I just wanted to see what you feel sponsorship is and what you think that you get when you are "sponsored".

I do not know if any of you are sponsored or not. but i am am curious to know what you would do for sponsorship. you can either answer some of the questions or just write down what you feel about this topic

would you:

1) wear a shirt or any piece of clothing to promote you sponsor?
2) display decals on your ? not big ones that costs hundreds but lets say 5x7. 2 of them. one one each side
3) would you promote that sponsor? talk about them at any and every show you attend
4) would you refuse other freebees from another similar sponsor until your sponsorhip time is up(usually a one year sponsor)
5) would you accept just a product sponsor? lets say just a car audio related product
6) would you accept a none car realated? lets say stay free maxi pads, or q tips, or H&R Block.etc
7) would you accept money? whether it be to pay for expenses. or just a good ole cheque made out to you to be happy and merry(to display the product

there are so many more, but i just would like to see what people would do or not do. cause here are the negative questions

1) would you receive sponmsorship from a product you wouldnt believe in or not trust( inferior power or lacking in power)
2) would you refuse sponsor or help from some one you know you dont like? wether it be a person or company?
3) would you receive it and lie about it or recieve it and tell the truth(if you didnt agree with it)
4) is there any product out there that you would refuse(cause you didnt use it or like it or thought it was inferior, car audio or not)


last but not least.
5) would you accept a sponsor knowing that you'd probably just do nothing with it just to get the freebee? lets say you got offered and amp and you knew you wouldnt compete anywhere with it.

thanks folks , im just really curious what most of you would do or not do. please excuse the spelling mistakes, but it was late at might and i am tired

[ March 06, 2005, 12:03 AM: Message edited by: Team Shadow ]

To give everyone a bit of a backround so you know where my answers are coming from. Last season I did everything on my own. Either paying 100% retail on everything or buying used. This year I'm getting a bit of help to run Fusion gear, but I still wouldn't say I'm "sponsored".

So here we go with the "Would I" questions

1) Sure.. I love wearing car audio gear, so wearing one for a sponsor is no big deal to me.

2) Decals wouldn't be a problem so long as it's not on my daily ride. I don't need "steal me" stickers everywhere. If I couldn't do stickers I'd offer to have a banner over the car for shows.

3) Of course I would promote the sponsor. They're doing me a favour and the whole reason for me to be there is to promote them. I would do the best possible job I could.

4) Refusing freebees from other companies is a bit tricky. I mean with Fusion they've asked I run their amps. Nothing was mentioned about subs. I'm going to do some testing and if I'm happy with their subs I'll run them, if only to be able to provide more exposure for them. Otherwise I'll run what I feel comfortable with. If it created a conflict though (ex. if I got another amp) I wouldn't run it. It just wouldn't be right.

5) Not sure what you mean by just a product sponsor. If you mean would I accept a sponsor for rims stuff, then I would consider it. It all depends on the details

6) I would accept a non car audio related but only if I were comfortable with it. Maxi pads? No!.. Pepsi? Yes ;) Again, I wouldn't be able to get behind something I wasn't comfortable with.

7) Would I accept money? Right now I'd say no. Paying for a meal or my hotel I'd be OK with. Just writing me a cheque? I'd probably just ask for product instead. I've got a job to pay the bills with. I'm there to advertise for them, they could probably use that money elsewhere. (sponsor someone else for ex). Who knows though. Find someone to offer me some money and I'll let you know ;)

Ok... now for the "negative" questions.

1) I wouldn't run product I wasn't happy with. I mean, I KNOW there are better amps than the amps I'm running this year. But I know Fusion is coming out with better product and they're heading in the right direction. Not to mention the fact that I have a TONNE of respect for the guy that hooked me up. Besides, they way I see it is that it's not the gear that is holding me back right now, it's my knowledge and install.

2) Yes, I would refuse sponsorship from a person or company I didn't like. I'm just not the type of person who could do the BS'ing.

3) If I received it and didn't like it I would let my contact with the company know. If they can offer some sort of help I would pass that on to people. If their answer was "just shut up and deal with it" I would probably stop running the gear.

4) Yes, there is product I would refuse to run. In fact there are a couple of companies I wouldn't run right now. I won't mention names, but I just don't get a "good feeling" from the company.

5) No, I wouldn't accept a sponsorship and then not do anything with it. The way I see it is if you're accepting a sponsorship you're giving someone your word that you will do something for them in return. If you don't keep up your end of the deal then you've broekn your word. (and if you don't have your word, you have nothing)

[ March 06, 2005, 11:06 AM: Message edited by: JordyO ]

Well writen response Jordy. I think this would be a model reply for SPL or SQ.

Adam

Ive went ahead and sponsored myself...

You have to jump through MANY hoops if you expect to get anything for free....

jordy that is an awesome response. would be my exact ideal response basicly.. no beating around the bush on that stype of stuff.


Livin Loud

I'd be more than willing to put big window stickers on my car for shows, as long as they're willing to provide a set for each show, as I will not have them on my car every day.

Great stuff. now that you see all these questions and see them answered. what amount would it take to make you stop working in what your doing, to build a car and make a competition vehicle?

30 000? 300 000? 1 000 000?. an open cheque to build a winner from scratch. to cover you for one year and to make a record breaker? all product of thier choosing and you get to design it and make it happen. to compete with for one season. youd have to quit your work to do this for one year. build from oct to may and compete from may to oct. one full year. remember take into account that it would have to cover you for one full year and for you to leave your current job to dedicate to one year and then try to find a job at the end cause your original job is no longer there.

All expenses covered and all vehicle and transportation and all. what figure would make you do that? someone throw some numbers out. spl or sq. and to finish at finals with one of top three spots.

[ March 06, 2005, 02:55 PM: Message edited by: Team Shadow ]

The problem is no one can guarantee a top three finish with any amount of money and support. The only people with a deal like that was Gary Biggs and Mark Eldridge with JBL. And Mark Eldridge is no longer with JBL.

so you'd refuse it. or give it a try? That is what i mean. would you try. cause this could potentially ruin your name or not. Thats is what im after., would you put your name/reputatiion/skills on the line? whether it be for a small sponsorship. or a massive one? knowing that it might or might be good or bad.

[ March 06, 2005, 03:55 PM: Message edited by: Team Shadow ]

If you are worthy name/reputation/skills should shine through brandname/performance regardless...

well...maybe my opinion doesn't matter, because i havn't been in this very long at all....but i have to say that i would have to make more money in the one calender year with the sponsorship, before i would do it...it would be an awesome experience i think but it would have to be worth while.....on the other hand...this is a lot of people s true passion and wouldn't mind making slightly less money for doing something they absolutly love...like myself, i would gladly make less money per year if someone would pay me to hunt all year long (diff. animals of course)

I honestly don't see myself giving up my career for a 1 year contract.

My career is what pays for my house and keeps me and my gf fed. A car audio contract will not be able to do that.

The only way I would do that is under 2 conditions. 1 - I knew I could go back to my old job. or 2 - If I couldn't go back to my old job the car audio company would be able to do something else for me.

(aside from the $1,000,000 contract you mentioned, but I don't see anyone offering up that kind of cash for a 1 year deal) [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

thats another thing about my career...i am a heating technician for oil and gas, so i can prtty much get work wherever i want...hey jordyO i will be moving back to my home town of smiths falls soon...hows the weather up there?

ahahaha if i got a 300,000$ deal for 1 year.. i'd take that! I'd build the most rediculous vehicle, and try like the no one has ever done beofre... spend about 250,000 of it, the other 50,000 used for the after comp parties, and food in the belly, and shelter! :D


Livin Loud

Getting help/ sponsorship is great. I had built my Mini under similar yet diferent conditions. I got help from an local shop yet had to pay in labour for my gear. No cash out of pocket. After an year of yes hard work the gear was all mine. Yet I felt kinda cheated because I had to go through much BS.

Would I do it again maybe. The cash would have to cover at least 3 years pay, cost of living and travel for my team ( family ). And of course my cost to build and travel/ compeat. I'm tired of giving to the big companys for what? Like what do they get in return?

Stickers are cool as are t-shirts and stuff. Just ask any one that was with in in Memphis in 2003. I was like a kid in an candy store. It's not about money or awards. It's about doing your best with what you got, gear and talent.

ok lets see
car $50,000
speakers $5-$10,000
amps 2,500-10,000
time on the road for the yr 50,000-100,000
cost of set up 10k-50k
cost of gas for the yr 20k
food out all the time 20-50 a day
sleeping on the road $200 a night
parts/repairs ?
at the end of the yr 300,000-400,000
would i try ,why not! go big or go home
no one have asked me to do it
and it would be SQ ok i mite try SLP for the yr than go back to SQ

WHILE WE ARE ON THE TOPIC....

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OPINIONS ON "SPONSORED" CARS BEING IN A DIFFERENT CLASS?

i'm trying to get a sponsor this year, i don't know to what extend, but they might be able to help me out with some of the funds for the season. if they do, in return, of course my car, self/team, will be advertising for the company.
but, at the same time i almost feel guilty that it's no my own $$$ that went into getting all of the gear. sure it was my work, but the hardest part is getting the cashflow to buy all the gear (which is slowly ruining the sport because eventually, the people with the most $$$ will be the only winners).
i dunno, i just wanted to hear what other people think.... [img]graemlins/dunno.gif[/img]

great reactions. thx.
yself. we love this stuff and we do use many many dollars to do it already and an honor like that would easily change my career for a year. but i would not do it for cheap either. it would take a good lump sum to get me to do this...the record part is hard. but it is not impossible. money makes alot of things happen. and it is sponsorship that has made many of our trips possible.

Tx for all your honest opinions

How would you figure 1 car being sponsored would bring in 300,000 dollars worth of revenue (just a ruff figure I’ve taken from these comments )
NO company sponsors a car to lose money, its for exposure, if its cheaper for my business to sponsor you instead of paying advertising then its a win win, Asking a dealer to sponsor you is insane its cheaper for them to build the car them selves and have it in there show room.
Manufactures won't even look your way unless you've proved yourself. I have yet to hear of a sponsorship making money for any company.. Look around there are fewer and fewer offered.

Heres what you can expect, in exchange for 10,000 worth of equipment.
1.10 shows a year at your expense.(Canada/USA)
2. Equlivent in cost in install, NOBODY will sponsor a hack job, look at acurabot. It was a pleasure to see this car at CES but I bet the labor bill on that one was in the 20,000 range!
3.1 magazine layout, personally I have prepaid for 2 of them this year and are currently looking for the right car to use.

* Last season we were expecting a top 3 finish in USACI and picked our car based upon this. As most know James (westec) pulled out a first place finish and Best of show. ( but ask him how much it cost him to do that in time/labor ect.

Sponsorship will offset the costs so far but don't think it’s a free ride, very few will ever get paid to play... It’s for the love of it.