im going to try and get sponsorship for a drive in the Formula Renault Winter Series and i got a bit of a topic to discuss, i know getting sponsorship
when i have no history to back myself up with is going to be very difficult but i thought its definatley worth a try if i contact as many businesses
as humaly possible i guess i will get a few backers,
what approach should i take, phonecall, email or snailmail letter?opinions?
i thought with the phonecall i might not have enought time to tell them the benifits of sponsoring me in a phone call before they say "go
away!" but at least i would know if they are interested straigh away
email seems a little informal for a business proposition but it would at least allow me to get lots of information into the propostion and give the
person on the other end enough time to mull the idea over before answering which they wouldnt get on the other end of a phone conversation, but it is
easy to ignore an email whereas its quite difficult to ignore a phone call
or snailmail, all the benifits of email but seems more formal but its gonna cost me for paper, ink, letters and postage so it might cost as much as
40p per business i ask so its gonna get expensive
the winter series is over 2 weekends first two rounds at donington, the second two rounds at croft, should i target businesses local to them circuits?
should i target relativley small businesses or should i go for big nationwide businesses?
ohh the number of possibilities!!!
cheers for your ideas !
Matt
I doubt you will be able to get any interest from large nationwide companys without much background.
I would go for local companies to you, if you manage to raise enough or get close then you can get your picture in the local paper, this benefits the
company and raises your profile.
Most of our drivers are financed by their families so their title sponsor is their family business or a company their dad works for.
Some have local sponsorship to help fund the drive for example one is sponsored by a local tyre centre but I think his dad puts up a large portion of
the money.
One driver last year sold sponsorship positions on the car on ebay, dont think he sold many, but its an idea.
A friend of mine did a season of BARC formula renault, won it in his first season, him and his team went up to the TOCA formula renault and ran out of
money a few races in. Just goes to show you can have a real talent, but if you havent got the money you are unlikely to go anywhere.
How much are you looking at for the winter series?
Good luck anyway, put together a portfolio of the media coverage that the series gets, maybe cuttings from the press. Have you any racing history? Any
karting you can talk about? You need to show the companies what they will be getting out of the sponsorship. As I said, the smaller companies who are
likely to sponsor you probably wouldnt be interested in nationwide coverage, it will be the pictures in the local paper and maybe a spot on the local
news that will interest them most.
Lastly, look at your other options, I think you would be eligible for T Cars, or ginettas. FRenault is probably one of the more expensive options.
Maybe even a serious season in karts to get some results to back up your sponsorship quest.
[Edited on 20/7/2007 by greggors84]
probably about £19k-£25 all inclusive with extensive preseason testing but cost goes down with less testing,
i did think that small businesses were the way to go, just out of interest, your friend that did BARC Formula Renault didnt happen to run with
hillspeed did he?
i like the idea of a media coverage portfolio, i suppose that outlines exactley what they get, like the winter series gets airtime on Motorsport UK
and should get 600,00 - 700,000 viewers
I might have a go ask the local paper if they would put a small article in their paper and maybe publish a my race report after races, i suppose the
more media coverage i get the more likley i am to get sponsorship,
can i be a bit nosey again, you say "our drivers" i assume by that you are invloved in motorsport, which are you involved in?
Cheers!
you mention contacting as many businesses as possbile, so do just that!
the big one's, small ones, ones the, er, size of your head... 
see who you get the best responses from, try by all methods, and that way, if it turns out that one method doesn't work well (phone call for
example, as i don't think thats the best option) you've got the others to back it up to other companies
The trick is to get a drawing of the car and colour it is possible liveries of the companies you are approaching.
Then offer the car for advertising opperatunities throughout the year. Such as, if it is a business (garage/shop) you could display it.
It's hard work. I was given money by Gunk a long time ago, and guess what coulour my car was?
Im a race mechanic for Formula Palmer Audi, this year the series has gone back to its roots as a stepping stone for younger drivers instead of the
gentleman racers of the last few years.
Our Autumn Trophy is 2 rounds Brands then Snett (or vise versa, hasnt been confirmed yet), 2 practise sessions, 2 qualifying sessions and 2 races at
each round. I think the price is still £10k + vat for the 2 rounds. Testing is £995 + vat for a 2 hour test at bedford autodrome and we are starting
to have tests for the autumn trophy around now.
Hopefully with the young drivers at the moment the profile will be raised back up so it can offer young drivers the same as FRenault and Formula BMW.
This year we have F1 sons Alex Brundle and Jolyon Palmer, T Cars 2006 champion Luciano Bacheta, NW FFord Champion Tom Bradshaw, Ex FBMW champion Tim
Bridgeman, Justin Wilsons younger brother Stefan and a few more karting graduates.
I suppose one thing FPA offers over most over championships is that it really is down to driver talent, your budget doesnt come into it. In 2005 Joe
Tandy won the championship and for a few of the rounds it didnt look like he was going to race as he was scraping the money together last minute.
Theres my plug anyway. As others have said get contacting business with pictures of the car with their name all over it in their colours.
Let us know how you get on.
You say that budget does NOT come into Palmer Audi.
£1K for 2 hours testing, then £10K for 2 rounds!!!
quote:
Originally posted by designer
You say that budget does NOT come into Palmer Audi.
£1K for 2 hours testing, then £10K for 2 rounds!!!
The trouble with sponsorship is that you have to be on your best behaviour all the time. I actually won't mind when my bike shop no longer wants me, then I won't feel obligated to show up at EVERY race and ride each day of every weekend. I love riding, but I do feel responsible to the sponsors who have been kind enough to step up for me over the years. That's why I have never put any of my business logos on my regular cars.