All Annotations of Sponsorship Tips[Preview]

saved byAyoom . on 2007-02-07

• Remember, the sponsor is concerned about increasing sales of its

  
  

  product or services. It is not concerned about the quality of your race operations or the

  
  

  worthiness of your cause.
• Large sponsors usually aren't interested in "exposure". They are already well-known.

  
  

  They must be able to prove that sponsoring your event will result in greater sales of their product

  
  

  or services.
• How will the sponsor benefit from my race?
• Who is the sponsor's audience?
• Is it the runners? Spectators (if there are any)? The general public? Some sponsors see

  
  

  the runners as an important niche audience and pitch their message to participants in the race.

  
  

  But most races don't have enough runners to attract sponsorship, so the sponsor may want to use

  
  

  the race as a springboard to a wider audience.
• What does my race have to offer a sponsor?
• Sponsor Designation -- title sponsorship or name on a facet of the event
• Sponsor hospitality -- VIP tents; employee volunteer opportunities
• Event-related promotion -- event included in sponsor advertising; special in-store

  
  

  promotions tied to event; co-promotion, with two or more sponsors; ad and hotline

  
  

  referral to sponsor stores or web sites; save on entry with purchase offer.
• On-Site promotion -- s
• Public relation
• Event collateral -- inclusion in pre- and post-event media coverage; i
• Signage -- logo in event signage; on-site inflatables; banners on-site
• Event premiums
• Announcer mentions
• The companies that have shown an interest in your audience(s) or you think would be

  
  

  interested in your audience(s) if they knew how to reach them.
• Which companies should I contact?
• Don't contact a company that is

  
  

  already sponsoring a lot of events in your community. It may have already saturated the market.

  
  

  Solicit its competitors.
• When should I start contacting sponsors?
• Large, national companies often set their budgets in spring or summer of the previous

  
  

  year, so contact them early. They sometimes have discretionary funds that are saved for late-

  
  

  breaking opportunities or money left over at the end of the year.
• You can simultaneously contact sponsors in the same category, but you may be put in the

  
  

  position of having to turn one down. Instead, you may want to target your first priorities in each

  
  

  category and still leave enough time to contact competitors, if the first sponsor turns you down. A

  
  

  sponsor planning to say "no" to you will wait as long as possible to prevent you from signing its

  
  

  competitor.
• What should I ask for? How much money?
• It's best to approach a sponsor with one, customized proposal. But be prepared to offer

  
  

  an alternative level of sponsorship, in case the sponsor doesn't want to spend as much as you ask

  
  

  for. Have in mind different sponsorship levels with the largest number of entitlements going to

  
  

  the category requiring the largest payment. Be prepared to negotiate. Sponsors often want to pay

  
  

  the lowest level fee but receive the highest level sponsorship.
• If it's something you would have paid for then it's as good as cash. If it's something you

  
  

  wouldn't pay for but you need, like water, then accept it. Some sponsors only give product. Be

  
  

  sure to include a level of sponsorship for product. Sponsors expect something in return for

  
  

  hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of product and the cost of delivering it to you.
• How should I contact prospective sponsors?
• Personal contact is always best. If someone from your race knows the key person in a

  
  

  company, or works for a company that may sponsor your event, work through that person, or at

  
  

  least have that person guide you to the proper contact in the company.
• If you are making a "cold call" (57% of all initial sponsor contacts), try to reach a person

  
  

  by telephone. If you send a letter, keep it brief and to the point,and state that you'll follow up

  
  

  with a telephone call. Be sure to call when you said you would. If the sponsor wants more

  
  

  information, you will probably be asked for a more complete proposal
• What should be in my proposal?
• Whatever will convince the company to become a sponsor
• proposal should be

  
  

  tailored to that company's specific needs
• Keep in mind the company's corporate goals when

  
  

  crafting your proposal.
• A proposal could include pictures of previous events;
• press coverage
• examples of sponsor entitlements
• demographics -- age, gender, geography of participants
• previous sponsors; mentions of your race

  
  

  in sponsor materials
• Can I turn down a sponsor?
• Of course. Some sponsors ask for more benefits than you may think they are worth
• Do I have to guarantee a sponsor exclusivity?
• Almost always. A sponsor expects a guarantee that its competitors will not be involved

  
  

  in the race. So you should have only one shoe company, one running store, one fluid

  
  

  replacement, etc.
• Should I give one sponsor the right to sign another sponsor?
• For example, a grocer pays your race a sponsorship fee and signs a yogurt company as an

  
  

  additional sponsor. The yogurt company pays the grocer a fee (sometimes more than the grocer

  
  

  paid you) for the right to become a sponsor and provides your race with yogurt.
• I can't do this. Should I hire someone else to solicit sponsors?
• Be sure you have a written agreement that specifies fees, responsibilities, reporting

  
  

  systems, and restrictions (if any) on who can be solicited. Most sponsorship agents charge 15%

  
  

  commission for cash sponsorship. Sometimes your agent will also want a flat fee, since s/he

  
  

  spends time on the effort regardless of the outcome.
• How important is a media sponsor?
• Look at an agent's track record -- it

  
  

  doesn't have to be limited to races -- and find out how successful it has been.
• Contact agents'

  
  

  former clients for references.
• It's the most important sponsor you can have. Most races are not worth sponsor dollars,

  
  

  since they only reach a small audience.
• What is the most important part of sponsorship?
• FULLFILLMENT. -- You must fulfill your agreement to provide entitlements to the

  
  

  sponsor. You cannot leave a logo off a race application or forget to put banners on the course.
• What should I do when the event is over?
• Stay in touch with the sponsor!
• 1) Call the sponsors to personally thank them for their

  
  

  involvement.
• 2) Return all sponsor banners. They'll need them for other events. 3) Write a short

  
  

  report to the sponsor, providing highlights of the event -- number of participants, notable

  
  

  achievements, etc. -- and include samples of sponsor promotions and pictures of sponsor

  
  

  name/logo displays. 4) If you haven't already done so, send race t-shirts to all of the key people in

  
  

  sponsor companies. 5) Invite sponsors to a post-race party or some other event to thank them for

  
  

  their participation and keep them connected to the event. 6) Ask them to sponsor the event again

  
  

  next year.
• buying habits of

  
  

  participants, number of participants in previous events
• Should I accept product instead of cash?