MANUAL OF MOTORCYCLE SPORT - Motorcycling Australia

MEDIA GUIDE
enjoy the ride
MOTORCYCLING AUSTRALIA MEDIA GUIDE
34
Speak with your SCB or with the MA Communications
Department for more information about these
promotional activities.
SPONSORSHIP:
Sponsorship plays a vital role in the success of our
sport, for an event or so you can continue riding in your
chosen discipline.
Before approaching sponsors it is important to do
some research and preparation. You should research
potential sponsors with a similar interest, or sponsors
from outside the motorcycling industry who could stand
to benefit from exposure within it.
Preparation:
* Create a brief sponsorship proposal. Don’t be put off
by the name; it’s just an information pack that sells
you! It should include things like:
- A letter introducing yourself and explaining
what you want (product or financial support) and
how it would help you. It should also include
an explanation of what’s in it for the sponsor –
what you can offer them in return for their
sponsorship, which is the most important part
of the proposal. The letter should also include
background information such as: website details,
statistics, member numbers of your club and your
contact details. Even though you need to put
most of this information in, the letter still needs to
be short and sweet one to two pages max! It pays
to do several drafts and get a few people to proof
read them for you.
- You should also include a record of your recent
results or successful events that you have run,
and if possible include some photographs.
- Any positive newspaper clippings about you
(keep the originals and use photocopies instead).
- In total the proposal should be no longer than
four pages.
* Find the right person in an organisation to approach
about sponsorship, often the Marketing or Brand
Manager or in small businesses it is often the
General Manager.
* Have reasonable expectations and don’t be
discouraged by rejection, you will be rejected more
times than you will be accepted.
Approaching potential sponsors:
* Send through a copy of your proposal – email or
hard copy - and follow up with a phone call the day
after. Explain what you are interested in, and offer
to come in and meet them.
* Be punctual.
* Present yourself well; stand up straight, dress
appropriately, speak clearly and don’t have
chewing gum in your mouth.
* When you first meet them, take off your hat, shake
their hand and make eye contact and introduce
yourself.
* Sell yourself, what’s in it for them? How can they
get value for their sponsorship of you or your
event?
* Have a copy of your materials (see preparation
section) on hand to show them even if you’ve
already sent it to them.
* Answer any questions they may have and thank
them for their time when you head off.
Retaining Sponsors:
If you are successful in securing sponsorship make
sure you keep them informed and up-to-date with
your activities.
* Ensure that you service your sponsor and that you
fulfil the terms of your agreement at events. Don’t
do the wrong thing by a sponsor, word travels fast,
and you could find yourself blacklisted.
* Following each race/event let the sponsor know
how it went and keep in contact with them, let them
know of any exciting developments and include
them in your press release list.
* If, unfortunately, something goes wrong, keep your
sponsors informed.
* If you receive any media coverage keep a record of
it and send them a copy.
* Provide them with a yearly report to show them
(in words and pictures) what you’ve done as part
of the agreement, another alternative would be to
provide them with a framed picture with a message
of thanks for their support included.
* If for some reason a sponsor cannot continue
working with you (it happens), be good natured
about it, politely ask for a reason, and irrespective
of the answer extend them the opportunity to
re-establish the relationship in future if they are
interested.