I always do this reminder at this time of the year, and I do it because its something that some don’t think about until its too late. This is the time of the year to get your sponsorship proposals in for the 2010 season.
It’s also worth noting that you should not shy away from asking everyone from small businesses to large corporations for their support. Remember, the worse answer they will give you is “no.”
One of the excuses that many will say is that there is no money out there because of the economy. It is what it is...that is an excuse. Don’t let the fears of teams losing major sponsorships in the top-three of NASCAR make you think that there is nothing for you on the local or regional level. You have to remember that what the big three is looking in dollars is a lot more than what you will need to make your season a success.
The key thing to remember is exposure. I apologize for the pun, but you have a unique vehicle that could help someone promote their product and service. Don’t go into a meeting with the mindset of what can they do for you but rather what you can do for them. You have to have the mindset that if they are going to give you money, they are going to expect a lot of things in return and having their logo on your car is not enough. They may want to use your car as a static display to attract attention, they may ask you to make appearances, and they will expect you to have a professional attitude in everything you do.
Nathan Haseleu, 2007 American Speed Association Midwest Tour champion, recently said this, “The most important thing is to be professional and to give them a proposal that shows what you do and what you can do for them. They are more worried about what you are going to do for them, not what you accomplished.”
Racing is also a marketing business and exposure is a valuable asset to why this sport is successful and continues to be successful. Last year, Street & Smith SportsBusiness Journal did a story of the exposure value in NASCAR. They reported that in 2008, NASCAR had over $1.7 billion in monetary exposure value. Its title sponsor, Sprint had over $340 million in money value alone. The numbers will not be that high in local and regional but there is room for positive results.
Something to think about, a sponsor may not be able to afford a sponsorship in NASCAR but they could have enough to sponsor you on a local or regional level. Its your job to show them how you can get them that exposure and they can see a return on their investment.
Believe it or not, it does work. A company representative told me that on a regional level their goal for a return on their investment is 4 to 1 and they are seeing higher results. A small business owner will see results when he gets a phone call from a client or customer and they are told they saw their name on a car or cars. What they may invest in you may be the equivalent of obtaining one new client.
We see how well branding works in NASCAR, we associate how drivers with sponsors and sponsors with drivers. There is absolutely no reason that this kind of branding will not work on the local and regional level. You just need to put your creative mind to it and things will fall into place.
This will not be an overnight success, it will take time. Many start up companies give themselves three years before they see success. The same can be said in racing especially with branding.
Don’t forget this...your performance on the track is also key to the success of your sponsorship. When I recently talked to some marketing students, I asked them to guess which driver got the most exposure and many said Dale Earnhardt, Jr. But they were wrong, it was Jimmie Johnson. Need I say more on that?
