Sponsorship

Sponsoship Guidlines for Race Entrants

The following information is an overview of information gathered from experience of the previous races. There are various combinations of team numbers and the routes vary slightly - so please understand that not all the information will be relevent to your campaign.

Introduction

There is no hard and fast rule for gaining sponsorship and it certainly isn't "easy money" but be prepared, show commitment, passion and determination and you will get there in the end.

Our rowing races lend themselves towards local community support and previous teams have found it far easier to obtain a boat consortium of smaller sponsors rather than one main national sponsor.

You may also find it easier to gain sponsorship in the form of goods and services e.g. oars, electrical equipment and Emergency products rather than physical cash.

How to Get Started

You can offer your sponsor(s) the following:

1) Wearing of Sponsor(s) clothing or logo prior to or during the Race subject to any over-riding requirements of the race titleholder (there has never been a restriction). Any branded kit you receive from a race titleholder cannot be altered with logo's from your individual sponsor(s). You may be required to wear the race sponsor's clothing for a specific photocall / event.

2) Writing of articles for local newspapers, trade journals or house magazines. These should be purely personal views of the race and your preperations for it.

3) Taking and supplying photographs and being available for photo opportunities.

4) Writing a book providing it is for publication after the race and it is clear that it is your personal story of the race and how you prepared for it.

5) Corporate branding or displaying of logos on oars, interior of boat etc. (hint: The gunwhale is by far the best location for logos. From a media point of view, this part of the boat is visible from all angles).

6) Display or flying of banners or flags.

7) Website branding through your own project website - sponsors see the reel value of media exposure through web based marketing.

You cannot offer your sponsor(s) the following:

1) Use of the race logos without prior permission from Woodvale Challenge (This permission has never been withheld).

2) Cigarette and tobacco manufacturers or any companies directly involved with this industry should not be linked under any circumstances with sponsorship for our events.

Sponsorship, and the sourcing of it is a complicated process and what will be acceptable to one company will not suite another. For every success there will be hundreds of rejections. You should develop your own style of approach and presentation but there are a number of techniques that you can expand upon:

1) Prepare a short portfolio to explain:

Who you are
What you are doing
Why you want to do it
What you need from the company being approached
What you can offer in return

2) Research the company / companies that you will be approaching to make sure that what you are offering fits in with their target market and sponsorship policies.

3) Target by name an individual within the company. A personal introduction from an associate is the best way in.

4) After forwarding your portfolio, follow it up with a telephone call.

5) Try and arrange a meeting to make a presentation. It is more difficult for them to say no in person than on the telephone or in a letter.

6) Tell them what you are putting into the venture; they will be keen to see your level of commitment.

7) If successful, follow up with a letter of thanks and forward them any information as and when it arises.

8) The name of the game is to fit your proposal to their needs - it's a two way street.

Try approaching companies related to your field of work or expertise or your own company through your Training / Personnel Officer. This voyage should be seen as part of your management and personal development.

Hints and Tips

We have gathered the following tips from some of our previous competitors and their experiences of gaining sponsorship.

Rower One:

Get your community involved. Local press coverage is always a good way to spread the word.

Hold lectures, after dinner speeches and visit local schools. The more people who know about what you are doing, the better.

Visual displays with your boat will always create a large amount of interest. Local regattas, trade fairs and carnivals are all good locations.

Offer to hold photo shoots for potential sponsors with the boat displaying their logo, which they can use as promotional material.

Rower Two:

Get as many people as possible working on fundraising with you (friends, family, colleagues).

If you are holding a raffle, give people a set number of tickets to sell - a group selling tickets will reach more people than you working alone.

Raffles are easier to administer than sponsored events as:

You get your money up front
You only have to ask people for something once.

Rower Three:

Sponsored events (football match, bungee jump) raise more money than raffles.

If you are doing an event like a football match try and involve someone that people would want to come and see i.e. a local "celebrity".

One very successful night was a Horse Race night (you hire the company to organise the evening for you in a local pub or club). Get local companies to sponsor the horses and invite employees along to the evening to bet on the horse of their choice. Organisers usually ask for a fixed percentage of takings - better to go for fixed fee then your hard work and efforts to get people along to the night will benefit you.

Get a local paper to sponsor you. Guarantee them a feed back of x number of reports throughout the race and your training in return for a fixed amount. It maybe worthwhile getting their interest in you before talking about this.

If you are writing to potential sponsors, include a dossier of any press cuttings you have achieved so far.

The following fundraising efforts raised £8,500 alone:

Charity Raffle - with prizes donated by local hotels (accommodation) and pubs (free drinks).

Sponsored Cycle Ride - with two people completing a ride of 120 miles in a single day. 

Local School Fete - with school children selling plants.

Interworks Golf "Challenge" Match.

Sponsored Bungee Jump - with colleague.

Sponsored "On the Wagon" - with work colleagues raking part.

Sponsored 17km run - with colleague.

Lisa Wood became a fundraising legend during the 1992 British Steel Challenge - selling the spotlights off her mini to raise petrol money for a training sail on one occasion. Her advice was:

Work your ----- off!

Open a seperate account for your sponsorship savings - especially one that pays good interest. It was a great feeling to be able to see the account credited with £500 at the end of the year.

Never touch the money in the account except for payments towards the costs of the race (e.g. clothing or race entry). Never be tempted to dip into it - for whatever reason.

Never allow a day to pass without raising something towards your berth - even if it is only £1.

Never allow a week to go past without depositing something in your savings account.

Of over 200 letters to companies asking for sponsorship, Lisa only recieved one reply.

Don't stop talking. Let as many people as possible know what you are trying to do and the fact that you are raising money for your adventure. On a number of occasions, donations came from people undertaking hospitality sails that Lisa was crewing on. Just by talking during the day, she would explain why she was doing the Challenge and, when asked, explained she was still raising money for her berth. She never asked but she did receive donations from guests.

Always look for the opportunity to raise money - during Cowes Week, when she was crewing a yacht during the day, Lisa got a job as a washer-up in a restaurant at night.

If people were not able to help with money, they often gave something for Lisa to sell. Car boot sales almost became an addictive past time.

You have to make it fun, make it a game. Don't take it all too seriously.

In ocean rowing terms - people are blown away by your campaign. The concept of a small rowing boat crossing an ocean never fails to create a reaction. Most people wouldn't even dream of stepping out of the "comfort zone" in such an extreme way. People want to support those that have the courage to take on such projects - being involved without having to do it.

It all comes down to how much you put in. Many teams have been fully funded - many teams have struggled. But it is a blank canvass and it is very achievable...

Best of luck.