Chasing sponsors?

[Brett Adair]

Anyone have them? If so, how did you go about getting them?

 

[B Ozanne]

Anyone have them? If so, how did you go about getting them?

What's the business plan? How are your sponsors going to benefit from sponsoring you?

Traditionally, a sponsor gives you money-you display their logo, mention their name, or otherwise promote their product. The more people that see your ad the better. How is a storm chaser any different than every other car driving around?

 

[Robert Dewey]

In order to get individual support, you really do need some sort of marketing strategy. The TIV (and the likes) had sponsors because they were so far out there that the media wanted to cover them -- coverage means lots of viewers, which equally translates into eyeballs for sponsors.

You should also check out some of those vehicle-wrapping programs. I remember a friend talking about it, and I instantly thought "scam" (my friend is one who tends to fall for "get-rich-quick" schemes). Since he mentioned it, I have noticed more and more vehicles completely wrapped in advertisements ranging from local to national businesses. I know very little about it, but it might be worth checking into.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

The M.E.S.O group does that. They have a hummer that has wrapped advertisement. Last year Golden Palace Casino sponsored them, I noticed a while back they were on Ebay offering opportunity to sponser them this year.

Pretty good deal if you don't mind driving a billboard 24/7.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Here is the link to M.E.S.O's ebay auction

http://cgi.ebay.com/Advertise-your-...yZ102333QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Brett Adair]

Sweet.....I'm going to offer displaying logos and such on the vehicle. Haven't thought about getting it wrapped, but there is an idea. It seems pretty smart given that most chasers have to foot everything out of there own pocket.

 

[Willie Dines]

I think that if there is a chase team of some kind, that was also performing a scientific experiments, like ROTATE and VORTEX2, etc, then the chances of sponsorship/funding, would be increased, but I guess it depends on a few other factors, including how much footage, experience, and the level of knowledge that is available in the chase group, but most of all, how co-ordinated that the team is, on chasing

Other than that, I'm not sure of how you would go about sponsorship, unless you were sponsored by a company, that makes equipment like lightning detectors, etc, companies that have relevance to weather studies and chasing as a whole

Either way, anyone who is trying to get sponsorship, I wish you the very best of luck, because it is not easy to come by

Willie

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

Just an FYI, since this POOPed up after I posted the joke about the Colon Blow Storm Chasing Team. I hope you did not take as serious that I was sponsored by Colon Blow, that was a joke or you could say it's a load of... POOP.

In order to get sponsored you need to provide one thing, a POOP load of free press for whoever your sponsors are. You would have to nail tornado after tornado and have a long proven track record of being the uber chaser. Then you would have to be a media ho with doing tons of interviews after some town just got destroyed hit and trying to mention your sponsors names like you Ricky Bobby.

"This is Ricky Bobby, reporting from Enterprise, where we have a lot of people hurt and a few dozen passed away, but before I get to that I just want to thank baby jesus for the forecast and my sponsors which really helped me get here fast... Bobs Radar Detectors, The the Jammer 1000i is the biggest breakthrough in radar and laser protection, oh and this phone I'm talking to you on now, wow, the clarity of this new flip phone..."

 

[matt patterson]

I dont think that you have to be a complete "MEDIA HO" to have sponsors.. I have a deal working right now that will require no direct media attention. You need to think along the lines of businesses that will make a profit or increase their business potential when severe weather or other disasters happen! When i covered Rita, i had a "single event" sponsor that heard i was going and came to me asking to promote their product while i was there. I wont name the particular one but they were in the communication business...

Just my two pennies, make sure to conider what your involvement will do for your possible sponsor

 

[Brett Adair]

Thanks alot for the replies. I thought alot about asking someone from Cingular about a deal. Problem is....I wanted opinions. I don't really know whom to contact as far as that kind of stuff goes. I know a few local businesses that will benefit from it and I plan on asking a few of them. Thanks again.

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

Brett, if it puts it into perspective for you, I get people wanting me to use their product for free and give them a "I used this and it's Great" line but nobody ever wants to pay. If some are lucky enough to get a few coins out of people for chasing and product support thats great. I have talked to several big companies and they said they would rather put their money in X Games and extreme sport that have a huge fan base.

This is a niche market and niche field. Your better off filming stock video and coming out with a dvd or tv special.

 

[Jared Mysko]

Happy springtime everyone! I have learned a lot during the off-season. When it comes to sponsors you have to be very careful who is benefiting from your escapades. I want to have a sponsor who has good intentions like for example "Everyday Essentials". This is a company that is selling CFL (compact fluorecent lamp) bulbs that will save you money and energy. I want to help these guys sell light bulbs but I dont even work for them, yet. Free advertising can pay off in beneficial ways that cannot be measured. I know that I work hard to earn a living and I need to be compensated but I am a free spirit and I am told that I am very lost sometimes but that is the way I like to live life. Hope you all are doing great. Storm chasers care like no one else on Earth. I love you all.

Jared

 

[David Drummond]

Having advertising on a daily driver vehicle has absolutely nothing to do with getting lots of press.

There is a reason your seeing so many vehicle wraps around these days. It's because they are cost effective when you compare cost vs. impressions with any other form of advertising. No where else to you have a large captive audience than on a vehicle that stands out and is driven around a lot. People in stuck at the light have to look at something. It might as well be the business advertised on the back of a vehicle rather than some stupid bumper sticker. Think about it, when you guys are driving around....how many wrapped vehicles do you notice? How many buses have you seen wrapped? Those transit buses can cost up to $10k to wrap. Those people that are spending that kind of money on the advertising know exactly what kind of value is in it.

If your chase vehicle is a daily driver and even better if you have lots of stuff stuck on top or whatever...it sticks out more than most. It's a great advertising opportunity for someone.

There is also the possibility of getting sponsor ship on things you could use in exchange for a logo or URL on your vehicle if your just trying to help cover expenses. Things like tires for instance.

 

[Brett Adair]

Having advertising on a daily driver vehicle has absolutely nothing to do with getting lots of press.

There is a reason your seeing so many vehicle wraps around these days. It's because they are cost effective when you compare cost vs. impressions with any other form of advertising. No where else to you have a large captive audience than on a vehicle that stands out and is driven around a lot. People in stuck at the light have to look at something. It might as well be the business advertised on the back of a vehicle rather than some stupid bumper sticker. Think about it, when you guys are driving around....how many wrapped vehicles do you notice? How many buses have you seen wrapped? Those transit buses can cost up to $10k to wrap. Those people that are spending that kind of money on the advertising know exactly what kind of value is in it.

If your chase vehicle is a daily driver and even better if you have lots of stuff stuck on top or whatever...it sticks out more than most. It's a great advertising opportunity for someone.

There is also the possibility of getting sponsor ship on things you could use in exchange for a logo or URL on your vehicle if your just trying to help cover expenses. Things like tires for instance.

Just got back from my wedding, but great point David! I believe that we are thinking on the same page. I drive my chase vehicle daily and it is beginning to stick out as I add more 'toys' to it. I'm going to attempt to get a fairly new company involved that has alot to do with weather stations.

 

[Jared Mysko]

Right on! I am currently working on a design for the rear windows of my car. It is going look fantastic. First I have recover some lost files and re-install a few more programs since I just moved and formatted my hard drives. Does anyone want to put thier name on my windows? Hmm. just a thought.