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Sponsorship Proposal Question


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#1 Mini-dude

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Posted 28 February 2018 - 05:25 AM

I was just wondering if anyone here has had any sponsorship experience and how did you go about writing a proposal for your car or team.

#2 minidaves

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Posted 28 February 2018 - 07:22 AM

tough world out there, what are you doing?



#3 Mini-dude

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Posted 28 February 2018 - 07:55 AM

tough world out there, what are you doing?


Nothing in particular right now, atleast nothing i can afford lol, if i had an unlimited budget it would be a 4wd sprint with mitsubishi evo base drive train for time attack. I was asking more in the show car sense, I am planning a build either on a mini pickup or minus shell and it hit me, maybe I can get a company to sponsor it i always go to car shows and my little beat gets a lot of attention so I figure a mini would get even more attention which is good for sponsors, but to be honest I have no idea how sponsorship works.

Edited by Mini-dude, 28 February 2018 - 08:03 AM.


#4 Ethel

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Posted 28 February 2018 - 09:47 AM

Very few out and out philanthropists about.

 

You'll be more persuasive if you can show you'll deliver good publicity.

 

Sounds like you've got more chance with your current car as there's actually something you can put their name on. Get the evidence together that it can attract attention (photos and video of the events, press articles) and think of an angle that'll make it particularly attractive to the sponsors you can target. For the Mini, is there anyone who'd be interested in sponsoring you build it - you could use Youtube/facebook to offer extra footfall for web marketing.



#5 CMXCVIII

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Posted 02 March 2018 - 01:12 AM

I have enjoyed some sponsored motor sport!

 

Guy Edwards' textbook "Sponsorship and the World of Motor Racing" has been out of print since the early 1990s but copies still show up on EBay or Amazon. They go for hundreds but I'd recommend you to buy it, read it, learn it and then sell it on to the next sponsor hunter! Someone else will want it too.

 

He explains how his sponsorship got him to Formula 1 and then how he raised the budgets for SilkCut Jagnuar and Lotus. Once upon a time he was the guru! It was written before the internet existed but the lessons are still totally valid; how sponsorship means putting vendors in touch with their targets and how your motor sport is funded from the middle of that relationship.

 

Good Luck with the money hunt!

 

Jon 



#6 Mini-dude

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Posted 03 March 2018 - 09:23 AM

Thanks for the helpful information and tips. I did look at the book you recommended, but the price on them is a heart attack lol and i thought my books on suspension and chassis design were expensive.

Edited by Mini-dude, 03 March 2018 - 10:03 AM.


#7 Cooperman

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Posted 13 March 2018 - 09:47 PM

I don't know how it works in the USA, but in the UK it is very, very difficult.

 

It is, of course, a sales job to 'sell' the idea that an organisation is going to give you money to do something you are doing for fun. First of all you will need some sort of successful record at doing what you intend to do. That needs to be documented in detail. Then you prepare an exposition and benefits package for the prospective sponsor(s).

 

It will need to detail not just what you intend doing, but EXACTLY how the sponsor can use this to improve the performance of his/her organisation. For example, if the sponsorship is for a racing team, the likely media coverage, the visibility to the sponsors potential new customers, the reasons why this will improve sales, the way the team will help the sponsor with personal appearances, attendance for the sponsor's customers at race meetings including hospitality - in fact, the total benefits package for the sponsor must be identified and detailed.

 

When I was involved in international rallying at 'works' level, we had other sponsors as well and these requires us to attend their sales conferences and publicity events with our car(s) and drivers/co-drivers. We would give talks, take 'punters' for rides in the rally car and do our best to enthuse about the product our sponsor was promoting.

 

Never talk to a sponsor about what YOU are looking for. Only talk about what the sponsorship can do for them and quantify it as far as possible. The answer to the question; "Why should I give you a chunk of money"; must not be answered; "Because I can't go racing without it"; is the wrong answer. The answer has to be something like "For every £1000 you invest in the team you can expect an increase in profits of at least 10 times that amount". Then you show why that answer is correct.

 

Easy it is not and the sponsor needs to see the benefits for his/her business.

 

I once had sponsorship from an well-known international bank, but we were doing over £6,000,000 worth of business with them per annum and they used our team as a feature in their magazines and invited other customers to our events. It was a 2-way advantage.

 

I'll add a bit about the way it looks from a sponsor's point of view. When I ran an engineering design and technical support company I was asked to sponsor the Formula 1 Air race at a major UK airshow. Now F1 air Racing was a bit of a USA import and was new to the UK. The cost to me was, IIRC, £7500 plus what I chose to spend on my additional publicity. So we had a big marquee and I invited around 15 senior people (mainly directors and general/engineering managers) from my major aerospace customers and their families. My customers had lunch in the marquee with the pilots before the races, they met each other as well as my team and the pilots and crews of the race planes. The kids in the party were allowed to sit in the race planes, then at the end my wife and the wife of one of my customers presented the prizes. It all cost me around £10,000 for the one event, but my customers were 'blown away' by the way it all went and how well we treated them. I estimated that this brought me in at least an additional £250,000 worth of orders over the next year, so it was well worthwhile for me as a sponsor. That is the sort of incentive a sponsor needs to part with his/her money. The F1 Race guys were very pleased as well and we worked together well then and subsequently. That's how sponsorship needs to work.


Edited by Cooperman, 13 March 2018 - 10:07 PM.


#8 Mini-dude

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Posted 08 April 2018 - 08:02 PM

Thank you for that informed explanation. Ever since I went to some of the local car meets and events in my state i been surprised on how people get sponsorship, i seen rusty Honda that probably only cost 2 grand usa to buy with some form of sponsorship, so it really made me think what it takes to get a company attention.

Edited by Mini-dude, 08 April 2018 - 08:13 PM.


#9 Cooperman

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Posted 08 April 2018 - 09:41 PM

Thank you for that informed explanation. Ever since I went to some of the local car meets and events in my state i been surprised on how people get sponsorship, i seen rusty Honda that probably only cost 2 grand usa to buy with some form of sponsorship, so it really made me think what it takes to get a company attention.

 

You need to analyse what that sponsor got for what he/she spent.

 

Of course, if you own a company and decide to self-sponsor, then what you take from the profits of your own business, within reason, can be directly offset against company tax. You can confirm that this is legal in respect of the IRS by taking photos and showing the way publicity was obtained from the sponsorship.



#10 Mini-dude

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Posted 09 April 2018 - 12:23 AM

Thanks again for the information Cooperman. In summery i am selling people a money maker lol, give me money and i can double or quadruple your initial investment on me. I have a lot of research to find a way to market my mini build.




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