Chris Wittrig
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2004
- Messages
- 537
First I'd like to thank any and all of you that have supported RC boating in any way. It takes a great deal of effort from many individuals to execute what might be hundreds of events across the nation every year. With that said, I'd like to also thank the many businesses and individuals that support events with the products they donate to the event and even those that have supported with cash to help pay for important event assets like trophies. It's this kind of support that complete the racing experience for the thousands of RC Boat Sports Enthusiast across America and even around the world. Thank you!
Today, though, I want to address the support we give back to the businesses that support, us as well as the difference between donations and sponsorships.
Every year a slew of races hit the schedule outside of the annual regional heat racing series. We might want to call these special races. They have a variety of names that end with Nationals, Grand Prix, World Championships, and others. With these events each one of them often contact the same small group of RC Boat businesses for support of their race, usually with the donation of a product that can then be raffled of or included as part of the winning trophy honors. Early on in the new millennium, however, these events were far less common. So much so that certain hosts saw the opportunity to help provide a better experience for race entrants by providing a deeper pool of raffle prize items and receive tremendous support. But as the idea caught on in other regions they saw the well drying up until they decided that the providers of all of these raffle prizes were being strained with all of the request and began to become counterproductive to the value they were trying to provide to the business providing merchandise. The difference being that they were providing a sponsorship and others were asking for donations but calling it a sponsorship. While, technically, there are dictionary definitions of sponsorship that sound very much like the definition of a donation, in the case of motorsports it has become a bit more business case driven whereas a donation in the best case might earn a tax write off for advertising value.
In years past certain hosts have pursued sponsors from business both within and outside of RC boating. When I say sponsorship it means those hosts spent time identifying the business needs of a company that they might be able to satisfy better than they could themselves in exchange for support of an event either through cash or in-kind sponsorship. Most of the time this need is in sales and marketing. Yes this is a lot more work than asking for a donation. It's a lot more work before, during, and after the event. This is the value of a sponsorship in the way of the definition I am focusing on today.
There are many ways a sponsorship can help a business. In the most basic sense, a sponsorship provides visibility. Provided an event, team or individual can draw a bigger crowd with a more interesting subject than the business could do on it's own, this visibility can be valuable. This visibility can come as a banner placed at the event and that might catch the eyeballs of those 30, 40 maybe even 100 pairs of potential customers that attend. Could that prompt a sale? Possibly. It is more likely if the business is set up to take orders onsite. Insane Boats is a good example of this. They have banners on site, are often class sponsors, and place ad in the race program. When a boater broke a throttle linkage and didn't quite have the right parts in their tool box they were… you guessed it...at the top of the boater's mind. Why? Because they invested in filling the air surrounding the environment with their brand so when the boater had a need in that environment their brand was the first that came to mind. Since they had a clearly identifiable point of sale on site it was easy for them to start cashing in on their "Sponsorship".
As an event owner offering sponsorship, I want to try to duplicate as closely as possible that type of return on investment for my sponsors. Unfortunately our market has been diluted with requests for donations where this type of business value is not the goal. A donation, while understood as an act of appreciation and support for its customers during the event, is really above and beyond the good product and service they've already given in addition to the time and effort put in to test and design their product. Realizing this I thought to myself how can we benefit THEM as much as it benefits me for the event I'm helping put on.
All the sponsorships of the 50th Anniversary NAMBA National Championships have been designed with these factors in mind. We are not looking for donations, but rather the exchange for our services that we can provide as an event that can draw a crowd in exchange for your product, service, or cash support. We have already begun providing visibility for sponsors that have signed on through social media posts announcing their participation. This is an effort extending far beyond that of your typical onsite banner display and trophy support where only the people onsite are exposed to your brand surrounding the event. The following are all of the additional ways that the 50th Anniversary NAMBA National Championships Team is working before, will work during, and continue their work after the event to give our sponsors the most business value for your brand or business that we could possibly conceive.
All of these things help bring real business value, improved "Top-Of-Mind" awareness, and potential sales pipeline for our sponsors. This is real sponsorship value.
Sponsors can also use this knowledge to qualify where you want to sponsor in the future. A business can ask how many attendees do you expect? What type of promotion are you offering through your event? How many people will you reach with my brand outside of the event? How will you reach them? Do you provide drivers back to my business (i.e., Phone Number, Web, Link, Social Media Highlight)? These questions can help a sponsor differentiate between donations and a real business value sponsorship. Upon asking these questions, many event promoters stop asking. This leaves room for the ones willing to really take the time to give bottom line support back to the sponsors.
Are you ready to jump aboard and drive genuine value by being a sponsor at the 50th Anniversary NAMBA National Championship that celebrate the very first running of this special event in 1972? Send me a DM, email me at [email protected], or give me a call at 925.695.4600.
Today, though, I want to address the support we give back to the businesses that support, us as well as the difference between donations and sponsorships.
Every year a slew of races hit the schedule outside of the annual regional heat racing series. We might want to call these special races. They have a variety of names that end with Nationals, Grand Prix, World Championships, and others. With these events each one of them often contact the same small group of RC Boat businesses for support of their race, usually with the donation of a product that can then be raffled of or included as part of the winning trophy honors. Early on in the new millennium, however, these events were far less common. So much so that certain hosts saw the opportunity to help provide a better experience for race entrants by providing a deeper pool of raffle prize items and receive tremendous support. But as the idea caught on in other regions they saw the well drying up until they decided that the providers of all of these raffle prizes were being strained with all of the request and began to become counterproductive to the value they were trying to provide to the business providing merchandise. The difference being that they were providing a sponsorship and others were asking for donations but calling it a sponsorship. While, technically, there are dictionary definitions of sponsorship that sound very much like the definition of a donation, in the case of motorsports it has become a bit more business case driven whereas a donation in the best case might earn a tax write off for advertising value.
In years past certain hosts have pursued sponsors from business both within and outside of RC boating. When I say sponsorship it means those hosts spent time identifying the business needs of a company that they might be able to satisfy better than they could themselves in exchange for support of an event either through cash or in-kind sponsorship. Most of the time this need is in sales and marketing. Yes this is a lot more work than asking for a donation. It's a lot more work before, during, and after the event. This is the value of a sponsorship in the way of the definition I am focusing on today.
There are many ways a sponsorship can help a business. In the most basic sense, a sponsorship provides visibility. Provided an event, team or individual can draw a bigger crowd with a more interesting subject than the business could do on it's own, this visibility can be valuable. This visibility can come as a banner placed at the event and that might catch the eyeballs of those 30, 40 maybe even 100 pairs of potential customers that attend. Could that prompt a sale? Possibly. It is more likely if the business is set up to take orders onsite. Insane Boats is a good example of this. They have banners on site, are often class sponsors, and place ad in the race program. When a boater broke a throttle linkage and didn't quite have the right parts in their tool box they were… you guessed it...at the top of the boater's mind. Why? Because they invested in filling the air surrounding the environment with their brand so when the boater had a need in that environment their brand was the first that came to mind. Since they had a clearly identifiable point of sale on site it was easy for them to start cashing in on their "Sponsorship".
As an event owner offering sponsorship, I want to try to duplicate as closely as possible that type of return on investment for my sponsors. Unfortunately our market has been diluted with requests for donations where this type of business value is not the goal. A donation, while understood as an act of appreciation and support for its customers during the event, is really above and beyond the good product and service they've already given in addition to the time and effort put in to test and design their product. Realizing this I thought to myself how can we benefit THEM as much as it benefits me for the event I'm helping put on.
All the sponsorships of the 50th Anniversary NAMBA National Championships have been designed with these factors in mind. We are not looking for donations, but rather the exchange for our services that we can provide as an event that can draw a crowd in exchange for your product, service, or cash support. We have already begun providing visibility for sponsors that have signed on through social media posts announcing their participation. This is an effort extending far beyond that of your typical onsite banner display and trophy support where only the people onsite are exposed to your brand surrounding the event. The following are all of the additional ways that the 50th Anniversary NAMBA National Championships Team is working before, will work during, and continue their work after the event to give our sponsors the most business value for your brand or business that we could possibly conceive.
- Website Brand Presence with Link to Your Brand's Website
- Brand Description of Your Product or Business Listed on the Event Website
- Boosted Social Media Post of Your Brand Support for Each Day of the Event Your Brand is Represented
- Your Brand Mentioned Onsite with Every Class You Sponsor
- Your Brand Mentioned in our Boosted Social Media Posts with Every Post of the Classes You Sponsor Along With Pictures and/or Video and a Link to Your Social Media Page
- On-Site Point of Sale Space Designation
- Name Placed on Event T-Shirt
- Link to Your Product from Listing of Winners Products Used (i.e., Engine, Hull, Fuel, Oil Base)
- Customer Leads (Presenting Sponsors and Above)
All of these things help bring real business value, improved "Top-Of-Mind" awareness, and potential sales pipeline for our sponsors. This is real sponsorship value.
Sponsors can also use this knowledge to qualify where you want to sponsor in the future. A business can ask how many attendees do you expect? What type of promotion are you offering through your event? How many people will you reach with my brand outside of the event? How will you reach them? Do you provide drivers back to my business (i.e., Phone Number, Web, Link, Social Media Highlight)? These questions can help a sponsor differentiate between donations and a real business value sponsorship. Upon asking these questions, many event promoters stop asking. This leaves room for the ones willing to really take the time to give bottom line support back to the sponsors.
Are you ready to jump aboard and drive genuine value by being a sponsor at the 50th Anniversary NAMBA National Championship that celebrate the very first running of this special event in 1972? Send me a DM, email me at [email protected], or give me a call at 925.695.4600.
