Everyone on
Double Nickel Nine Motorsports wears the team uniform, and we make sure each of our sponsor’s names and logos are on those shirts. We also send a shirt to our sponsors at the end of the season to say thanks for the support.
Not only do you need to ensure your car has the correct sponsor or contingency stickers in the right places, but you also need to ensure your driver’s suit has the proper patches in place. Your uniform is just as important as your car because, when the cameras come out at big moments like a podium celebration, your vehicle will probably be in impound. Take the time to obtain patches (or create them) for your sponsors and sew them on.
When the champagne is spraying, you have about one second to get this magical shot. When this moment happens, this picture is worthless to your sponsors if those patches are not in place. You can clearly see the Carbotech Brakes, Motion Control Suspension, and I/O Port Racing Supplies patches in all the right spots to make it into this photo.
Follow Through
Racetracks are what race cars are built for, but that isn’t the only place race cars can be seen. Car shows, parades, kid’s birthday parties, any place where there are loads of people is a place to display your race car. Sponsors love this stuff. They are often more interested in the vehicle being at a big car show like
The Eibach Meet versus a race, and rightfully so. The fact is more people attend car shows than regional road races or local autocrosses.
For a local car show at a Triple-A baseball stadium, we brought out the full works — sponsor flags with each sponsor displayed, our RaceDeck flooring, and canopies. This was a great event where thousands of people walked by our car taking photographs. This was awesome exposure for our sponsors.
At the car shows, we take the time to let kids sit in the car, put on the five-point
Autopower harnesses, and take pictures. We also have hero cards to hand out and write autographs on. At the end of the season, we take the time to send a care package to our sponsors listing all of the events we attended, copies of all the media they were in, a nice photograph poster of the car, a T-shirt, and a copy of our hero card.
It is this follow-through that ensures we can keep our sponsorship for another season. If you don’t do this follow-up, chances are any sponsorship you received will be a one-time deal.
Each year, I spend the money to purchase hero cards to hand out at events and use as autograph cards at car shows.