Writing a Sponsor Proposal: What are you selling?

First thing that's key to understand is that you are not selling the sport. You are selling access to the sports fans. You are not selling the driver, you are selling spokesperson. You're not selling a car, you're selling a 200MPH billboard. You're not selling a racing program, you are selling a marketing program.

Lots of aspiring drivers are thinking "WOW! It's gonna be awesome when I get a ride. I can race and hang out with the girls, I'll be making tons of money... yeah!". If you're a girl, adjust the previous sentence. It doesn't really matter because, while you'll have time to do some of that stuff, your job is a bit different as a sponsored driver. You need to learn how to speak (publicly), you need to speak to the press... you'll need to be cognisant of the brand you represent at all times. I'll get to that in future blogs. The most important takeaway is that you are a part of what is called an integrated marketing program.

An integrated marketing program is a multi-pronged program designed to reach a specific set of customers. It includes awareness and demand-generation components. Awareness is about making sure that people know who a company is or what a product is and that it exists. Demand Generation is about creating interest in the company or product to get people to take action - buy, sell, invest, tell others about it, etc.

There can be multiple components to an integrated marketing program but they all have a mission. As an example, a company may be launching a new product aimed at all Caucasian and African-American males age 20-35 in the United States. They are targeting blue collar workers. They are looking to reach these people in many different ways. Within this group of "guys" some of them watch NASCAR racing. They'll be sending e-mails to them, mailings to their homes, posting banner ads on sites that they think these people visit and since some of them watch NASCAR, the company may be open to adding motorsports-centric marketing activities into their overall integrated program. In this scenario, they would sponsor your car, probably have sponsor activities at various races, maybe hold a sweepstakes for tickets to the race, maybe VIP passes to the garage, your name it.

Another example could be a company who wants to build a strong brand. They want to make their name a household name. They want to be everywhere. An example is Apple. I challenge you to watch a popular show and not see an Apple MacBook. They're everywhere... even in movies. What does that say to me about Apple? It says that MacBooks are used by anyone who is anyone. If you want the most popular computer you'd better have a Mac. And if you have a Mac, it makes you feel awesome! You are one of those people who have the most popular computer. Who cares how many Macs are being sold? Who cares if only 5 people own a Mac... it's sheik... it's hot... and I've got one (BTW... I do). Now, Apple has done this without sponsoring NASCAR. Honestly, the stereotypical racing fan probably isn't the right target for them. But that's changing. I'm not from the South, I'm not a cowboy or smoker. I'm a New Yorker, a Puerto Rican and a tech geek and I'm American. I don't even like Juan Pablo Montoya. I am not the stereotypical racing fan but I am the stereotypical Mac target. And guess what, more and more people like me are starting to like racing. If I can sell that audience to Apple... what a great sponsorship opportunity that would be. Sadly, they'd probably be more likely to target Indy or something but it's worth a shot.

Let's go back to my first cheesy example. That one was a short-term gig. Being part of a product launch is a short term thing. I would guess something like that to be a 1-2 year contract, if that. Unless you get lucky.

My second example is the holy grail (if you find the right sponsor). Branding is more likely to be a long-term gig. Tide is a long-term gig. M&Ms... long term. Home Depot, Lowe's... all long term. Nextel... long-term.

So... you are selling a marketing program with a variety of components at your disposal. The idea is to research the target company and understand what it is that they want to accomplish and build a proposal that meets their needs and extends their existing program to target NASCARs greatest asset... it's fan base. Understand the kinds of programs they are running and whether they have a brand launch or program coming up. Do they have a big product they need to launch or re-launch? Are they looking for new markets? Can you help them?

Next we'll talk about taking inventory of what you have to offer.