Sponsorships

[Vegasboricua]

This probably has been asked before. I tried doing a search and came up with nothing. I noticed some of you guys have sponsors. How would I go about getting sponsored? I know there are sites like carsponsorships.com and stuff, but I don't think everyone who gets sponsorships goes that route.

My 370 is a project car, whether or not I do it myself or through the help of sponsorships.

All your input is greatly appreciated

Thanks everyone.

[M.Bonanni]

Ok, I don't quite know how to answer this question without sounding like a ****, so I will just ask you questions that potential sponsors might ask you.

What have you done to your car already?

What do you plan on doing with this project?

What sets your project apart from the 1000 other people that want free parts?

How many major events will you be attending in 2010? And by major events, I mean ones that are covered by multiple magazines and/or television, not local Vegas car shows.

Have you built any successful project cars in the past?

How many people will see your car with our logo on it at the events you are going to this year?

Do you have any upcoming media coverage (i.e. magazine feature)?

What can you do for us besides putting our logo on your car?

If you don't have a seriously good answer to all of those questions, then don't get your hopes up. That being said, best of luck if you do seriously have a sponsor worth project!

From your fellow Las Vegan...

P.S. - CarSponsorships.com and the like are scams. Don't waste your money. True sponsorships shouldn't cost you anything. And yes, I don't consider discounted parts true sponsorships although somehow they are routinely accepted as "sponsorships."

[nogoodname]

Have to be really active in the modding scene and on the forums a lot. Usually sponsored cars not always full sponsorships.... ex: free parts.
You have to be willing to pay most of the times.... partial sponsorships.

[Josh@STILLEN]

I will tell you a thousand times over.. it's sooooo much easier to just pay for products if you can.. there's a lot that goes into sponsorships, especially when considering a full car build.

Sometimes mfg's like us will need a vehicle to do R&D or final fitment, and we're willing to discount or provide product, but outright sponsorships are even more difficult.

Mike's questions are a good start.. you should have answers for all of those.

[bullitt5897]

Many companies do not give out full sponsorships especially in this economy. Often you will find yourself paying cost or below cost for parts and services if your sponsored. The terms and the level of sponsorship you get will depend on many factors! M.Bonanni presented many questions that you have to be ready to ask.

Take my car for example and my sponsors...

I have a goal for my car or actually several goals which will lead to an epic build and a first for any z34! By the end of the year I hope to have a 1000rwhp z34! yes, thats right by the end of the year! But it doesnt stop at a goal or dream you have. You have to have a plan and route to get there! That is crucial especially when it comes to larger builds such as mine. You also need to show potential sponsors the benefits of them being apart of your build. You have to conduct yourself in a manner which will represent their brand or company. i.e. dont try to get sponsors and then street race!!! not only is it illegal and dangerous but it is also BAD publicity for the companies when they see your car in the news! If you want to make it into a magazine have a list of Magazines you want to get into and get a contact for someone at that magazine. Honestly, There is sooo much you have to think about and take into consideration when it comes to obtaining sponsorships that if you A dont have the cash to do it without them or B arent completely sure of your plan. then it is not for you! to be honest I talked to sharif of FP about 2-3 years ago about a 350z project and didnt get it but with the 370z being so new... We worked out a deal.

If you want to start some where and have $7k lying around send your car to GTM they are giving someone a full turn key TT kit for $7k installed!!!! thats as close as it gets to a sponsorship without actually getting one and once you have a TTZ it becomes that much easier to get more sponsors. I think there are only 4 or 5 of us going TT right now in the whole US! I should have my car back by march 1st if all goes as planned!

Good luck and if you have specific questions feel free to ask in this thread and we can help.

Also, stay away from programs like carsponsorships.com unless you want underglow as a sponsor and thats it LMAO!

[bullitt5897]

Also it comes down to who you know and if your friends of someone who is friends with someone who knows the mfg owner or GM lol

its like they say "its not what you know its who you know!"

[Vegasboricua]

Thanks everyone for all your input!

[M.Bonanni]

Ok I am going to go off on a little rant here, and no offense to anyone who may consider discounts a true sponsorship.

Here's the deal. More often than not you will be offered discounted parts. This is fine if it is something you are going to buy regardless of whether you get a discount from this company or not, but it is certainly not a sponsorship. Sponsorships shouldn't cost you any money. If a company offers you a discount, they aren't investing anything into you, they are just agreeing not to make as much money off of you as they normally would. If you are a wheel company lets say and you give me cost on a set of $3000 wheels bringing them down to $1700. Thats awesome, but that company hasn't invested anything in me, they just agreed not to make money off of me on that set of wheels. Now on the flip side, say you give me a free tow hook that your cost is $50 on. You have invested $50 more in me than the wheel company and that is something that I personally value more.

I am not saying that I haven't accepted discount type "sponsorships" in the past, nor am I saying that I wont in the future, but you best believe that I am not going to accept it unless I was already planning on buying that item.

Personally its a bit of a sore subject, but I understand that its the way it is. Because companies can sponsor so many different cars without investing anything into them, that has become the normal way of things in the import community. Unfortunately this takes a huge toll on real race teams who need real support from these companies to continue to push the envelope of these cars and create an aftermarket full of proven quality parts. Why would a company invest any money in a race team when they can sponsor 100 show cars and forum heros for basically free?

/rant

Support the progression of grassroots motorsports!

[bullitt5897]

I agree!!! 100% but then again I have been told no before by sooo many vendors its not funny. So like the term goes beggars cant be choosers in most cases. I personally will be testing many parts for manufacturers and giving a review as well as input back to the manufacturer.

There are two industries here and two thought processes. on one hand you have true motorsports teams and on the other hand you have street car guys. The motorsports team has a budget and alot of expenditures/consumables throughout the year. Those teams should be looking for full sponsorships which equates to free parts/labor/whatever. Then you have the street guys who are just looking for a break to get their dream out their. I am a mix of both... I am working on a few Full sponsorships while I have many partials...

I am all about supporting the racing community that I even created a social community site for racers to help them achieve just this as well as many other ideals. for those interested its Motoconnect. I list my sponsors as just that sponsors because I dont have enough room in my sig to list fulls and partials separate.

So keep in mind guys a real sponsorship is free parts or labor. I have a full sponsorship with JPM coachworks. however, I still help them out by covering some of the material costs. Its a relationship and you have to remember that!!! that is the most important thing to remember... they are investing in you!

[KillerBee370]

Kinda late to the party (as far as grabbing free R&D performance products). Good luck tho
Now if you're into the whole, tear down the car from the ground up for complete show purposes... I dunno? Maybe.

[RCZ]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that no one on these boards that has a none full-on race car (and even some of those who do) is getting any full sponsorship. I think the idea of partial sponsorships is more common around here. Nothing wrong with giving something back to a vendor who cuts you a significant deal. That's far from a full sponsorship though.

I agree with most things M.Bonnani said, however I have bought things I wouldn't necessarily have bought at full price before.

[billydsz]

I'm fully sponsored by Visa.

[Vegasboricua]

Originally Posted by billydsz

I'm fully sponsored by Visa.

Very nice. I'm sponsored by Mastercard lol