sponsorships

[7thgear]

Hi. I am searching for information on how to become sponsored. I would like to know anything that you know about it. I would love to build a racing truck and race in competitions, but I don't have the money to send everything across the globe. any information on what I have to do, and what would help, would be great. thanks

[HoupPhotography.com]

Based on my personal experience:
If your looking for big names & money sponsors for a new build, usually you need a track record. They want to see the events you have raced in, placed finish's, finish's and what events/series (SCORE, BITD) you plan on running for that particular season.
The thread sounds like your interested in "getting into" the sport, the problem most sponsors will have is, they don't know if your actually going to race or you just want free parts to build a vehicle.

Again from experience, the sponsor's I started off with were a discount type of sponsorship and we had to work our way up to get the freebies, it took about 3 years. Most sponsor's have levels or grades, Starting out you may only get some type of a discount or a "A" level support, then working your way up to the level where you receive full support & free parts.

If you are infact new to the sport, I would put together a rig, enter a few races andrace it to see if you even like it. Do what you can with what you have and build up your sponsor's, relationships and race rig. If you do deceide you like it, put together a professional resume` complete with specific information and future events and present it in a professional way.

The thing to remember is, your going to companies asking for money, they want to know what they get for their money, the exposure and "will he/the team, bring people to our product". They also want to know that they will be "well represented", which is where the professionalism comes in above!

I hope this helps a little and I didn't rattle to much for you, Good Luck!

[Jeff Knoll]

Thats a great reply.


I think of sponsors as employers. You don't walk in off the street with no experience and get the corner office. Try the mail room and prove you are worthy of the corner office. A great resume will get you in the door but a long lasting relationship require contined hard work.

[TANNERJENNINGS24]

That is what we did,started at the bottom and worked are way up.We started with a ranger tough truck and got bumped in to the pro areana class cause we were beating all the tough trucks.The better you do the more sponsors you will get.We started with just some local shops,junk yards, friends.Most all the money for the old truck came from my pocket.

Now we are building a new truck to race in the VORRA races.

[DEnd]

The best thing you can do as a little guy is have something to offer your sponsors besides their name on your rig. I know of a "local" racer who got one of his local radio stations to partially sponsor him. Instead of cash he got like 5 minutes of commercial airtime (or something like that). He was then able to offer free airtime in his sponsorship proposals as long as they refered his racing effort (giving him instant spokesman status normally) Thus he was able to not only generate more cash than otherwise but also generate much larger name recognition.

Dustin Webber was able to land RedBull by realizing what vehicles magazines are likely to include. Namely a light colored vehicle that will stand out from its surroundings, and a vehicle that people will recognize. He didn't promise them any wins, actually I think he actually told them he wouldn't win any comps, but was able to give them an almost 100% gaurantee of magazine exposure through event coverage. 'course it also really helped that he had previous sponsorship relations with them...

[fj40forlife]

Well the best Idea is built a race truck,buggy ect. and just start racing. and like sometimes if like big brands like. king shocks. beard seats, crow all does big guys and you have a sticker of there stuff on your car and win the race they would somethings give you money or prize. so if you keep win win. guess happen they would look at you and you sponsorship. its not really easy takes time, goood luck

Eric

[7thgear]

do any of you make a living off of sponsorships/racing? That is pretty much the only thing I can see myself doing and being happy with.

[DEnd]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

do any of you make a living off of sponsorships/racing? That is pretty much the only thing I can see myself doing and being happy with.

Good luck with that, really. (I'm not being sarcastic) But honestly you won't be able to. Like the saying goes the best way to make a small fortune in racing is to start off with a large fortune.

[TotalImmortal]

there is zero money in off road racing. ask anyone (except rosseler and gordon)

start winning races and the sponsors will come to you.

[TANNERJENNINGS24]

Originally Posted by TotalImmortal

there is zero money in off road racing. ask anyone (except rosseler and gordon)

start winning races and the sponsors will come to you.

Yes, its a hobby not a job.most of the races we've done the prize money don't even pay for the gas to get there.Its all for fun just remember that.

[Jeff Knoll]

I know the secret to getting a million dollars in desert racing........

















Start with 2 million!

[TANNERJENNINGS24]

Hell I thought you had to start with 10 million. LOL

[kidtwist_NRT]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

Hi. I am searching for information on how to become sponsored. I would like to know anything that you know about it. I would love to build a racing truck and race in competitions, but I don't have the money to send everything across the globe. any information on what I have to do, and what would help, would be great. thanks

some info for you to put in your press kits.
old but still usefull...

As for what the proposal should include, here is my take on the above suggestions:
• Team Owner/Driver Bio- If two different people, make two separate pages.
• Career Highlights- Go back 3-5 years to reference any SIGNIFICANT accomplishments. You can go further back if you have Championships to your credit.
• Demographics- Not just race spectator info, but info from other industry segements.
• Media Exposure- Reference all aspects - Print, Web, & Television. SCORE's Media Group should be able to assist you with this info. Contact Dominic Clark/Image Media, Las Vegas - 702.735.7123
• Description of Class- Keep it BRIEF! Just an overview of the category, vehicle specs and typical number of competitors per race. Mulitple images of your car should be included here.
• Contact Info- The basics: Name, address, ALL phone numbers, fax, e-mail, website (if applicable).
• References- Optional. Like any resume, previous and current professional affiliations can go a long way in demonstrating your history with other business people.


Off-Road Audience
Off-road vehicle (“ORV”) racing is one of the fastest growing events in the US. 49.6 million people 16 and older have ridden or driven off-road vehicles at least once during the Fall 2003/Spring 2004 season, according to industry estimates. This represents almost 23% of the entire U.S. population!! 18.2 million of these participants were under 30 (the target audience of Navy recruiters). 21.7 million were 30 to 50 years of age (targeted recruits and parents). Plus this is not a guys only sport. While 29 million participants were male, a very strong 20 million were female!