Writing a Sponsor Proposal: What do you have to offer?

When you pitch a sponsor you need to help them understand what they are paying for. You're selling a marketing program (see previous post) but the customer wants to know what they can do with that program. For example, if you were a car salesman, you wouldn't just approach customers and say look at this vehicle, it gets your from point A to point B. Sign here please. No. You would tell them about all of the neat features like a great stereo, GPS navigation, DVD player, heated seats, etc. That's what you have to do with sponsorship proposals. 

You're lucky if you are pitching a sponsor who actually knows racing. Most of these customers will go out and seek a team vs. you having to go out and find them. So, chances are, you'll be pitching someone who doesn't know a whole lot about the sport. And you can bet your bottom dollar they don't want to know how fast the car goes. What they want to know is how does racing make an impression? How many "IMPRESSIONS" do they get by sponsoring you? An impression is the number of times people see their brand. You need to give them an idea for how many impressions they can make. Here are some of the things I can think of off of the top of my head that the sponsor would love to know. You can probably think of more if you put your mind to it.

• How many races are there?
  
• How many people watch these races in the stands and on TV? How many listen on the radio?
  
• How many units of merchandise do fans purchase on average from a team? Basically how many people are out there wearing a brand that sponsors a car?
  
• What is the profile of these people? Are they African American, Caucasian, Spanish, Asian? Are they 20-30, 30-40? are they women, men, gay? Hopefully you go in there know what the prospective sponsors target customer is and you pitch them based on that demographic.
  
• What kinds of series do they have to choose from?
• Where are the races?
• Is there a trailer that you use to transport the car? Great, what route does your trailer take when the truck is being transported? On average, how many people drive those roads per day? This will give the customer and idea of how many people will see their rolling billboard?
• How many people visit the NASCAR web site? How many people visit your web site? each month? each year?
• Are there trading cards? How many units are sold each year?
• What kinds of print material will have a picture of the car or the driver with the sponsors brand included?
• What Television networks play the races? On average, how many times is your car shown? How many times is the driver shown? 
• How many interviews did the driver do in the past year? How much PR did the team get with the sponsor name mentioned or with the car visible?

There are many more. If you think like your sponsor (your customer) the sky is the limit. It's not about your sponsorship, it's about their program.

Sometimes, it isn't so much about "Impressions" as it is about "Leads". Sponsors want to generate leads because leads generate sales and sales generate dollars. Whether it's impressions or leads, sponsors will want to know how they can leverage your team to augment their marketing programs. Here are some examples of things they would be looking to hear about.

• Driver, Car, trailer, executive plane, everything can be branded?
• Merchandise can and will be branded and sold
• Driver, Car and trailer can be made available for X number of programs/events
• Driver, car, trailer image can be used in marketing campaigns
• Driver and car can be used in commercial advertising in small and large print as well as for radio and TV
• Driver can be at autograph signings to draw crowds to events
• Many programs are available at the track from setting up hospitality and VIP tents to reach customers or running demand gen programs right at the track
• What about VIP tickets for customers and tours of the PIT area, car, and garage before the race
• Each race provides additional on-track sponsorship opportunities
• Does your team participate in philanthropic events where you can showcase the sponsors brand or message? If so, this is great.
• What other things does the team do that the customer can participate in?
• Do you have a headquarters? Can the sponsor place branding there at all?
• Do you have golf carts for getting around the track? Can the sponsor brand those?
• Do you have an online fan club or user group that could give the sponsor direct access to new customers?
• Do you have a blog that people frequent?
• Do you have a website that they customer can advertise on?
• Can the customer advertise on NASCAR.com?
• etc. etc. etc.

It's up to you to get customers in the right frame of mind and to teach them how to use racing to achieve their goals. Even if you get them as a sponsor, if they fail to use racing to achieve their goals, they won't sponsor you again. In sales, they have a slogan... ABC - Always Be Closing. My slogan is similar - ABM - Always Be Marketing.

--
Vinny Sosa

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.

What's PWAR about anyway?

OK folks, before we even begin here, I need you to understand that I am no racing expert. I am a racing fan. I don't have a world of experience in the sport but I do have a lot of experience in marketing. I started this blog because my wife's cousin wants to get into racing but I think he's been going at it in the wrong way for a very very long time. It's been a noble little effort on the part of his family though. However, I'll be the first to tell you that he and his father/car owner/coach/././. are missing out on many opportunities to get their names out there because they are

a) very old school

b) into cars and driving, not motor sports as in the community of auto racing

c) they are allergic to technology

d) they think money comes for free

and finally...

e) good people that can help are hard to come by.

That last one is the other reason I started this blog. It's tough for rookie drivers to get sponsors and get a ride. It's tough for racers and their teams to get connected to the people with the money. Why? Racing is a G.O.B. (Good Ole Boy) Sport. Either you're in or you're not. A lucky few get their chance at the big show but many many more struggle their whole lives to penetrate the inner circle. The questions that I would like this blog to answer are:

• Why can't people get into the inner circle of racing faster?
  
• What does it take to get sponsorship (and keep it)?
  
• What things can be done to increase visibility of drivers seeking rides?
  
• What do racing teams need to think about as they move up through the ranks in racing?
  
• How can rookie's get connected to reputable agents?
  
• How can sponsors get connected to serious drivers that are capable of representing their brand?
  

Basically, all of the questions that scare the be-jesus out of parents as they see the costs of helping their kids realize their dream of racing go up and up. The same questions that drivers and teams have. The things that many people think need to be done but which no-one really gives you a straight answer. Hopefully, over time, this blog will become a community of folks thinking and working together on ideas that can work for everyone trying to make it big.

Thanks for listening and if you think this blog is a good thing let me know. If you want to start a dialogue on ideas for moving through the levels, lets put our heads together. I'd love to teach someone who is willing how they can use technology to do a lot of the things that agents are paid to do but sometimes don't (at least not until you're in the big time).

See you in the blogosphere.