponsorship dollars, if any, and he was giving a weekend seminar on how to get $. All road-racing license holders, etc., in the region were informed via mail-out. I think the fee was $75, which covered the cost of the room, food, etc. - maybe. A half-dozen registered, and lots griped about the seminar costing anything.

- I had a first this year. I got an e-mail a few weeks ago ... "Hey Craig, I heard you're going back to Targa Newfoundland this year. In recognition for all you've done for local motorsports, I'd like to give you a few hundred bucks towards your expenses." Potential sponsors are always out there, always watching. You have to make them feel good about giving you money (or parts, or discounts). That's the key, I think, as it rarely makes any business sense to sponsor someone.

 

Basically, the reality of it is put all that sponsorship-getting energy into real work and you'll be able to sponsor yourself