Best ways to get sponsored...

[deevergote]

I've been thinking... my car looks decent, has some performance potential, and is well known within the cb7 community. Why wouldn't someone want to sponsor me? So, I've been pondering a few routes I could take.

First, there's always the usual... apply to big performance companies and see if they'll toss you some parts. Sadly, for us, that's not really a great idea. Nobody cares about the Accord, and anyone that makes parts for us usually isn't really expecting that to be a big part of their sales. The CB7 is a performance afterthought. "hey, here's something for a Civic... weld a new tab here and it'll fit on an Accord... there ya go!"
The only way to get involved with the big boys is to go through a "get you sponsored" company like carsponsorships.com (that link is active... if that interests you, it'll help me out if you sign up with it!) or have so much done to your car that you REALLY turn some heads... in which case, you probably don't NEED any sponsorships! Show cars can make better use of that, especially if they're just getting into performance.

The next way to do it is to find local companies that would like to advertise on your car. Jed, ssdh22accord, has done this quite well, I believe (Jed, it would be cool if you had some advice to add here!) The beauty of this is that anybody with a store, service, etc... can see the benefit of advertising on a nice looking car. Is there a pizza place near your local racetrack? Get them to buy a spot on your rear side window! Slap down a few bucks for a decal and you're good to go (I'm sure our resident decal guy, lowfrostcb7, would be glad to hook you up for a reasonable price!) Do you attend regular shows or meets at a certain parking lot? Why not sport a decal for one or more of the shops there? The possibilities are endless. If you can sell yourself well, you could fund your project with no money out of pocket


The main issue to doing it this way is the legal aspect. People are giving you money. They will expect results. If you blow your motor and your car is sitting dead in your driveway for 3 months, they aren't going to be happy! If you get into an accident and drive around with a wrinkled fender, it won't look good on their part. You'll have to keep your car in good condition, and be sure to get it out there as promised!
You'll DEFINITELY want to get some sort of document drawn up, stating specifics on what you're offering (be it show/event attendance, weekly mileage, parking visibly, etc...), the timeframe at hand (monthly payments, yearly contracts, etc...), shared space (will you cram 20 sponsor decals on one window? or do they get exclusive rights?), and EXACTLY what your rates are. If you get sponsored by a pizza shop, will they give you $100 a month? Will they give you free pizza for as long as you have their decal in their window? You have to work it out with them. Get it in writing, and make sure BOTH sides stick to the agreement. Make your terms very detailed, and be sure to stick to them. Don't leave room for interpretation.
Finally, keep in touch with your sponsors, just as you would with a parts manufacturer. Stop in the shop, say hi, show them that you're still active and interested in your partnership. Ask them for coupons, menus, business cards, pamphlets, etc... and hand them out at shows (be sure to put some sort of identifier on those things so the store owners know when you draw in business!)


I'd love to hear some more insight on this concept. Has anyone else here done it? I'm sure getting "Paul's Pizza Palace" stuck to your window isn't really the coolest thing ever, but if you get 4-5 sponsors paying you $100 a month, you'll have that H22 by next spring for sure!

[accrdpower]

ok well the easy way, ......there is no easy way to get sponsored and if it is easy...ur not doing it right. getting sponsored the right way takes many hours of preperation and work. You have to draft up letters to companies/shops, then if they say yes, you have to make up a contract sheet blah blah blah. then u have to keep in contact and let them know what you are doing to earn their involvement in the car. I have about 3 local sponsorships and about 20ish worldwide sponsorships. This is through the car club i am in but yea. Now u ask if i am sponsored so much why isn;t my car decked out. Money is always an issue but if you get the sponsors name out and represent them properly, they don't mind if ur not buying their service every week or something or even every month. They show their support and u in return take a few hours a month for each sponsor and attend car shows, drive safely, and keep your car in the best shape u can. What people don't realize about Carsponsorships.com is that the chances of u getting anything worthwile out of it is slim to none. Yes everyone gets the inital decal sponsorship but very few get anything else that would even be worth the time of day. People see it as an easy way out. The best way to go is local, make a name for yourself and then go country wide. Joining a car club always helps but be careful what club u join. Many clubs have reputations and you never want to be associated with negative people or their cars. Also, attend car shows and meets and stuff like that. Become a repeat customer at your local speed/performance shop. there is no easy way to get sponsored but if u take the time, the rewards are priceless! btw some of the sponsorships i have include 50% off head and block work, 25% of engine parts, $500 motorized lambo doors with lifetime warranty, 20% off UFO underbody light system, 10% off aem products through a shop, and through a local shop....half off instals with same day or next day delivery of parts for free and wholesale cost of most parts. that is just a few off the top of my head. now it has taken a year of putting myself out there and making a name of myself. u all can get sponsored in some way just take the time and effort.

[gloryaccordy]

If all those Primedia magazines would get off the E*/D* chassis car's nuts and show the Accord some love it would be no problem...people see the Accord like they see the Vigor or Legend, just fucking weird. "Who would mod an Accord???"

I don't know anything about getting sponsored...but getting your car dyno'd and running some good times at the track would be a good start. I know around here everyone's going nuts about Sparkle's car...he's beat a lot of supposedly "greater" Civics with a grocery getter. If you can show that your car has potential and generates interest you should be good to go...

[Accord R33]

if it is easy...ur not doing it right.

Thats your answer for everything isnt it? I dont see how there is a right or wrong way to get sponsored. as long as someone is giving you support, your sponsored, no matter how you got there..

I agree with Glory in that you need to show that your worthy. You have to already have a highly modified car. you cant just start out with nothing, ask for a sponsorship and expect to get it. Impressive time slips and dyno sheets are always a plus!

[deevergote]

If you're dealing with non-automotive businesses, a small scale sponsorship would be much more doable. When you deal with performance shops and parts manufacturers, you're not the only one with the idea... you have to be better than anything they've seen already or they're not interested.

Talk to small business owners. Work something out with them. I'd rather get 5 shops paying me $100 a month to advertise pizza or drycleaning than get 50% off of some motor work. 3 months of the pizza advertising will get me a built head with no discount! Of course, getting that as well would certainly help!

Many people WILL reject the idea. The key is to have the best approach possible, and talk to MANY people.

I'm going to create a pamphlet with good pictures of my car, a brief list of what is done to it (in simple terms... M2B4 transmission with a 6 puck clutch and 12lb flywheel doesn't mean much to most people), and a sample outline of what my services would be... of course, that would be negotiable, depending on what they were willing to pay.



"Highly modified" is highly objective. A CB7 with a fairly stock H22 and a Maaco paintjob might be pretty lame when seeking a sponsorship from GReddy... but when seeking a sponsorship from local businesses, they see a shiny car with an uncommon heart transplant (yes, outside this community the H22 is still pretty uncommon!) Present yourself professionally, and make your rates reasonable, and you stand a chance!

[accrdpower]

no it's not my answer for everything. people just want the easy way out. it actually takes time, effort and yes some money to get sponsors. half the people would rather fill out a form online, submit it. and have everything spoon fed to them. opk maybe not a wrong or right way but a "respectable/non-respectable" way to get a sponsorship if those are even the right words. and u don't have to have a modded car to get sponsored. the first "sponsor" i got was for my pirelli tires. got them for free when i got my rims as one of the first mods i ever did. for those with sponsors know it is NEVER easy to find and keep sponsors. but if ur persistant, do your homework, put some effort into it, any jo shmo can get a sponsorship in some aspect. and the 50% off a $2k job would saved me 1k. and 25% off 4k in parts would save me another 1k. so 2k saved to get part of the engien built up. it would take nearly 2 years worth of 100/month to do that. i mean either way a sponsorship is a sponsorship. and every little bit helps. there is no wrong way to have a sponsorship it's just how u go about getting one. i never have and never will like carsponsorships.com or any site like it. it's a rip off IMO. i mean for those who have no idea about sponsors or what they really r then yea i guess it gets them going in the right direction. but u'll have better luck on your own and it will give u a lil more respect when comming to getting sponsorships. did this kid take the time to write a letter to me? did he take the time to drive to my shop? did he take the time to talk to me about his car/and how I as a sponsor would get stuff outta it? or did he jsut ask for a sponsor online? the more effort u put into it the better. if u took time and effort and you were persistent it shows that hell yea this kid may be worth handing over some money or services or whatever. obviosuly he is serious about it. over the past year, i have probably written 30 or so letters and driven to over 20 shops. i have attended probably 40 car shows and participated in 5 or 6 fund raisers. amt of hours involved is beyond ridiculous but its not only fun, u met new people, u get your name and your clubs name out there, u get connections and whatnot and of course the sponsors arrive. i guess the main point is, u get what u put into it.

[SoySauceCb7]

i think your looking at sponsorship the wrong way, you want people to do things for you, but what will you do for them? i dont see you going to shows, meets even Honda day, or races? what would you bring to the table?

[StickyDilJoe]

“Ask not what the company can do for you. Ask what you can do for the company.”

They're not giving out money or free parts, it's more of like a payment for a service that you will perform for them, like say, advertising or doing shows to display their product. It's like a billboard, you wouldn't see like top notch companies displaying their billboards in areas where no one would see them. They only want their company name spread out in high traffic areas. Bring attention to your car, bring "traffic" so that they know what you have to offer.

[deevergote]

Exactly. Advertising is key.

It's funny how everyone replies with their "this is how you do it" and nothing (aside from Joe's post, really) is on topic with the idea I'm presenting.

Jan, I have absolutely NO idea what you're talking about... I think you like to hear yourself talk.


There are 3 approaches to sponsorship laid out in my initial post. The first two, which I pretty much dismiss as not being the best route, seem to be what everyone is focusing on. So, I'll go over those briefly again, and hopefully the focus can go back to what I intended... the third type.

"Get sponsored" companies like carsponsorships.com aren't really scams, but you DO have to work hard to actually go somewhere with them. It's not getting something for nothing, and that's where they make their money. People THINK they can be lazy and get something for nothing. If you play the game, you CAN get your stock car sponsored and hooked up. It still won't be free, and you'll probably have to attend more shows and events than you normally would with other types of sponsorship, but it works.

Applying directly for sponsorship from manufacturers of parts and performance shops is difficult for a number of reasons... especially for us. Our cars are NOT popular at the track OR at the shows. They're heavy compared to Civics. They're FWD and underpowered. They're old. People that are into the CB7 just aren't into spending a lot of money. Manufacturers and shops don't want to support a crowd that can't support a higher priced market. Our cars are very common, and unless yours is remarkable in some way, no company will care.




Now, to accomodate those that like to talk without reading, I'll make it short.
My idea is to approach local businesses. Businesses that may or may not have anything to do with cars whatsoever. Sell your car and your services (basically, like Joey said, advertising... using your car as a billboard). If you hang out with a large group of local guys, companies in the area that you hang may be interested in advertising. If their $100 a month investment brings an extra $300 a month in profit, then it's worthwhile!
Do this with a number of companies, and your car will basically support itself. Better yet, the more you do to the car, the more attention it will draw!

[accrdpower]

you would be surprised at how popular our cars are. so many businesses are amazed at how great condition my car looks for a 15 yr old car. that itself gets alot of peoples attention. and some of these businesses proably wouldn't know the differnce between a civic and neon ok lol. . then when i tell them what i have done and how i got to where i am now that impresses them even more. and yes the whole idea about sponsorships is to really help the sponsors. they are taking the time to help u so help them. and yes, "it is not what the sponsor can do for you, but what u can do for the sponsor" that is the exact attitude u should be having. if u got that frame of mind, u will be guarenteed to succeed in getting your car sponsored.

[deevergote]

Very true. When you talk to a potential sponsor, you can't say "I need money to do this". You have to say "Look how impressive my car is. Would you like to use it to advertise your business?"

[optimusprime]

deev....I think you have a great idea. Small local buisnesses are sometimes good advertisement. I have thought about this also to see about extra money. Just use my car as a huge billboard with stickers and stuff everywhere. Park it in the parking lot or at certin locations to get more attention. Maybe with some cards or deals on it so that people know to go and say to the buisness they saw it on your car. That way the buisness will know your car is doing its job.

I hope you can accomplish what you set out to do cause it sounds like a good idea.