Cover Page

Like a cover on a book, the Cover Page shows the title of your proposal and your team name and logo if you have one. Straightforward.

Summary

This is simply a basic introduction to motorsports marketing and a short summary of what your program can do for the sponsor. Once again it is absolutely critical on this page that the potential sponsor reads WIFM (skip back a few paragraphs if you forgot what WIFM stands for). Why? Because if they don't see it (or hear it, feel it, sense it at all), then they probably won't turn the page.

And guess where that proposal of yours that you spent so much time developing into an awesome-looking package will end up? That's right, in the trash with the dozens of other proposals that showed up that week from every charity, non-profit and other sports teams out there searching for funds. You're going to be competing against the likes of "Society For The Humane Treatment of Doodlebugs", as well as other race teams. But who's afraid of a little competition? That's what we're all about in the racing business, isn't it?

The main point though is to grab the attention of the reader so that they want to continue reading further about your motorsports marketing program. If you get them intrigued on the first page, then odds are they will continue reading through your entire proposal.

Motorsports Marketing Overview

You can probably guess what this section is about - a more detailed description of the world of motorsports marketing. Provide an exciting description of racing and how sponsors have capitalized on motorsports marketing programs to create brand awareness, customer loyalty and increased profits.

Let the reader know how vast auto racing has become, the opportunities available and the many companies that are already successfully involved. Make sure they understand that motorsports marketing can provide one of the most cost-effective ways to advertise and promote their company. Once the prospect understands the basics of the business of racing, then you'll show them in the next section that your program will be reaching the right type of people.

Target Market

Who is your motorsports marketing program going to reach? That's what the demographics of your race series is going to show. A potential sponsor wants to know that your race team will be marketing to their potential customers. For example, Viagra is a great sponsor for Mark Martin, but would be a very poor one for an 11-year-old kart racer.

If you've been racing in a series for a while, then you probably have a pretty good idea of the type of people that hang out to watch and participate. However, you'll want to provide as much detail about these folks as you can - stuff like age, income ranges, and marital status.

Many times the racing series will have these statistics. If you participate in a smaller series or club racing where that info is not available, then you could use the basic race fan stats - 60% to 80% male, ages 25 to 45, media income $30,000-$50,000 and usually 70 plus percent brand loyal. If you don't have a ton of info, just tag this data onto the Motorsports Marketing Overview or Series Information section.

Race Series and Schedule

In the Target Market section, you let the potential sponsor know that you will be reaching the right type of potential customers. This section tells them how many of those people your proposal will reach by providing the geographical coverage and schedule of the series.

Since advertising and marketing are all about exposure, this data tells the potential sponsor how much exposure they are going to get for their investment in your program. The number of positive exposures your program can provide is maximized when a sponsor's potential customers are the right type and located throughout the geographical coverage of your racing series.

If you race all over the country, and the company reading your proposal is a local plumbing business, then you're probably approaching the wrong sponsor. Knowing this info will help you determine what companies to target in your sponsorship search. We'll cover this in more detail further on.

The basic structure of this section should include general info about the series, schedule and racetracks for the race season and average attendance of races. This might be a good spot to add demographics if you've chosen not to have a separate section for that info.

If you set some goals of stepping up in series over the next few years, you could provide that info here as well. Lay out your strategy for achieving these goals, along with some basic info on the higher level series. You may be a great fit for a company looking to get into motorsports on a lower level and then progress upwards with the driver.

Team Info

Did I forget to talk about the race team? Well, almost. As you definitely know by now, since the proposal is all about the potential sponsor, you don't want 50 pages at the front of the proposal telling the world how great your racing is. Yes, the sponsor wants to know who you are and that your organization is sharp, professional and competitive, but one or two pages should be sufficient.

Have one page with bio's on the driver and key personnel and the next page can hit some of the team's highlights. Since you are essentially presenting your team as a marketing business to the potential sponsor, provide as much business experience of the team members as possible. This just helps to raise the sponsor's confidence level that you know how to run a business and not just drive around really fast.

Program Benefits

Now we get down to the meat of the proposal. In this section, you will explain all the various benefits to the sponsor of your motorsports marketing program. This is basically the "how" of your program - in other words, how you are going to go about providing exposure for the sponsor to help them increase brand awareness and sales. You can also provide benefits that enhance employee and/or customer relations with the sponsor.

Listed below are some of the key benefits you could include in your race program. You would, of course, only use those that are appropriate in scope to your level of racing and budget. For example, if you're racing at the local dirt track on Friday nights, then television exposure will probably not be an option for your program. However, even a team on a tight budget can provide many of the same benefits a NASCAR team provides without a great deal of expense if you put some creative thought into it.

Corporate Exposure
• On track
• Off track
• Logo all in the car, transporter, equipment
• Uniforms
Marketing Rights
• Driver access and appearances
• Show car
• Merchandising
• Media exposure
• Print, radio, TV
Executive, Employee and Customer Relations Enhancement
• Executive incentives
• Sales and employee incentives
• Sales meetings
• Client incentives
Web Site Exposure

Team Newsletter, Annual Sponsor Scrapbook

Benefits Illustration and Summary

In the previous session you provided a brief description of all the benefits you can offer in your motorsports marketing program. The Program Benefits Illustration defines exactly what you will provide the sponsor depending on the level sponsorship chosen.

For example, you may decide to offer three levels of sponsorship (this is a common amount, since it makes the choice a little easier for the sponsor - too many choices can make the process confusing and/or overwhelming).

Let's take something like 'Pit Area Credentials' - a typical benefit provided to the sponsor and usually described in the Program Benefits section under 'Executive, Employee and Customer Relations Enhancement" or whatever you called that section. The top, mid, and bottom levels might provide to 10, 5, and 2 passes per race weekend respectively. Now, go through each of your other benefits and list out exactly what the sponsor will get at each level.

At the bottom of illustration you can provide the basic fee structure for each of the sponsorship levels. There has been some debate as to whether you should include these figures in your proposal. Some contend this may scare away a potential sponsor before you've had a chance to meet with them in person and sell yourself and the program.

However, if you show up for presentation, and they go into sticker shock when you reveal the program cost, you've just wasted your time and theirs. A sharp, experienced salesman might be able to salvage a situation like this, but probably not the average person. Thus, there's no surprise if they have an idea of costs up front. Also, you should be able to provide a wide range of levels such that there are options for most every company's marketing budget.

Finally to wrap up this section, provide another very brief summary of your motorsports marketing program. Also, make sure you include some sort of call to action, i.e. a call or e-mail to become a team partner or to get more information. If you don't ask, they won't respond.

That pretty much concludes the basic content of your racing proposal. Next, will take a look at putting it all together in a sharp-looking package.