sponsorship....

[knot for shore]

besides the obvious, (consistantly winning tournaments) what's the most effective way to secure good, long term sponsorship from major corporations such as Budweiser, Walmart, Penn, Shimano, etc., etc.? For you sponsored tournament guys, what was your line of communication with such companies? what entailed the "selling" of how you would promote their product? did you have a baseline of what they expected in return, and what was it?

maybe you guys could help others in securing sponsorship in return for promoting a major company's goods....

[Deep C]

Hell, I got a pretty good track record and sponsors never lined up for me. I have approached a few companies but seldom come away with more than a t-shirt. I do get some promotional goods now and then to try out. If I like them I let the public know and if I don't I let the maker know...
Thats the fishing side.... When I ran tournaments it was a different thing. Basically selling advertising space. I had to let them know where I would be advertising and what kind of circulations those publications had or what kind of direct exposure their product would garner at a given event.
Its all about what kind of exposure you can draw to your sponsors logo. Sitting in one marina year around isn't gonna work. Towing a slick looking rig up and down the road or parking in a high traffic area though will get some looks. Are you gonna fish a whole series or just a couple select events.
Right now I have been working on trying to get an engine sponsor for the Deep C. I have offered up splashing the name all over the side, fishing, x number of events, even making my boat available for engine demo at the shows. I have one potentially interested.The one I would like though has only offered a discount....

[knot for shore]

i guess it too depends on the numbers of eyes that you can get on their logo, as you mentioned exposure in one marina -vs- traveling up and down the road. it also depends on the number of "eyes" at any given event. look at NASCAR. i'd bet there are sponsors chomping at the bit to get their name on some of those cars due to the populatiry of the sport. too bad there isn't that mcuh media coverage at most tournaments. even the multimillion $ ones!!

[reel fishy]

It's not always about what you have won or how many tourneys' you fish. For my sponsor it was all about being in the right place at the right time. Always have a positive attitude, give good advice and fish as hard as possible. A lot of the time it is about how marketable you are to a company. Husband and wife, family and especially father daughter teams will get special attention. One thing to remember is the names you see plastered all over everyone else's boats are probably asked multiple times per day to "sponsor my team". Unless you are the who's who in your respective choice of fishing tournaments then look outside the norm. There are tons of companies that make more money than they know what to do with, just look at the petroleum suppliers.

If you are looking to attract a fishing company as a sponsor, make sure you can answer this question? "Why should I sponsor you?" Companies want a return on their investment in your fishing team. Give them specific reasons, not things like "because I fish X amount of tournaments per year and I'm consistently in the top 30". Let them know how you will attend boat shows and other major tournaments(even though you may not be fishing said tourney), give seminars at tackle shops or other dealerships, speak to kids at the local YMCA or volunteer your time with charitable fishing events. Always try putting yourself in front of their prospective customers, current and future.

Other than that make friends with the guys who already have sponsors. Listen to them but don't follow what they say like the bible. Always be known as the guy who congratulates the winner not talks crap about how they were just lucky (even though it may be true).