Do sponsors really get that big of a return?

So, do sponsors actually get good returns on their "investments"? I just wondered. I haven't purchased much because the name was plastered on a bike. What I have purchased from seeing on bikes is because it was a part I wanted/needed or a shop another racer recomended.

What's more important to a sponsor? Your results or being a stand-up guy who brings people to your business?

Just curious.

 

IMO experience in receiving sponsorship, results are nice but what they care about is someone who can bring them business.

I know back in 2007/2008 when I was riding on Pirelli's. I was a mid-packish guy but I brought the NW Pirelli distributor a lot of business. The deal Pirelli gave me was the same they gave their #1 rider (on Pirelli) in terms of price per set & free sets.

 

Big boy sponsors do it because it increases their large scope. Then they have other targeted ads which are narrower and actually show return.

For example, Home Depot advertises in NASCAR. If you watch 5 hours of racing you see Home Depot 30000+ times. But, you're at home, watching TV. You're actually watching something that you do not want to interrupt. This doesn't seem like a great idea; but, the following day you receive an email or magazine/paper with a $2 coupon for a new garden hose, which is something you really don't need.

Where am I going with this? What you would actually "like" (not want) is to replace some rusted bolts on your bike. Now, where do you go to get the bolts? Home Depot? If you respond with yes, you are like the other majority of consumers.

 

At the club level, you will get much more return from your sponsors by being active in the bike community and promoting them wherever you can.

I wear all my sponsored shop T-shirts to every bike meet I go to. I have handed out business cards to random bikers on the street telling them if they need parts to go here. In the long run, having a racer who wins is nice, but having a racer who will stand behind the brand is even better.

 

+1

 

I sold the f@ck out of a cam manufacturer who sponsored (and actually bought me) my TZ250. They liked the job I did to the point they signed on for another year and had the check to me before I even called to ask if they were interested in another year.

They got the joke of a TZ being sponsored by a cam manu and would say they were getting into the weed wacker cam market.

Nothing is free, they got back 10 fold what they gave me. Too bad I couldn't have given back 100 fold.

 

this is something that has come up recently with me concerning a possible sponsor from outside the industry. they've shown interest and i've been pondering how to further approach this situation. i'm thinking more importantly than showing good race is results is actively pursuing the betterment of their business of the track and making this a point when discussing logistics.

 

Results matter but it's what else you do that really matters. You're a salesman for their company and you're there to sell their products and services.

Print up cards, give out t shirts, tattoo their name on your penis if enough people will see it.

 

I was lucky enough to get sponsorship and support this year. Im very sure it had very little to do with how (not) fast I am.

 

eh, negative ghost rider.

 

This^^^
I had a conversation with Dave Podolsky from Chicken Hawk Racing on this topic recently. He basically said:

Essentially, once you get sponsors for your racing program, your first job isn't necessarily to win races, it's to promote your sponsors. Yeah, winning or finishing on the box is great and it will make your sponsors happy, but if you're not talking them up to your friends, colleagues, facebook & twitter followers, they might as well be lighting their cash on fire for all the good that it's doing them. Once you've got a sponsor, you've got yourself a marketing job. The racers that understand this and do it well, will find it a lot easier to get sponsors than the talented rider who keeps his or her mouth shut most of the time.

 

Or the one that opens their mouth constantly and lets all the stupid fall out.

Especially on forums.

 

them too. :up:

 

I've been fully sponsored in another facet of my life, and I can tell you that while results are nice, someone who represents the company well and promotes their good image is MUCH preferred. You become an extension of the marketing dept. and EVERYTHING YOU DO, both on and off the track then reflects back upon the people who support you. Win races but act like a jackass off the bike? No bueno. Run mid-pack but help anyone who asks, promote the products you use, and be a good rep for your sponsor? Muy bueno.

 

Agreed...but i wonder how exactly accurate that is in the "real world". I am very active in the "online community" (in other words, i waste alot of time at work ) and i could sit here and go on and on with names of people who are heavily sponsored that i have never seen online on a single forum, nor any kind of facebook-ish site etc.

I know there are tons of things riders do that aren't online. Just read the "Mississippi Madman" articles and look at how busy Hayes is. But think about some other guys.

I am not going to call out names, but just think about any random vendor that says "proud sponsor of _______" and then take that "_______" and tell me if you have ever seen "_______" online, anywhere, promoting anything to anybody.

I think at "our" level, we have to work very hard to get the support we get. Then there is another level where riders get support so vendors can say "proud sponsor of _____". So at the end of the day, results (on the race track) do matter.

 

Dave is a good dude. We were pitted beside each other (in the same garage) at VIR and he was alot of help (along with DucatiBomber and Lawn Dart).

 

it depends on the product, rider, etc

 

Edit: I speak about at club level

Pros do have a "brand" in their name that people want to be tied to. So results do matter more there.

Results mean SHIT for most sponsors I think, other than you do actually say their name on the podium and if you can do so professionally it at least puts a bug in peoples ears about them.

Bottom line IMO is having something to offer though.

For example, I had sponsors when I was nothing more than a trackday instructor and forum admin. How many people asked? Because at a trackday my students were in large groups around my bike and asked what I used, why I used it, and where I got it. That is a value to a sponsor. On the forum I admin, my name is well known, and people know I know what I am talking about at last MOST of the time . I have a good reputation in that regard and it offers something to a sponsor.

I didnt have to race to have a sponsor.

too many racers think of sponsorship as a "reward" for being fast. That is the wrong way to think about it. It is a BUSINESS deal. They offer you something, you have to offer something in return. If the deal is not profitable for both, then it is not a good one. The only other thing they get from it is a writeoff for "advertising" I think.

But a sticker on the side of a bike in a paddock full of guys who already usually have a hookup and a favorite retailer really doenst do much of anything for most sponsors.

 

This brings up a question, as a racer guy that has had some light sponsorship in the past. Other than slapping a sticker on your bike and the other minimum requirements in the contract. What can the average club racer do to bring in the support for sponsors?

For example:

I get sponsorship from ACME racing parts who makes clip-ons, rear sets and engine guards. I also get sponsorship form XYZ exhausts. The sponsorships are an entry level type.
What are some reasonable things I can do to bring attention/business to the ACME and XYZ and what would sponsors really (be descriptive) like in return from us?

Thanks
-Chris

 

At the club level, I just look for racers that will talk about my products to newer racers and/or racers who may not have tried our stuff before. Winning club level races is good and I don't want to take anything away from that, but it doesn't necessarily give me a return on sponsorship(unless you're testing new products for me). Ask your sponsors if there's anything you can offer your friends in the way of a small "referral bonus". Even if it's small, every time someone calls and says "Joe Racer told me about you guys and said I could get 5% off because he sent me"...that resonates in the ears of your sponsors. Will every sponsor have that kind of deal? No...but it's good to ask because it lets them know that you intend to send business their way.

At the AMA level, there's still plenty of privateer types and if I sponsor them, I hope that they give us a little exposure at that level of racing...then there's the really fast guys who have a solid shot at a championship and we might sponsor them because it will make a good magazine ad at the end of the season if they win. We're a bad example of high level sponsorship though because we don't have deep enough pockets to be a big time cash sponsor for even the fastest riders. I think the rules still apply though...unless you're going to win either a DSB or ASB championship this year, be thinking of ways to send business to your sponsors...and try to figure out how to let them know you sent those people. You should be good to go