CHansen
11-02-2007, 10:21 AM
THE HUNT FOR SPONSORS - BACK TO BASICS
By Doc Lehman
In this installment we will look at some of the ‘basics’ that drivers and race teams need to adhere to in seeking, landing and keeping sponsors. For locally based weekly teams the basics are important to your team in securing and keeping sponsors since your sponsors are more likely to be local and regionally based. It’s all about the effort and the perception of effort on your sponsor’s behalf.
Going after sponsorship must be treated seriously and treated exactly as a business is operated. Above all else your approach, whether through your marketing proposals, press releases, newsletters, media kits, websites or any other promotional means, or any in-person contact, must be as professional as possible. Impressions, especially first impressions, are critical.
Meeting A Potential Sponsor - Some Basic Do’s & Don’t’s:
Never attend a meeting with a potential sponsor in a t-shirt or any other ultra-casual attire. If you own a suit, wear it! Any chance you have to meet with a potential sponsor, in any setting that (especially) occurs on their turf (office), have a suit and tie on if at all possible (or an appropriate dress or suit for female drivers/team representatives). It exudes an air of professionalism and respect, and it also signals that you are not some stereotypical half-wit, half-baked, redneck grease monkey with a sixth grade education. Sadly, although in rapidly diminishing numbers, that stereotype still exists among some of the powers-that-be in the business world from Wall Street to Main Street in your town. Do this whether you are meeting for a $150,000 sponsorship with a major company or a $500 sponsorship from the local mom and pop store.
When communicating with a potential sponsor over the telephone be in a quiet area. The last thing you need them to hear in the background are power tools running, screaming children, a barking dog or a spouse reprimanding the children or you.
Keep this in mind when searching for a sponsor, or having a discussion with a potential sponsor: It’s all about what YOU can do for THEM! It’s all about generating traffic to their business and selling product. That is the number one priority and should be the main topic of discussion. This is business, it’s all about business, and the racing is secondary.
With that being said do research into the company that you are targeting. In your cover letter of introduction drop some facts about the company into your letter. If you are able to eventually speak with, or meet with a company representative, start off by congratulating them on their increased market share (if that in fact occurred), tell them something technical about the product they produce, make the impression from the start that you have a valid and knowledgeable interest in their company and ask some inquisitive questions about their operation. This will add to your credibility.
In relation to the above, when meeting with a potential sponsor carry an attitude that you yourself are an employee of the company, that you are a team player and that you are anxious to show them how beneficial and how potent a marketing and promotional tool motorsports can be to not only their bottom-line but to how significant the exposure and impressions are in the motorsports market.
Let them know in no uncertain terms that you will strive to make every effort, and work and cooperate with the company’s marketing and promotional department, to see that every thing possible is done to give the company A RETURN ON THEIR INVESTMENT! And then do it.
Be prepared. Know your research. Memorize your marketing proposal. Be able to anticipate and answer any question with clarity and confidence.
Understand and know what co-op advertising/sponsorship is. Let’s say you approach a local fast food restaurant that is part of a chain. If you race at tracks, for example, within a 150 mile radius of each other and there are 12 of these XYZ fast food restaurants in that radius, it is easier to go the co-op route as each ‘store’ has its own budget for local advertising. It’s easier to get 12 ‘stores’ to each kick in $500 from their advertising budget than one ‘store’ to kick in $6,000 on its own.
There are some basic things you must be prepared to do for a sponsor once you land one and, being that they are ‘basic’, there is no excuse not to follow through with them on a regular basis where required.
You MUST keep the lines of communication open at all times! Whether it’s a simple email Monday morning letting them know how you did (hopefully the employees are curious if they were unable to attend). Regular press releases and newsletters are a must. It keeps them informed of what the team is doing on and OFF the track and makes them feel a part of the team.
In any promotional material, whether it is press releases, newsletters, post cards, trading cards, posters, calendars, whatever it is the sponsor’s logo MUST be predominantly placed and seen. In text never neglect to mention the sponsor. On any wearing apparel the sponsor’s logo must be prominently placed.
If the sponsor has it’s own apparel or is willing to have crew hats and shirts and/or uniforms made up in the company’s colors with logos then make sure the driver and crew/team where them at all events and in all photos and film.
Keep news clippings. Each week or month go through the racing papers and local newspapers and clip out the race results you are featured in and any other articles, interviews or new stories your driver may appear in. Monthly or bi-monthly collect them all, make photo copies, and send them off to all sponsors and potential sponsors so they will see the ‘ink’ you are able to garner. If any columnist writes about your driver/team, clip it and copy it. Do this on a regular basis so they will have a fat file documented on some of the exposure you were able to attain.
Any time the team has promotional items created, whether it is t-shirts, hats, postcards, trading cards, anything at all, make sure the sponsor(s) get copies or samples of each.
If your driver appears on a racing radio show, whether locally or nationally, make sure you have a tape or a CD of the broadcast for your sponsors! (And make sure you hype them in the interview whether you are asked about them or not.)
Offer your driver and team as method to create employee camaraderie, goodwill and a sense of ‘team’. Offer to bring the hauler and racecar in for the employees to view and check out and photograph themselves with. Offer to bring the car to the company picnic, etc?
If your sponsor has an ‘open house’, ‘grand opening’ or ‘anniversary celebration’ offer your driver and racecar for the occasion. It’s a chance to create more exposure for the racing team, the sponsor’s interest in the team, sell team souvenirs and create more general interest in not only the team but dirt racing itself.
When participating in such public ventures as described above get with your local promoter who should be more than happy to supply you with schedules, flyers, brochures and free passes to distribute to curious, non-race fans who express an interest in your type of racing. If they inquiry as to where you race, be prepared to hand them a schedule, flyer, brochure and maybe a pass or two.
The days of cashing a sponsor’s check, painting the name on the quarter panel and going racing are pretty much over. These days sponsors want a return on their investment. If they are going to issue a check to your race team they expect to get that back in terms of sales, referrals and exposure. Many companies expect a $1.50 return on their investment for every $1.00 they spend. But exposure for a company and their products/services is important and often cannot be measured in increased sales per se.
There are many things a race team can do to give sponsors exposure and many of them are relatively inexpensive. Locally based weekly teams can also offer companies substantial exposure in a variety of ways and, if documented through team press releases and/or newsletters that are distributed to the sponsors (and media, etc?) and with advanced announcement, creates an accumulative perception of exposure and impressions for the company.
Some Basic Suggestions for Creating Exposure for Team & Sponsor:
Website. Keep it updated. Make sure sponsor website link is on your website and devoted a page to each ‘major’ sponsor.
Regular press releases and/or newsletters. (See previous installments). Send to sponsors, potential sponsors, media (racing & mainstream), manufacturers, etc? Leave a stack at the local track’s photographer’s stand or the track’s novelty stand.
Do a newsletter, even quarterly and do hard copies for distribution. With computers a professional, informative and well-laid out newsletter can be produced and printed inexpensively at a local quik-print shop. Take a stack of these to sponsors to sit out on their counters for customers and to distribute to company employees.
It can be black & white and one page, one-sided
It can be multiple pages, colored pages, whatever your budget will allow.
One inexpensive method is to print a newsletter out on an 11? x 17? sheet, both sides. Fold in half and you have ‘four pages’ and eliminate stapling/binding.
Public address announcements. They are free! But it should be the team’s responsibility to keep the track announcer(s) informed. At each track you visit you should have an index card made up and written out like a ‘commercial’ about your driver and sponsors so all the announcer has to do when your car is on the track is pick the card up and read. At one track a couple people asked me why a client of Lehman Motorsports Services always go so much ‘play’ by the track announcer and always had his sponsors mentioned. When I mentioned the index card method a light bulb went off. The next week their team had a driver/team/sponsor card written up for the announcer.
Announcers: See above. Also, they can be your best friend on race night, especially if one of your sponsors or a sponsors’ employee(s) show up. Always make sure the announcer has the team/sponsor index card and always make sure he gets a copy of each press release, newsletter and any other promotional item you produce. If one of your sponsors show sup on race night get to the announcer and let him or her know they are there and more often than not the announcer will crank the hype machine up that evening for your sponsor.
Any car show in your area/region, participate. Whether they are race car shows or not, if you can enter, do it. And bring along plenty of your sponsors’ promotional material (flyers, pamphlets, key chains, calendars, whatever) to distribute to the public.
Always set aside, if at all possible, 25% of sponsorship money for promotional use for your team and sponsor. This can be used for occasional trade paper or mainstream newspaper advertising, having souvenir post cards and/or trading (baseball) cards produced and distributed, etc?
Parades: Free advertising, free exposure, free hype for your driver, team and sponsor. Plus impressions: Hundreds and thousands of people seeing the racecar with the sponsorship adornment as it slowly passes by. It may be the first time seeing a racecar up close by many people, and they will remember it. If permissible, have team members in crew uniforms walk with the racecar handing out promotional items to the crowd and candy and/or trading cards to the children.
Fan Appreciation & Kids Night: Most tracks that run weekly have these during the season. Participate! Bring your sponsors out that night to see the goodwill such nights generate. Make sure you have plenty of promotional material from your sponsors to distribute to the fans. Many sponsors will make up can-coolers, Frisbees and other inexpensive items with their company’s advertising message and the team’s name/number emblazoned on the items for distribution on such nights.
Charitable events: Pick a worthwhile community charity and align your team with them, or align your team with a charity your major sponsor may support. Most have fundraisers and often have public fundraising events. Offer your racecar and driver as an attraction. Work with your local promoter to have a special night for your charity that you support at the track to raise money and awareness. Such activity allows your team to be seen as a responsible entity that is supportive of the community that adds luster and credibility to your driver and team. Also, such activity with local charities also often result in local and regional mainstream news coverage.
Product sampling and promotional handout rights at all events your team participates in. You will have to contact the promoter in advance for permission. Have a team representative (dressed neatly) near the front entrance of the grandstands handing out your sponsor’s (or your team’s) promotional items to the race fans as they file in.
All television sports anchors and television sports directors in your region should be on your mailing list to receive your press releases, newsletters, etc? (Working with your local promoter) invite or entice a local television anchor to the track some night and offer to let him take a few laps in your racecar at intermission. Most sports anchors are regional celebrities that the local fans are familiar with so this will be a novelty of sorts. It will give your driver, team and sponsor tremendous coverage as well as the racetrack through the subsequent television exposure. Your sponsors will also be delighted for the television time because every second your racecar is on the screen the company’s logo will be seen. Be sure to hype it a couple weeks in advance at the track as well as with the local print media. When speaking with the sports director or anchor (or television stations promotional department) make sure they understand the exposure and goodwill this would create for the station as well.
Strategy plays a key component in successfully landing a sponsor with your proposed marketing campaign. Are you prepared if a business owner or a marketing or promotional representative asks you what your basic business strategy and intentions are for their company?
A sample response could be:
Goals of the Campaign:
We would like to increase your visibility, attract new customers and increase your customer base.
Products to be Advertised:
We will be advertising your company’s products and/or services through our race car, driver, race team, press releases, newsletters, promotional material, racetrack programs, broadcasts, websites, etc?
Measurements of Success:
We will measure this ad campaign’s success with your company by the number of inquiries received after its launch and the ensuing exposure it generates. This will also include telephone inquires as well as inquiries made in person, by telephone, by email and by surveys.
Evaluation of Effectiveness:
We will be reviewing the campaign’s effectiveness six weeks after the launch. We will work with your company to evaluate its effectiveness based on the number of inquiries received, the amount of media exposure created and any corresponding increase in revenue.
Again, these are all simple, basic items but if followed should see some positive results. It’s all about follow-through and making things happen. And always remember, that first and foremost: WHAT CAN MY RACE TEAM DO FOR THE SPONSOR? Not what can the sponsor do for me. Keep the sponsor (or potential sponsor) as the number one priority.
(C) Doc Lehman/LMS
DIRT RACING PUBLIC RELATIONS
By Doc Lehman
Any team that is actively seeking sponsorship needs to have some type of public relations program in place. And here’s the rub: Far too many equated ‘public relations’ with simply sending out a press release to the regional racing paper in their area and maybe to a couple news oriented websites or even a message board or two. Mission accomplished, right?
Wrong!
Public relations is far more complicated than that and has far too many variables to be covered by a team press release that only appears in a handful of places. Public relations work is time consuming and many faceted. It’s all about building a public image, building bridges between team and sponsor and the public through the media. (There are other important and necessary components to ‘public relations’ that we will get into in another installment). For this installment we’ll take a look at how drivers/teams can attain media coverage for their team and sponsors and what steps are necessary to be able to successful generate media coverage.
The first, and likely most important for a variety of reasons despite modern technology (i.e.; internet), media outlet that packs a punch in terms of satisfying sponsors (and potential sponsors) and their promotional and marketing departments is the old tried-and-true print format. It is still important, necessary, beneficial and packs one hell of a punch in front of a person in big business who controls the purse strings of the advertising and marketing budget.
So how does a driver or team ‘get them some ink’? There are a variety of ways but first and foremost remember that for the most part the media, whether it is racing or mainstream (your local and regional newspapers and publications) generally won’t come knocking on your door. For the racing media there are a variety of reasons, first and foremost that there are too damn many teams out there! And that is good! God love them all. However, there is not that many racing media people out there. In an average weekly racing publication the majority of the material you usually read comes from track p.r. directors sending out result stories and press releases, not staff members of the paper.
Another reason they won’t come knocking on your door is that, the columnists, to cite one example, are few in numbers. And then one must consider that there is a percentage of ‘columnists’ who are basically lazy and you couldn’t pry them out of the media box with a crow bar let alone have them actually speak (or even, heavens forbid, interview) to a driver, a crew member, car owner, promoter or sponsor in the pits on a hot, humid, sweaty, dusty day. Or any day.
So what a driver and team have to do is set themselves apart, take an active approach and actually seek out media coverage. It is not that difficult believe me, especially if you have a story that is unique, or a ‘hook’. And I’m a firm believer in that everyone has a story. So how does one go about getting coverage that is important exposure for the driver, team and sponsors? There a number of ways to do this and sometimes the simplest most basic approach will work.
Let me cite one example. One day I retrieved my mail at the post office and among it was a letter from one Bud Kile, a father of two sons who are dirt Late Model racers and a daughter who is the announcer at their local track in Iowa. In this letter Mr. Kile explained some background about his children, their accomplishments and his obvious pride in them. A friendly suggestion to consider a story on his daughter was included. So here we have a former racer, car owner, racing business owner with two sons who race dirt Late Models and an energetic, talented daughter who announces at West Liberty Speedway.
That’s a ‘hook’.
Within a week there was an interview with Katie Kile on my old Dirt America Online website and in the next Area Auto Racing News as well. Additionally, Bud, Katie and dirt Late Model drivers (and sons/brothers) Kurt and Kevin Kile all appeared for a near 50 minute segment on the national Dirt Nation radio show that had a show devoted to Thanksgiving and racing families.
Timing is everything.
So what do drivers/teams need to do to generate media coverage, especially with the print media (both racing and mainstream)? (First: Know how to write who, what, when, where, how in one paragraph.) We went to some experts who know because they call the shots. We sought out the advice from several editors, the ones with the final command of what does or does not get put in print and what driver or team (or track or series) a reporter/columnist/feature writer gets assigned to.
So, in basic terms, what can drivers and race teams do to solicit and attain more press coverage?
”Getting coverage in mainstream papers isn't easy because many papers don't have anyone on staff who understands racing,” commented Todd Turner some time ago. Turner is a former editor with National Dirt Digest and now editor of DirtOnDirt.com. “They don't have a good barometer to determine what's newsworthy, so sometimes they don't cover anything at all.”
”One way to get around this, especially for weekly newspapers or small dailies, is to get someone one your team to volunteer to send in results. That's obviously a lot of work, but it might smooth the way for the newspaper to begin providing more coverage.”
”Another thing is to make sure and let the media know if something newsworthy is going on. Perhaps your team won four races in a row or your driver went straight from his daughter's high school graduation to the racetrack and won, anything out of the ordinary might catch an editor's eye, particularly if it has a good people angle.”
”Be sure and don't badger editors too often, or they'll dismiss your requests. But if you call a couple of times of a year with story ideas, you'll probably get some attention. And don't just look out for your own team - let them know if there's another interesting story at the track. The more familiar they get with racing the more coverage you'll get.”
The editor of a former weekly racing newspaper also has some tips in that regard.
”Be professional and persistent,” advised Clint Elkins, the now former editor of Racing News. “We don’t use 80% of the weekly press releases we receive because of space, but there are times when we have extra space that we will put press releases in. So, in having someone that does a weekly press release or a monthly newsletter, the most important thing is persistence. Also, if a driver or a team runs in a particular series this is a very good way to receive coverage. Most series advertise with newspapers and magazines and when they submit an article there is a better chance it will make that weeks paper.”
Even though there are many similarities, the weekly and bi-weekly newspapers are a different animal from that of a monthly magazine’s needs and requirements. A monthly magazine shies away from hardcore results for the most part and concentrates on ‘feature’ articles and stories.
”For our magazine, all we're looking for is a good story,” stated Tim Lee. Lee is the editor of DIRT LATE MODEL magazine. “That can mean big wins, a breakout season, or just some unique aspect of a race team. Dry statistics rarely make good reading, but a new team or major change in program often does.”
“A driver such as Earl Pearson Jr., who's been on the verge of a breakout for so long, having a career season was another good example of what we're looking for. But it doesn't have to be on the national level. We recently ran a feature on Ray Guss Jr., a successful veteran, who has cut back on his program and gone back to racing locally. That kind of thing is interesting to most readers.”
”The human element is also important. There are few things more interesting to readers than a racer who has to overcome adversity in order to compete. The bottom line is: people are always more interesting than numbers.”
”If you're trying to draw attention to yourself, you should let people know when something interesting is going on. With a couple thousand or so Late Model teams out there, those of us in the press never know everything that's going on. Sometimes you just have to tell us. You'd be surprised how many stories are generated in our pages by a team member, friend or family member contacting me to tell me something interesting about some driver or team. It's generally that simple.”
So what would make an editor decide to give a driver and/or a team coverage or assign a reporter or columnist to cover the driver/team?
”Working for a racing publication, we're looking for interesting stories and angles that we haven't seen before,” bottom-lined Turner. “Obviously, we're going to cover the sport's top racers and the guys who are winning, but interesting stories, particularly an angle that involves non-racing people stories is what everyone wants to read.”
“Most nights at the track, we circulate and chat with whoever kinda fishing for such information. Even the littlest notion about something we get from talking to drivers or crewmembers or family members might turn into a neat story. That's the best stuff because few newspapers have the manpower and desire to chase the difficult stories.”
“So here's a tip: if something of interest is going on, make sure someone who's writing knows about it. Be familiar with local and racing media so you can chat and share information with them because drivers are sometimes oblivious to what a writer thinks is interesting.”
”It's not coincidence that the chattiest and most personable drivers - Bill Frye, Bob Pierce and others - often get good publicity. It's because they recognize an interesting story and know how to tell a good one, too.”
One important and useful tool many drivers and teams use are press releases and newsletters. The one thing that aggravates though is too many distribute them to too few media outlets. As stated before, a handful of message boards, a couple news websites and maybe a racing paper or two will not serve its purpose. It has to be mass distributed to all racing media (newspaper, magazines, radio shows, television) as well as mainstream (local/regional newspapers, magazines, radio stations sports departments, television station sport departments).
But as far as the how the press releases and newsletters are written and produced and distributed there are do’s and don’t’s involved that if adhered to, could result in more exposure, especially with the racing media. The editors were asked if they thought drivers and teams using press releases and newsletters were viable and important to their respective publications.
”I find them useful to supplement a race report, but I must admit I don't read through all of them every time,” said Turner. “One complaint I have is that some of the reports are three paragraphs regardless of what happened. In other words, just by glancing, you can't tell the difference between the week the driver dropped out with a 22nd-place finish or the week he won a $10,000 race.”
“My suggestion is to skip the weeks when there's nothing newsworthy. And when your driver does something noteworthy, file a lengthy report with quotes, details and notes that reporters won't get from the typical track report. That could spark an interview request or at least someone adding to a race story and bringing more publicity for the driver.”
“I would always encourage a race team to send out press releases,” added Elkins. “The more the media knows about someone and/or knows someone personally the better the chance is that there press release will be printed. Newsletters need to be sent to fans and sponsors more than the media. When someone walks up to your trailer to take a picture of your racecar or buy a t-shirt, ask them if they would like to receive a monthly newsletter. Keep a box in the trailer write down their name and addresses.”
Again, from the perspective of a monthly, features oriented publication, the material needs to be timely and newsworthy to be considered.
”To me, they are largely just another thing I have to delete from my email on a daily basis,” commented Lee. “It doesn't do me any good to know where Joe Schmoe is going to race this coming weekend. I understand that sponsors need to be kept in the loop, and that's where those things are probably most needed. I occasionally use bits from driver press releases for short news items, like usually the launching of a new website or something newsworthy like that. That being said I wouldn't discourage teams from using them, but I'd be careful about what I considered newsworthy perhaps.”
To create newsletters and press releases (as well as media kits, which will be discussed in another installment at length) one does not need a journalism major. Anyone who can type and has basic English skills can do it. If the driver isn’t inclined or doesn’t have the budget to hire a professional, find an enthusiastic college or high school kid who is interested in journalism, or just creative. Maybe a wife, girlfriend, son or daughter. Contact the journalism professor at your local college and see if there is any student interest in doing work of this nature.
And when you send them out, whether via snail mail and/or email, make sure as many receive them as possible. Saturate the racing media and your local media, but make sure all your sponsors get them with extra hard copies if requested. As for newsletters, print off a stack at your local Kinko’s or Staples and take a stack to each of your sponsors’ businesses for them to set out on the counter for their customers. You never know, one of their customers might be a businessperson with an interest in using motorsports to advertise and market through.
But it’s all about preparing them in a professional and concise a manner as possible and distribution! Do not forget mainstream media! Send your promotional material out to every daily and weekly newspaper (and the free ‘ad papers’) within a 50-75 mile radius. If you have a hook or a story, a professional press release or newsletter, or maybe you caught a sports editor on the right day, you may get a call. But they don’t know anything about you, and likely nothing about the sport of dirt racing, so educate them. Make them aware! Try to spark some interest.
It won’t get done unless you make some effort.
As for knowing how to get them to the media you will need to compile a media mailing list. The majority of your press releases, newsletters and other promotional material can be sent via email that in turn helps with your budget. As for the columnists you will need to go through the racing publications and compile their email addresses from the bottom of their columns.
To compile a list of racing media internet website email addresses visit: http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/internetmedia.html (http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/internetmedia.html)
To compile a list if racing print media email addresses visit: http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/printmedia.html (http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/printmedia.html)
Mainstream publications are another matter. The easiest way to gather local and regional mainstream newspaper and magazine email and snail mail addresses beyond purchasing all of them is to visit:
The Internet Public Library - http://www.ipl.org/div/news (http://www.ipl.org/div/news)
Walter Clinton Jackson Library News & Newspapers Online – http://www.library.uncg.edu/news (http://www.library.uncg.edu/news)
Newspaper Links - http://www.newspaperlinks.com/ (http://www.newspaperlinks.com/)
NewsDirectory.com - http://www.newsdirectory.com/ (http://www.newsdirectory.com/)
(C)Doc Lehman/LMS (http://www.dirtamericaonline.com/)
By Doc Lehman
In this installment we will look at some of the ‘basics’ that drivers and race teams need to adhere to in seeking, landing and keeping sponsors. For locally based weekly teams the basics are important to your team in securing and keeping sponsors since your sponsors are more likely to be local and regionally based. It’s all about the effort and the perception of effort on your sponsor’s behalf.
Going after sponsorship must be treated seriously and treated exactly as a business is operated. Above all else your approach, whether through your marketing proposals, press releases, newsletters, media kits, websites or any other promotional means, or any in-person contact, must be as professional as possible. Impressions, especially first impressions, are critical.
Meeting A Potential Sponsor - Some Basic Do’s & Don’t’s:
Never attend a meeting with a potential sponsor in a t-shirt or any other ultra-casual attire. If you own a suit, wear it! Any chance you have to meet with a potential sponsor, in any setting that (especially) occurs on their turf (office), have a suit and tie on if at all possible (or an appropriate dress or suit for female drivers/team representatives). It exudes an air of professionalism and respect, and it also signals that you are not some stereotypical half-wit, half-baked, redneck grease monkey with a sixth grade education. Sadly, although in rapidly diminishing numbers, that stereotype still exists among some of the powers-that-be in the business world from Wall Street to Main Street in your town. Do this whether you are meeting for a $150,000 sponsorship with a major company or a $500 sponsorship from the local mom and pop store.
When communicating with a potential sponsor over the telephone be in a quiet area. The last thing you need them to hear in the background are power tools running, screaming children, a barking dog or a spouse reprimanding the children or you.
Keep this in mind when searching for a sponsor, or having a discussion with a potential sponsor: It’s all about what YOU can do for THEM! It’s all about generating traffic to their business and selling product. That is the number one priority and should be the main topic of discussion. This is business, it’s all about business, and the racing is secondary.
With that being said do research into the company that you are targeting. In your cover letter of introduction drop some facts about the company into your letter. If you are able to eventually speak with, or meet with a company representative, start off by congratulating them on their increased market share (if that in fact occurred), tell them something technical about the product they produce, make the impression from the start that you have a valid and knowledgeable interest in their company and ask some inquisitive questions about their operation. This will add to your credibility.
In relation to the above, when meeting with a potential sponsor carry an attitude that you yourself are an employee of the company, that you are a team player and that you are anxious to show them how beneficial and how potent a marketing and promotional tool motorsports can be to not only their bottom-line but to how significant the exposure and impressions are in the motorsports market.
Let them know in no uncertain terms that you will strive to make every effort, and work and cooperate with the company’s marketing and promotional department, to see that every thing possible is done to give the company A RETURN ON THEIR INVESTMENT! And then do it.
Be prepared. Know your research. Memorize your marketing proposal. Be able to anticipate and answer any question with clarity and confidence.
Understand and know what co-op advertising/sponsorship is. Let’s say you approach a local fast food restaurant that is part of a chain. If you race at tracks, for example, within a 150 mile radius of each other and there are 12 of these XYZ fast food restaurants in that radius, it is easier to go the co-op route as each ‘store’ has its own budget for local advertising. It’s easier to get 12 ‘stores’ to each kick in $500 from their advertising budget than one ‘store’ to kick in $6,000 on its own.
There are some basic things you must be prepared to do for a sponsor once you land one and, being that they are ‘basic’, there is no excuse not to follow through with them on a regular basis where required.
You MUST keep the lines of communication open at all times! Whether it’s a simple email Monday morning letting them know how you did (hopefully the employees are curious if they were unable to attend). Regular press releases and newsletters are a must. It keeps them informed of what the team is doing on and OFF the track and makes them feel a part of the team.
In any promotional material, whether it is press releases, newsletters, post cards, trading cards, posters, calendars, whatever it is the sponsor’s logo MUST be predominantly placed and seen. In text never neglect to mention the sponsor. On any wearing apparel the sponsor’s logo must be prominently placed.
If the sponsor has it’s own apparel or is willing to have crew hats and shirts and/or uniforms made up in the company’s colors with logos then make sure the driver and crew/team where them at all events and in all photos and film.
Keep news clippings. Each week or month go through the racing papers and local newspapers and clip out the race results you are featured in and any other articles, interviews or new stories your driver may appear in. Monthly or bi-monthly collect them all, make photo copies, and send them off to all sponsors and potential sponsors so they will see the ‘ink’ you are able to garner. If any columnist writes about your driver/team, clip it and copy it. Do this on a regular basis so they will have a fat file documented on some of the exposure you were able to attain.
Any time the team has promotional items created, whether it is t-shirts, hats, postcards, trading cards, anything at all, make sure the sponsor(s) get copies or samples of each.
If your driver appears on a racing radio show, whether locally or nationally, make sure you have a tape or a CD of the broadcast for your sponsors! (And make sure you hype them in the interview whether you are asked about them or not.)
Offer your driver and team as method to create employee camaraderie, goodwill and a sense of ‘team’. Offer to bring the hauler and racecar in for the employees to view and check out and photograph themselves with. Offer to bring the car to the company picnic, etc?
If your sponsor has an ‘open house’, ‘grand opening’ or ‘anniversary celebration’ offer your driver and racecar for the occasion. It’s a chance to create more exposure for the racing team, the sponsor’s interest in the team, sell team souvenirs and create more general interest in not only the team but dirt racing itself.
When participating in such public ventures as described above get with your local promoter who should be more than happy to supply you with schedules, flyers, brochures and free passes to distribute to curious, non-race fans who express an interest in your type of racing. If they inquiry as to where you race, be prepared to hand them a schedule, flyer, brochure and maybe a pass or two.
The days of cashing a sponsor’s check, painting the name on the quarter panel and going racing are pretty much over. These days sponsors want a return on their investment. If they are going to issue a check to your race team they expect to get that back in terms of sales, referrals and exposure. Many companies expect a $1.50 return on their investment for every $1.00 they spend. But exposure for a company and their products/services is important and often cannot be measured in increased sales per se.
There are many things a race team can do to give sponsors exposure and many of them are relatively inexpensive. Locally based weekly teams can also offer companies substantial exposure in a variety of ways and, if documented through team press releases and/or newsletters that are distributed to the sponsors (and media, etc?) and with advanced announcement, creates an accumulative perception of exposure and impressions for the company.
Some Basic Suggestions for Creating Exposure for Team & Sponsor:
Website. Keep it updated. Make sure sponsor website link is on your website and devoted a page to each ‘major’ sponsor.
Regular press releases and/or newsletters. (See previous installments). Send to sponsors, potential sponsors, media (racing & mainstream), manufacturers, etc? Leave a stack at the local track’s photographer’s stand or the track’s novelty stand.
Do a newsletter, even quarterly and do hard copies for distribution. With computers a professional, informative and well-laid out newsletter can be produced and printed inexpensively at a local quik-print shop. Take a stack of these to sponsors to sit out on their counters for customers and to distribute to company employees.
It can be black & white and one page, one-sided
It can be multiple pages, colored pages, whatever your budget will allow.
One inexpensive method is to print a newsletter out on an 11? x 17? sheet, both sides. Fold in half and you have ‘four pages’ and eliminate stapling/binding.
Public address announcements. They are free! But it should be the team’s responsibility to keep the track announcer(s) informed. At each track you visit you should have an index card made up and written out like a ‘commercial’ about your driver and sponsors so all the announcer has to do when your car is on the track is pick the card up and read. At one track a couple people asked me why a client of Lehman Motorsports Services always go so much ‘play’ by the track announcer and always had his sponsors mentioned. When I mentioned the index card method a light bulb went off. The next week their team had a driver/team/sponsor card written up for the announcer.
Announcers: See above. Also, they can be your best friend on race night, especially if one of your sponsors or a sponsors’ employee(s) show up. Always make sure the announcer has the team/sponsor index card and always make sure he gets a copy of each press release, newsletter and any other promotional item you produce. If one of your sponsors show sup on race night get to the announcer and let him or her know they are there and more often than not the announcer will crank the hype machine up that evening for your sponsor.
Any car show in your area/region, participate. Whether they are race car shows or not, if you can enter, do it. And bring along plenty of your sponsors’ promotional material (flyers, pamphlets, key chains, calendars, whatever) to distribute to the public.
Always set aside, if at all possible, 25% of sponsorship money for promotional use for your team and sponsor. This can be used for occasional trade paper or mainstream newspaper advertising, having souvenir post cards and/or trading (baseball) cards produced and distributed, etc?
Parades: Free advertising, free exposure, free hype for your driver, team and sponsor. Plus impressions: Hundreds and thousands of people seeing the racecar with the sponsorship adornment as it slowly passes by. It may be the first time seeing a racecar up close by many people, and they will remember it. If permissible, have team members in crew uniforms walk with the racecar handing out promotional items to the crowd and candy and/or trading cards to the children.
Fan Appreciation & Kids Night: Most tracks that run weekly have these during the season. Participate! Bring your sponsors out that night to see the goodwill such nights generate. Make sure you have plenty of promotional material from your sponsors to distribute to the fans. Many sponsors will make up can-coolers, Frisbees and other inexpensive items with their company’s advertising message and the team’s name/number emblazoned on the items for distribution on such nights.
Charitable events: Pick a worthwhile community charity and align your team with them, or align your team with a charity your major sponsor may support. Most have fundraisers and often have public fundraising events. Offer your racecar and driver as an attraction. Work with your local promoter to have a special night for your charity that you support at the track to raise money and awareness. Such activity allows your team to be seen as a responsible entity that is supportive of the community that adds luster and credibility to your driver and team. Also, such activity with local charities also often result in local and regional mainstream news coverage.
Product sampling and promotional handout rights at all events your team participates in. You will have to contact the promoter in advance for permission. Have a team representative (dressed neatly) near the front entrance of the grandstands handing out your sponsor’s (or your team’s) promotional items to the race fans as they file in.
All television sports anchors and television sports directors in your region should be on your mailing list to receive your press releases, newsletters, etc? (Working with your local promoter) invite or entice a local television anchor to the track some night and offer to let him take a few laps in your racecar at intermission. Most sports anchors are regional celebrities that the local fans are familiar with so this will be a novelty of sorts. It will give your driver, team and sponsor tremendous coverage as well as the racetrack through the subsequent television exposure. Your sponsors will also be delighted for the television time because every second your racecar is on the screen the company’s logo will be seen. Be sure to hype it a couple weeks in advance at the track as well as with the local print media. When speaking with the sports director or anchor (or television stations promotional department) make sure they understand the exposure and goodwill this would create for the station as well.
Strategy plays a key component in successfully landing a sponsor with your proposed marketing campaign. Are you prepared if a business owner or a marketing or promotional representative asks you what your basic business strategy and intentions are for their company?
A sample response could be:
Goals of the Campaign:
We would like to increase your visibility, attract new customers and increase your customer base.
Products to be Advertised:
We will be advertising your company’s products and/or services through our race car, driver, race team, press releases, newsletters, promotional material, racetrack programs, broadcasts, websites, etc?
Measurements of Success:
We will measure this ad campaign’s success with your company by the number of inquiries received after its launch and the ensuing exposure it generates. This will also include telephone inquires as well as inquiries made in person, by telephone, by email and by surveys.
Evaluation of Effectiveness:
We will be reviewing the campaign’s effectiveness six weeks after the launch. We will work with your company to evaluate its effectiveness based on the number of inquiries received, the amount of media exposure created and any corresponding increase in revenue.
Again, these are all simple, basic items but if followed should see some positive results. It’s all about follow-through and making things happen. And always remember, that first and foremost: WHAT CAN MY RACE TEAM DO FOR THE SPONSOR? Not what can the sponsor do for me. Keep the sponsor (or potential sponsor) as the number one priority.
(C) Doc Lehman/LMS
DIRT RACING PUBLIC RELATIONS
By Doc Lehman
Any team that is actively seeking sponsorship needs to have some type of public relations program in place. And here’s the rub: Far too many equated ‘public relations’ with simply sending out a press release to the regional racing paper in their area and maybe to a couple news oriented websites or even a message board or two. Mission accomplished, right?
Wrong!
Public relations is far more complicated than that and has far too many variables to be covered by a team press release that only appears in a handful of places. Public relations work is time consuming and many faceted. It’s all about building a public image, building bridges between team and sponsor and the public through the media. (There are other important and necessary components to ‘public relations’ that we will get into in another installment). For this installment we’ll take a look at how drivers/teams can attain media coverage for their team and sponsors and what steps are necessary to be able to successful generate media coverage.
The first, and likely most important for a variety of reasons despite modern technology (i.e.; internet), media outlet that packs a punch in terms of satisfying sponsors (and potential sponsors) and their promotional and marketing departments is the old tried-and-true print format. It is still important, necessary, beneficial and packs one hell of a punch in front of a person in big business who controls the purse strings of the advertising and marketing budget.
So how does a driver or team ‘get them some ink’? There are a variety of ways but first and foremost remember that for the most part the media, whether it is racing or mainstream (your local and regional newspapers and publications) generally won’t come knocking on your door. For the racing media there are a variety of reasons, first and foremost that there are too damn many teams out there! And that is good! God love them all. However, there is not that many racing media people out there. In an average weekly racing publication the majority of the material you usually read comes from track p.r. directors sending out result stories and press releases, not staff members of the paper.
Another reason they won’t come knocking on your door is that, the columnists, to cite one example, are few in numbers. And then one must consider that there is a percentage of ‘columnists’ who are basically lazy and you couldn’t pry them out of the media box with a crow bar let alone have them actually speak (or even, heavens forbid, interview) to a driver, a crew member, car owner, promoter or sponsor in the pits on a hot, humid, sweaty, dusty day. Or any day.
So what a driver and team have to do is set themselves apart, take an active approach and actually seek out media coverage. It is not that difficult believe me, especially if you have a story that is unique, or a ‘hook’. And I’m a firm believer in that everyone has a story. So how does one go about getting coverage that is important exposure for the driver, team and sponsors? There a number of ways to do this and sometimes the simplest most basic approach will work.
Let me cite one example. One day I retrieved my mail at the post office and among it was a letter from one Bud Kile, a father of two sons who are dirt Late Model racers and a daughter who is the announcer at their local track in Iowa. In this letter Mr. Kile explained some background about his children, their accomplishments and his obvious pride in them. A friendly suggestion to consider a story on his daughter was included. So here we have a former racer, car owner, racing business owner with two sons who race dirt Late Models and an energetic, talented daughter who announces at West Liberty Speedway.
That’s a ‘hook’.
Within a week there was an interview with Katie Kile on my old Dirt America Online website and in the next Area Auto Racing News as well. Additionally, Bud, Katie and dirt Late Model drivers (and sons/brothers) Kurt and Kevin Kile all appeared for a near 50 minute segment on the national Dirt Nation radio show that had a show devoted to Thanksgiving and racing families.
Timing is everything.
So what do drivers/teams need to do to generate media coverage, especially with the print media (both racing and mainstream)? (First: Know how to write who, what, when, where, how in one paragraph.) We went to some experts who know because they call the shots. We sought out the advice from several editors, the ones with the final command of what does or does not get put in print and what driver or team (or track or series) a reporter/columnist/feature writer gets assigned to.
So, in basic terms, what can drivers and race teams do to solicit and attain more press coverage?
”Getting coverage in mainstream papers isn't easy because many papers don't have anyone on staff who understands racing,” commented Todd Turner some time ago. Turner is a former editor with National Dirt Digest and now editor of DirtOnDirt.com. “They don't have a good barometer to determine what's newsworthy, so sometimes they don't cover anything at all.”
”One way to get around this, especially for weekly newspapers or small dailies, is to get someone one your team to volunteer to send in results. That's obviously a lot of work, but it might smooth the way for the newspaper to begin providing more coverage.”
”Another thing is to make sure and let the media know if something newsworthy is going on. Perhaps your team won four races in a row or your driver went straight from his daughter's high school graduation to the racetrack and won, anything out of the ordinary might catch an editor's eye, particularly if it has a good people angle.”
”Be sure and don't badger editors too often, or they'll dismiss your requests. But if you call a couple of times of a year with story ideas, you'll probably get some attention. And don't just look out for your own team - let them know if there's another interesting story at the track. The more familiar they get with racing the more coverage you'll get.”
The editor of a former weekly racing newspaper also has some tips in that regard.
”Be professional and persistent,” advised Clint Elkins, the now former editor of Racing News. “We don’t use 80% of the weekly press releases we receive because of space, but there are times when we have extra space that we will put press releases in. So, in having someone that does a weekly press release or a monthly newsletter, the most important thing is persistence. Also, if a driver or a team runs in a particular series this is a very good way to receive coverage. Most series advertise with newspapers and magazines and when they submit an article there is a better chance it will make that weeks paper.”
Even though there are many similarities, the weekly and bi-weekly newspapers are a different animal from that of a monthly magazine’s needs and requirements. A monthly magazine shies away from hardcore results for the most part and concentrates on ‘feature’ articles and stories.
”For our magazine, all we're looking for is a good story,” stated Tim Lee. Lee is the editor of DIRT LATE MODEL magazine. “That can mean big wins, a breakout season, or just some unique aspect of a race team. Dry statistics rarely make good reading, but a new team or major change in program often does.”
“A driver such as Earl Pearson Jr., who's been on the verge of a breakout for so long, having a career season was another good example of what we're looking for. But it doesn't have to be on the national level. We recently ran a feature on Ray Guss Jr., a successful veteran, who has cut back on his program and gone back to racing locally. That kind of thing is interesting to most readers.”
”The human element is also important. There are few things more interesting to readers than a racer who has to overcome adversity in order to compete. The bottom line is: people are always more interesting than numbers.”
”If you're trying to draw attention to yourself, you should let people know when something interesting is going on. With a couple thousand or so Late Model teams out there, those of us in the press never know everything that's going on. Sometimes you just have to tell us. You'd be surprised how many stories are generated in our pages by a team member, friend or family member contacting me to tell me something interesting about some driver or team. It's generally that simple.”
So what would make an editor decide to give a driver and/or a team coverage or assign a reporter or columnist to cover the driver/team?
”Working for a racing publication, we're looking for interesting stories and angles that we haven't seen before,” bottom-lined Turner. “Obviously, we're going to cover the sport's top racers and the guys who are winning, but interesting stories, particularly an angle that involves non-racing people stories is what everyone wants to read.”
“Most nights at the track, we circulate and chat with whoever kinda fishing for such information. Even the littlest notion about something we get from talking to drivers or crewmembers or family members might turn into a neat story. That's the best stuff because few newspapers have the manpower and desire to chase the difficult stories.”
“So here's a tip: if something of interest is going on, make sure someone who's writing knows about it. Be familiar with local and racing media so you can chat and share information with them because drivers are sometimes oblivious to what a writer thinks is interesting.”
”It's not coincidence that the chattiest and most personable drivers - Bill Frye, Bob Pierce and others - often get good publicity. It's because they recognize an interesting story and know how to tell a good one, too.”
One important and useful tool many drivers and teams use are press releases and newsletters. The one thing that aggravates though is too many distribute them to too few media outlets. As stated before, a handful of message boards, a couple news websites and maybe a racing paper or two will not serve its purpose. It has to be mass distributed to all racing media (newspaper, magazines, radio shows, television) as well as mainstream (local/regional newspapers, magazines, radio stations sports departments, television station sport departments).
But as far as the how the press releases and newsletters are written and produced and distributed there are do’s and don’t’s involved that if adhered to, could result in more exposure, especially with the racing media. The editors were asked if they thought drivers and teams using press releases and newsletters were viable and important to their respective publications.
”I find them useful to supplement a race report, but I must admit I don't read through all of them every time,” said Turner. “One complaint I have is that some of the reports are three paragraphs regardless of what happened. In other words, just by glancing, you can't tell the difference between the week the driver dropped out with a 22nd-place finish or the week he won a $10,000 race.”
“My suggestion is to skip the weeks when there's nothing newsworthy. And when your driver does something noteworthy, file a lengthy report with quotes, details and notes that reporters won't get from the typical track report. That could spark an interview request or at least someone adding to a race story and bringing more publicity for the driver.”
“I would always encourage a race team to send out press releases,” added Elkins. “The more the media knows about someone and/or knows someone personally the better the chance is that there press release will be printed. Newsletters need to be sent to fans and sponsors more than the media. When someone walks up to your trailer to take a picture of your racecar or buy a t-shirt, ask them if they would like to receive a monthly newsletter. Keep a box in the trailer write down their name and addresses.”
Again, from the perspective of a monthly, features oriented publication, the material needs to be timely and newsworthy to be considered.
”To me, they are largely just another thing I have to delete from my email on a daily basis,” commented Lee. “It doesn't do me any good to know where Joe Schmoe is going to race this coming weekend. I understand that sponsors need to be kept in the loop, and that's where those things are probably most needed. I occasionally use bits from driver press releases for short news items, like usually the launching of a new website or something newsworthy like that. That being said I wouldn't discourage teams from using them, but I'd be careful about what I considered newsworthy perhaps.”
To create newsletters and press releases (as well as media kits, which will be discussed in another installment at length) one does not need a journalism major. Anyone who can type and has basic English skills can do it. If the driver isn’t inclined or doesn’t have the budget to hire a professional, find an enthusiastic college or high school kid who is interested in journalism, or just creative. Maybe a wife, girlfriend, son or daughter. Contact the journalism professor at your local college and see if there is any student interest in doing work of this nature.
And when you send them out, whether via snail mail and/or email, make sure as many receive them as possible. Saturate the racing media and your local media, but make sure all your sponsors get them with extra hard copies if requested. As for newsletters, print off a stack at your local Kinko’s or Staples and take a stack to each of your sponsors’ businesses for them to set out on the counter for their customers. You never know, one of their customers might be a businessperson with an interest in using motorsports to advertise and market through.
But it’s all about preparing them in a professional and concise a manner as possible and distribution! Do not forget mainstream media! Send your promotional material out to every daily and weekly newspaper (and the free ‘ad papers’) within a 50-75 mile radius. If you have a hook or a story, a professional press release or newsletter, or maybe you caught a sports editor on the right day, you may get a call. But they don’t know anything about you, and likely nothing about the sport of dirt racing, so educate them. Make them aware! Try to spark some interest.
It won’t get done unless you make some effort.
As for knowing how to get them to the media you will need to compile a media mailing list. The majority of your press releases, newsletters and other promotional material can be sent via email that in turn helps with your budget. As for the columnists you will need to go through the racing publications and compile their email addresses from the bottom of their columns.
To compile a list of racing media internet website email addresses visit: http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/internetmedia.html (http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/internetmedia.html)
To compile a list if racing print media email addresses visit: http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/printmedia.html (http://www.speedwaysonline.com/HTML/printmedia.html)
Mainstream publications are another matter. The easiest way to gather local and regional mainstream newspaper and magazine email and snail mail addresses beyond purchasing all of them is to visit:
The Internet Public Library - http://www.ipl.org/div/news (http://www.ipl.org/div/news)
Walter Clinton Jackson Library News & Newspapers Online – http://www.library.uncg.edu/news (http://www.library.uncg.edu/news)
Newspaper Links - http://www.newspaperlinks.com/ (http://www.newspaperlinks.com/)
NewsDirectory.com - http://www.newsdirectory.com/ (http://www.newsdirectory.com/)
(C)Doc Lehman/LMS (http://www.dirtamericaonline.com/)