I get asked about sponsorships all the time, do i give them to people, how did i get my cars sponsored etc. Well, Josh S wrote the following post on Lexistreets a while back and it offers an excellent overview of sponsorships, what they really are and how you can get them. Enjoy the read.
“I see more and more today that kids have “sponsorships” and I don’t mean to hate but we all need to be truthful with ourselves and with each other. There are hookups and there are sponsorships… and then there are just stickers on you ride.
Hookups:
Example 1: I know a guy that works for the “That Company” and he gave me 10% and didn’t charge me tax when I ordered my wheels… sweet. Example 2: I have a buddy who has a buddy whose dad plays golf with the guy who drives a truck for “That Company” and he’s getting me a free intake.
Sponsorships:
Example 1: I contacted a company and spoke with a Marketing representative and sent a proposal outlining my vehicle and of all the events that I will be attending and have signed a contract stating that I will attend events and promote them and they will in-turn supply me with products/money. Example 2: I spoke with a representative from a company at an event and after seeing my progress to date, they agreed to supply me with products/money and in turn I will promote said company at upcoming events. Sponsorship definitions (provided by SEMA)
In-kind sponsorship: Payment (full or partial) of sponsorship in goods or services.
(Free or discounted product in exchange for promotion)
Contingency sponsorship: Payment (full or partial) of sponsorship in cash or goods only after a specific level of performance has been achieved.
(like a magazine feature or attending so many event)
Local, regional or national marketing: A promotional strategy that increases brand/product consumer awareness and enhances brand/product image.
(Discounts and hookups for running stickers)
Making yourself marketable.
Sponsorships are given to enthusiasts that can offer support to a company, people that can be trusted and will work for what has been given top them.
If you get a sponsorship and don’t keep up your end of the bargain, thanks, your killing it for everybody else.
Companies have budgets and they will divide that money and those goods out to deserving enthusiasts, first you need to prove yourself. I have built quite a few cars with some huge sponsorships but I have always had to invest some of my own money and a lot of my time in to the project before I could get any serious help. Build your vehicle, take it out to shows and compete, then when you have the opportunity find companies that will assist you in taking it to the next level. You’ll have to show the industry that you are serious in order to be taken seriously. In the off chance that you lucked into a SUPER HOOKUP SPONSORSHIP, great for you, now do the work and keep up your end of the bargain.
How I got my first Sponsor
I contacted a friend of mine in California that I knew was heavily connected in the industry and asked him how I should go about getting “sponsored”. He gave me a copy of his proposal that was way out of my league at the time and spoke about things like measurable return and marketing analysis. So I edited his proposal down to the bare minimum and then went about finding the right people to speak to at a number of companies… my first, came through another friend in the industry who was good friends with the president at Sparco so he put me in contact with him and I shot him my proposal. Looking back on it now the guy at Sparco sent me through a huge ordeal asking questions about my car, my intensions in the industry, my loyalties and a lot of other BS, just to mess with me. I was so serious about it and tried to be so professional about it and didn’t even realize that the deal had already been closed for me… with a simple phone call validating that I was the worth the time… good friends and great references are your best “IN” but you should always put forth the effort, even if it’s a done deal. On other sponsorship deals, it didn’t come that easy, most of my other sponsors were either cold calls where I had to first find the person I needed to talk to (and they will hide from you) or I had to do a lot of selling (myself and my car) at events going from booth to booth. Sometimes I got turned down and sometimes I got sent through long processes for tiny discounts… but none the less after you have one “real” sponsor the others will come a lot easier…
Relationships over Freebies
When I say “real” sponsor what I mean is, there are companies that offer small discounts to thousands of kids just to get them to put a sticker on their car and there are companies like carsponsorships.com that get other major companies to let them hand out discounts and some products. A “real” sponsor is a relationship with an individual and company and if your lucky with more than one individual within a company. The best position you can be in is to be known at a company as the “go-to guy”. One of my first “cold call” sponsors was PowerSlot, I spent close to a month finding the marketing guy I needed and then calling him, emailing him and reminding him to get me a set of rotors and pads…a lot of work for $400 worth of stuff but in the end I became his go-to guy and was their booth car for 2 years at NOPI Nationals, even after he was gone I had become friends with the new marketing guy and also the president of the company so I had my permanent “IN”. PowerSlot in turn got me PIAA and PIAA got me more recognition and helped legitimize my first car as a real show car.
Things to Remember
Honesty is always the best policy when it comes to speaking about your car… you don’t want to get caught in a “my car has 650 horsepower” lie with your friends and you also don’t want to get caught in a “I’m sponsored by so-and-so when I really just bought a sticker and paid retail” lie with anyone in the industry. There is nothing wrong with hookups and sometimes hookups will present themselves as opportunities for you to promote those that hook you up. Just be clear and honest about your arrangements so that you don’t have to back off your original statements later. There are guys for each company that represent the “sponsorship budgets”. The guys and gals responsible for handing out the goodies and making sure that they are getting promoted. Since I have been fortunate enough to be involved with having sponsors and also working as a sponsorship rep I know the Ins and Outs and know the guys that are in charge at other companies… Please do not BS. I hate when people tell me about the deals that are right around the corner, or still in the works and please DON’T LIE AND SAY YOUR SPONSORED WHEN YOU ARE NOT… I PROBABLY KNOW THOSE GUYS AND I CAN SMELL “BS”, and so can everybody else. When the parts show up at your door, work you butt off and install them, put your stickers on, represent your end of the bargain and then tell everybody what’s going on. Over Promise and Over Deliver. There have been so many times that I have heard about what people are going to do and a year later there car isn’t out of the shop and the product they received based on those promises are either still in the garage or long gone on ebay. Supporting shops that you use is great and if you get a special deal or discounts for running a sticker… cool! Just remember that you are assisting them with marketing and in-turn using their name to legitimize your ride. Make sure that if you are sponsored that the company sponsoring you recognizes it as a sponsorship rather than just marketing.”
Source- Josh Sowards- Eagle One/ Valvoline
