It is the simple things in life that are the sweetest, such as the smile of a small child or the coo of an infant. But to a racer, one of the sweetest sounds is when you hear the big "yes" to your sponsorship proposal. Among other bonuses, this may mean better, newer equipment, having the money to travel, and actually being able to buy new tires. No matter how the deal is structured, you now have to be able to contribute to that sponsor in some way.
Sponsorships can be separated into three broad categories.
1 The sponsor is a race fan who has a small business or is pretty well set from a financial perspective and wants to get involved in racing. They may view sponsorship as a way to become involved and become part of the team. This is a very common occurrence in the realm of the Saturday night race team. There is nothing wrong with this type of relationship. Everybody wins. But the risk is that the sponsor may lose interest in racing, and the sponsorship can leave as quickly as it arrived.
2 Friends and family. It is just what it implies. Your family and friends all contribute to your racing and help out as needed. Once again, not a bad thing, but the funds can stop or grow short unless you have some very resource-heavy (i.e., financially well-off) family and friends, and they want to get involved to maintain the level of help required to support your racing. The risk is that just like any other family and friend deal, sometimes very small and insignificant circumstances can topple the whole deal. Be wary.
3 The real deal! You are now part of a business's advertising program. The sponsorship of your racing is a component of that particular company's advertising program. Your racing is linked to its product or services. You are now viewed as an asset, a contributor to success or failure of the company's advertising dollars. The sponsorship is viewed from the company as a way to develop new customers and to better reach and maintain existing ones. You are now a tool to secure a greater share of the market in which the company competes. No pressure there!
Getting the sponsorship was your first hurdle. Now what do you have to do to keep the sponsorship? This is not a primary concern of many racers who actually get a sponsor, which is why they lose the sponsorship. They are focused on getting the sponsorship and going racing. You need to enter these words into your data bank: "I need to keep this sponsor."
What is your end of the bargain? What is the expectation? This should be covered in the initial presentation and discussed at length with the sponsor. Everybody needs to be on the same page. Of course, winning would be a good thing. But the expectation that you will now win every race you enter is not only an unreasonable expectation, it is fantasy. If that is the expectation from your sponsor, then give back the money now and look elsewhere for your sponsorship dollars.
One of the first things you need to do is learn more about your sponsor's business. You already know what the company does. If it is a service company, who are the customers? Does the company manufacture a product? What are the chances that your race fans are customers? Just the fact that the company is using your racing as an advertising medium means management thinks that some of its customers or potential customers are race fans. This is the point where you start. Out of all the people in the stands, who is a potential customer for your sponsor?
As part of this sponsorship, you need to enter into a relationship with the sponsor that is far beyond the "give me money" relationship many racers think a sponsorship involves. You need to help market the sponsor and its product or services. The car should be extremely presentable at every race; the crew should look and behave well at the track, too. Everything about your team should look and feel like a professional organization. That is step one.
What can you do to promote your sponsor at the track? Do you have any promotional material that you can hand out that describes the sponsor's business? Are you listing the sponsor in the weekly program that the track sells to the fans each week? Is the sponsor featured prominently on your T-shirt? You are selling T-shirts, aren't you? If not, you should be. You are missing a valuable revenue stream and sponsor promotion vehicle. That is step two.
Something most racers and their sponsors miss out on is the fact that the sponsorship of the racer and the race car is only one part of the equation. The sponsor needs to capitalize on the fact that it is involved in racing and sponsors a race car. Any other advertising should feature the race car to some extent, either by using the car in some form or the driver and/or the team. This lesson is played out every day in multiple television spots and ads. You see many NASCAR drivers, cars, and team members featured in a multiplicity of commercials. The sponsor is using its affiliation with the driver, car, and the team to boost its presence in the marketplace. This type of tie-in is just as critical on a local level. That is step three.
The question I hear from many racers is, "What can I do?" With the technology available today, you can do a good bit. Let's just say that your sponsor makes Bob's Local Ice Cream, and the ice cream is sold in most of the local stores in your area. Your job as a sponsored racer is to promote Bob's Local Ice Cream. Sound simple? Well it really is, and all it takes is a bit of planning and creativity. You could display the car and sign autographs during some personal appearances at some of the local grocery stores. That is a good start, but it is not that memorable or measurable. What does the casual shopper actually get from that type of activity? You could go one step further.
I would be willing to bet my next paycheck that either you or one of your crew has a digital camera. You probably have a computer or two at your disposal and, if you have a computer, you most likely have a printer. This gives you all of the necessary hardware to accomplish on-site photo opportunities. So, for the cost of some ink and some photo paper, you can give your fans both old and new something they can touch and hold. You take your shiny, polished-up car to a local store that sells Bob's Local Ice Cream. You set up in the front of the store or at a place in the store and offer to let customers sit in the car or stand next to it with the driver and have a photo taken-for free! I don't know about you, but when my kids were younger, my wife never missed an opportunity to have the kids' picture taken. So what do you have now? Well, you have a new fan, and just maybe Mom will be a bit more willing to purchase some of Bob's Local Ice Cream today. I'll be willing to bet the kids will want some of that racer ice cream. What do you think?
Let's go one or two steps farther. We could do some market research. This is where teaming with your sponsor is critical. Let's say Bob's Local Ice Cream sells X number of half-gallons of ice cream on an average Saturday. However, this Saturday we are going to have a special coupon for a small discount that we will give away with the picture or if someone asks for one. Now we have a way that Bob's Local Ice Cream can actually measure the effectiveness of the promotion. The best-case scenario is that Bob's Local Ice Cream sells more ice cream that day. We have marketed our sponsor and our car. Significantly, we will have provided a value to Bob's Local Ice Cream, and it's value he can fold up and put in his pocket.
The next step would be to start gathering names, addresses, and maybe the e-mail addresses of these new potential fans and place them on your team's mailing list. This is the same list that Bob could use to mail special race fan appreciation coupons. The coupons could be an e-mail attachment, so there are no postage or manufacturing costs to Bob. Sweet! You could promote your car through the development of a fan club. Again, using your sponsor, you could have a race-day special that allows all of your fans who are wearing their Bob's Local Ice Cream T-shirts to get some free ice cream at the track after the races. Bob wins, you win, and the local track wins because maybe some new fans came to the races for the show and the ice cream. This, of course, is another measurable promotion. The things you can do to promote your team and your sponsor are as limitless as your imagination.
The point is that you need to make the sponsor see a real value for his sponsorship dollar. This is all about value and perceived value. As you develop a greater value to your sponsor's overall marketing package, it will be easier to keep your sponsorship and possibly easier to increase the value of your sponsorship package as you develop your racing program.