Sponcer Appreciation

[SeanM]

I was just wondering what any of the teams here do for Sponsor Appreciation, we just recently received our first Major sponsorship and we just want to know what we should do to show our appreciation for their Sponsorship.

[jack]

make sure you spell check whatever you send them...

[RiNaZ]

http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[Denny Trimble]

Speelcheck? I'll have to look that up tomarrow.

[J. Schmidt]

never trussed yore spell chequer

[SeanM]

Anybody with anything productive to say?

[CMURacing - Prometheus]

Sean-

We had a lot of ambiguity with our major sponsors for the first few years, but as long as there were some nice words and the occasional update on what their money was going to, the funding source was secure. This year, I prepared a packet like this for all the sponsors and lots of potential new ones, detailing what they get for how much money. If you look around at other FSAE team websites, you'll find similar stuff from the big programs.

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~msmiles/sponsorpacket0905.pdf

[TG]

Originally posted by CMURacing - Prometheus:
Sean-

We had a lot of ambiguity with our major sponsors for the first few years, but as long as there were some nice words and the occasional update on what their money was going to, the funding source was secure. This year, I prepared a packet like this for all the sponsors and lots of potential new ones, detailing what they get for how much money. If you look around at other FSAE team websites, you'll find similar stuff from the big programs.

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~msmiles/sponsorpacket0905.pdf (http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/%7Emsmiles/sponsorpacket0905.pdf)

Mike,

a suggestion on the packet. You should bulletize the benefits so they are clearly showing. Also, I don't think anybody is going to want to read through 3 pages of text.

What I have in ours is several subheadings including: who we are, how we compete, etc. There are one or two sentences after each describing it. You just want to give them a basic outline of what you are doing in the shortest amount of time possible. Then I stuck in a contacts section and then have each sponsorship level with the benefits bulletized below it. Finally, an important part is to have the budget of your program in there. You can be somewhat BS but it goes to show what sort of things need to be bought to have an FSAE program.

Good luck on getting sponsorship. We aren't really having much http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif So if anybody out there wants to help us out, contact me and we can probably work something out http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[CMURacing - Prometheus]

Tim --

I see where you're coming from with the comments, and I had considered it all. When it comes to our recurring sponsors, you're right, they don't read through it. I also have a budget, cover page, cover letter, and team organization chart, and its a lot of stuff to look at. However, when I've approached new sponsors, they like having all the information. Its all pretty standard stuff for an FSAE team, you could probably change the name and use it as is.

We've been fortunate to have a guy very early on in the program who secured a large amount of yearly funding from the big three (and, because he went to ford, when they cut back, we still got funding), but we're in a big push to get our program to the next level through lots more sponsorship. So far, we've increased our sponsorship level about 40% this year.

Tim (and others), there's two big ways we approach companies to get sponsorship. One (and big schools get big benefits from this) is alumni. We go through and find alumni working at large corporations (engineering related, component related, or just local), contact them, send info, set up meetings, and see where we get. Its the primary way that Ford and Chrysler give out money, as well as companies like Kennametal. The second is through recruiting. We're fortunate in that we have a large amount of on-campus recruiting for such a small school, and we use that to spread initial interest in sponsorship through the packet above. In speaking with a recruiter from a large Pittsburgh corporation, actually, I discovered that a certain school in Rolla, MO had also approached the recruiter with a sponsor packet and follow-up. So I guess I'm doing something right.

[TG]

Mike,

yeah, money is just really tight. I can get just about any material I want, just getting any money is a pain. We've had some promising chances, but they've all backed out which is frustrating. I follow up probably as much as people can stand before it gets annoying (I get well past annoying with people in the school because shit takes soooo long with the school).

As far as the packet is concerned. I let it be just an introductory piece to get someones attention. After that you get presentations and personal meetings where you can more fully tell them about the project. Also, with larger corporations, the guys that control where money goes won't take much time looking at something. I don't really try to go for anybody but the high people in corporations because I have talked to guys before that said they'd help us out with plenty of money only to be told later on by a guy higher up that they can't provide any money at all.

[SeanM]

thanks for the info guys but we already have a Sponser package already put together with basically all of what you listed, we're just looking for something to give the sponser to say thanks, like a plaque or something like that.

[LCheung]

It's fairly obvious what you need to do for your SPONSORS. They just benefited your team significantly, so now what can you do for them? It's a fairly open ended thing. If you can do something for their company as a whole, I would say that's probably better than any little picture or plaque you could give them to show off in their lobby.

(We do framed photos with a title block with logos)

[Korey Morris]

We have done an unveiling just before or after competition in the past. Invite all sponsors, your family, and some local and school press. Have some team members or campus dining cook up some burgers or dogs, give a speech, roll the car out of the trailer, cut some laps around the area (we did it in the engineering courtyard). Everyone likes to see the finished product make some noise.

We also try to invite our big sponsors to summer autocross and get them involved (if they are interested). Show them the routine that you go through to make the car fast at the track. Show them you are using and learning from the tools that they have provided you. They are even impressed when things go wrong. We grenaded a motor with the freakin top brass of Cummins Diesel, and Lexmark International watching a month or so ago! My response to them, "I guess we're going to need some more money"�!

[kozak]

I could have swore i already posted this but i can;t find it. I see alot of teams have major sponsorships from non-engineering companies, (realters, insurance companies) is this an untapped market or did you guys get these through team members or family.

[Frank]

let 'em drive it

if the boss dosn't want to, his son will http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[Korey Morris]

Originally posted by Frank:
let 'em drive it

if the boss dosn't want to, his son will http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

That pretty much works on everyone. 30 seconds in the seat will hook em! Gotta think like a crack dealer... One free ride, then they're hooked!

[Mark TMV]

and it's S-P-O-N-S-O-R !
kills me when people misspell stuff... http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

[raska]

Originally posted by Korey Morris:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Frank:
let 'em drive it

if the boss dosn't want to, his son will http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

That pretty much works on everyone. 30 seconds in the seat will hook em! Gotta think like a crack dealer... One free ride, then they're hooked! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Liability concerns? How do you differentiate who gets to drive and who doesn't? What is your cutoff and such I mean, and to what extent of extended family? Just curious.

[Korey Morris]

Crack dealers aren't concerned w/ liability!

Seriously, it a huge concern. Our school has yet to crack down on us, but I'm sure its coming someday. Thus far everyone has "looked the other way" when a big shot asks to take a lap. Now would we let someone with no prior knowledge or experience with a quirky one off racecar into the cockpit ? Hell no! The only person outside of actual team members (and the dean of engineering) that we have let in the car was a professional racer that was with us at an autocross and was from marketing at one of our sponsors (the big ass fan co. http://www.bigassfans.com/). Is that legit, probably not.

I think the afore mentioned update newsletter goes a long way. As does a more indepth yearly presentation. I know that getting your sponsors to see your product in action is huge.

[CMURacing - Prometheus]

Originally posted by SeanM:
thanks for the info guys but we already have a Sponser package already put together with basically all of what you listed, we're just looking for something to give the sponser to say thanks, like a plaque or something like that.

I posted the packet because the levels detail what recognition you get. Its far easier when these things are spelled out in the beginning, and sometimes having these set levels entices more funding. EX: I was approached after giving a brief sponsorship pitch (in a job interview no less, how selfless am i), and the representative asked me if a certain amount was good. I said (in my best salesman's voice), "[sum] would go a long way toward helping our cause. however, for [sum+20%] you get more perks as a sponsor, and a bigger logo on the car." Bam.

We host an unveiling (during our spring carnival), invite sponsors to visit us in detroit (pitt did this last year in the paddock next to us, and as they're also up the street from here...), send out the (forthcoming) newsletter, and invite them for other campus visits (the major companies we get stuff from usually recruit on campus, and we invite the recruiters around to see the car as well. This has really taken off in the form of a "dine and drive" we host after big job fairs, and it gives us extra "in"s with those recruiters). I'm also considering the team photo thing, but don't have anything finalized.

[Big Bird]

Don't forget the simple, cheap stuff like personally mailing your sponckers every now and then to give feedback on their product. We were giving Yamaha constant feedback when we first trialled the WR450 and they were rapt. This sort of stuff is invaluable and can mean so much more than an impersonal newsletter every now and then.

Cheers,

[RKemmet]

I've been holding my toungue on this one for a while but I guess we baby our sponsors. We just finished out second annual sponsor day which included the sponsors duking it out in shifter karts at a local kart track, competing for trophies made from old racecar parts. The day included lots of q and a time, hang out time with sponsors and students, lunch, and of course head to head racing. In the spring we do an unveiling where again we invite them out to see the new car, enjoy lunch, and a presentation on all the enigneering (a dumbed down version) we have done. In addition to these we go out to our sponsors events such as car shows and fairs they participate in, and also utilize our sponsors to help other sponsors. The real key is to make them get something out of sponsoring you. We have contected so many sponsors together already that they are indebted to the team and are better off for sponsoring us. This sometimes means using personal connections for advancements of the team, but hey shouldn't you be doing that anyway? Giving them a day to thank them makes them more excited than ever to be helping us out and leads them to hooking us up with their friends.

Ryan Kemmet
Director of Marketing
University of Arizona Formula SAE
http://formula.engr.arizona.edu

[SeanM]

Well thanks for the info guys. We just finished a meeting with our major sponsor and we worked everything out.