Sponsorship 101

[411ninja]

The other day Colin Lolacher and I were talking and I was teasing him about how many sponsors he has and just what his trick is. That conversation turned into a conversation about how Colin could help other racers get sponsorship ( he has already successfully helped two fellow racers this year) We thought it might be fun to start a sponsorship 101 thread where Colin could answer some basic questions about sponsorship and people could get in touch with him for more in depth work. I knew Colin had a long list of sponsors but I had no idea it was this long!
Empire Tyres/ Dunlop
Sawridge Inn and Convention Centre's
BowCycle North Calgary
Kawasaki Canada
Parts Canada
Monster Energy
Matrix Racing Products
Ryno Power Sports Supplements
Joyfoley Weddings
D.Clark Consulting
Howie's Pizza
Dagger Diesel and Performance
Vortex
Pilot Leathers
Galfer USA
Sv Racing Parts

Notable past sponsors include:
CARS Rv & Marine
LaCustoms Performance
Defend A Driver
Alberta Cycle Motorsports
So I thought I would start out the thread by asking Colin - What kind of businesses do you approach for sponsorship?

 

[Ryno]

Hey guys and gals, Tricia came up with this idea and think it is a great one. There is a lot of money out there to be had if you have the right strategy. So in this thread feel free to ask any questions you may have, I constantly have people at the track asking me questions and this should be a great way for more people to see the answers. If you have a one off question about a company that you want to approach but you don't want anyone to see it, shoot me a PM and I will try to help. I'm not going to pass myself off as a marketing or sponsorship expert but I have done alright over the last 3 years and I'm hoping I can get others to that same place.

So to answer Tricia's first question: I try to approach businesses that I feel I can work with. I try to think outside of the box and figure out ways that I can give something back to the company I approach. The best sponsorships I have had over the last few years, have had nothing directly to do with the motorcycle industry. Yet I was able to show them a connection to the sport and the community.

Let the questions fly!

 

[teejay]

How do you approach the bigger companies, who do you contact, what kind of things can you offer them that, they are not already getting from bigger racers CSBK, AMA,

 

[Ryno]

How do you approach the bigger companies, who do you contact, what kind of things can you offer them that, they are not already getting from bigger racers CSBK, AMA,

If I am approaching a bigger company I start with setting up a meeting with either the general manager or the marketing director. I research the company and try to figure out what the company values are. I research whether they have a lot of community involvement or minimal involvement. I prepare a sponsorship proposal package outlining what I can provide to them in the form of return on investment.

What a company wants if they are going to spend money(cash) from the advertising budget is some form of return on investment. So one of the things I try to offer, that a bigger team in CSBK cant offer since they are across the country is local exposure.

One of my sponsors for last season was one the fence until they heard that I was going to go to elementary schools and do talks to the kids on bicycle helmet safety. For just one afternoon I was able to speak to over 450kids, I had the bike in attendance and let the kids crawl all over it and take photos. While it was a great afternoon for the kids and was a lot of fun, it also served a purpose for marketing. Of the 450 students I talked to I gave out a swag bag to every child in attendance in the form of give away's and coupons from various sponsors. That's 450 pieces of advertising going home with every child. From that the sponsor in question saw a return of over 3k(confirmed) in sales by the coupons being brought in.

I hope that answered your question Justin. let me know if I didn't hit the mark.

 

[AllanG]

This is an awesome thread!

My question, is somewhat similar to Justin's but instead, how would you recommend to approach a smaller company? Or even, your first potential sponsor?

I think there is a ton of novice and maybe even intermediate riders who would love to hear your input on this one.

 

[Ryno]

This is an awesome thread!

My question, is somewhat similar to Justin's but instead, how would you recommend to approach a smaller company? Or even, your first potential sponsor?

I think there is a ton of novice and maybe even intermediate riders who would love to hear your input on this one.

I have found it is pretty much the same technique, with the exception of the Sponsorship package. Generally for the "mom and pop" shops they aren't interested in a pre made package to review. That is more of a one on one interaction. I start off by talking to the business manager to gauge potential interest of sponsorship. if the manager is on the fence about it then he or she likely wont push it very hard with the owner.

Once you get to the owner of the company. Be honest with them, at the club level we aren't drawing out 1000's of fans, but the fans and other racers we have our fairly loyal to the sponsors that support other racers.
Start off small and request a 500 dollar amount, even though it is simple math break it down for them a remind them that it is just over 40 dollars per month for sponsorship. Probably the cheapest advertising they will do throughout the year. Then go from there.

 

[WRrider]

Great thread you guys. Can anyone chime in on what you are doing for the sponsors by way of signage and social media? It's important to maximize sponsor exposure so any and all methods would be helpful.

Thanks,

Rob