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Information on Sponsorship
Most of the information posted below is from conversations regarding young tournament players, but those aren't the only people that we sponsor. We also sponsor many players that are adults who are not only interested in tournament play, but also Scenario Games. If you are interested in joining a scenario team, please send in the request form, and we will have someone contact you.
Player: Would you like to sponsor our paintball team? Field: I don't know. What tournaments have you won? Player: Oh we've never played in a tournament but we were thinking about starting. Field: Ok, How often do you play at our field? Player: Um, we've never been there but we heard it's really nice. Field: Hmmm, Well what do you plan on doing for us in exchange for sponsorship. Player: What do you mean? You want us to do something for you? The answer is YES. If you play for a team like Dynasty or Avalanche you may be able to get sponsorship just by saying that you like a field. If you play paintball with a bunch of friends that are just trying to save money it may take a little bit more than that. Paintball can be a very expensive sport and most people don't get things for free. If you want sponsorship you need to give the store or field a reason to sponsor you. What will you do for them? Cabin Creek is always looking to add players and teams but if you're not going to treat paintball as a real sport, and you're not going to be dedicated, then you're probably wasting our time. If we're going to sponsor you then you need to be able to practice at Cabin Creek at least twice a month. Anything less that that is a recreational player, and the sponsorship that we offer would be wasted on a recreational player. We offer excellent sponsorship and we want to give dedicated players the chance develop and possibly someday play at a national level. Here is my list of the best ways to get sponsored. 1. Play the field 2. Be friendly but not a pest. 3. Be polite. 4. Have something to offer.
Get in line boys and girls. If you've been reading this magazine for any length of time, you know that we've addressed the topic of sponsorships many times. Yet, it doesn't stop the constant e-mail questions on the subject. E-mails that look like this: "Hey, I'm thirteen years old and me and my friends want to start an amature team. Will you sponsor us?" Question number two: "I want to play paintball, but I don't have the money. Do you know of anyone that will sponsor me?" Question number three: "I'm going to let you in on the ground floor of the best kept secret in paintball. My team [insert another average team name here] is about to explode onto the paintball scene, and I wanted to know of you would like to take advantage of the amazing sponsorship opportunity." Notice the first questions starts with the word "Hey." Not good! The least you can do if you're asking a person to give you money, is address them with a little bit of respect, even if you are only thirteen years old. While you're at it, how about learning to spell the word amateur. It's not like companies are going to get in line to sponsor teams or players that don't have even a little grasp of the English language. The second question is most typical of what I have the pleasure of deleting from my inbox every morning. My question back to this person would be something like this: What exactly are you offering me? Sponsorships are business deals ? it's not charity. In most business deals there's something in it for both parties. And by the way, it wouldn't hurt to actually play paintball before asking someone to sponsor you. The last question may seem unbelievable to you, but to me it's a once a week occurrence. I'm not kidding. If you are trying to land sponsorships for you team, do at least a little "exploding" before you ask. I'm not saying a team has to win the World Cup to get sponsored, but you should have some record of significance to show a potential sponsor, not just on the field, but off the field as well. John Amodea's Ten Tips To Land A Paintball Sponsorship 1. Make sure all of the words in your request letter are spelled
correctly. Good luck. John Amodea "Sponsorship", that word, that to paintball players means "Free Stuff". The end all goal of all paintball players. To play for free, or better yet to get paid to play. Unfortunatly the only way to get such a thing is to be the cream of the crop, and if you are, chances are you wouldn't be reading this article, but if your heart set on getting industry support for your game then here are a few helpful hints: What is sponsorship?: Ever stop to wonder just why companies sponsor teams? It's most definatly not out of the kindness of their hearts, and chances are they could find better ways to make tax write offs. So why spend thousands of dollars on sponsorship? The answer is simple. Advertising. For a company to advertise in a paintball magazines it can cost $100,000 and more per advertisement. That really starts to eat up the profits. So what companies will do is heavily support a good team. If that team wins then that team gets into that same magazine for free, and guess who rides right along? So it's a "we help you, you help us relationship". So just how do you get into this? Get noticed: No company is going to sponsor some new team that just formed and has yet to prove themselves. You may be the best thing since sliced bread but if no one knows of you, you can't sell yourselves. So compete. Go to big events, and most importantly, Do well. Chances are you won't do too well when you start, so play local events, try to get local sponsorship (a field or such) then move from there. Your much more likely to get support if you say "I'm from team X" and the company already knows that team name. Take what you get: You'll never get free stuff. It just doesn't happen. So bag those dreams for later and take what your given. Maybe a local store will give you 10% off. Hey that is still a few bucks cheaper, and it adds up. If you prove to be good advertising for the company then you can go back later and ask to improve the deal. Generally what you will get in a sponsorship is reduced prices on whatever the company sells. That way the company can cover it's costs, and you get cheaper product. It works for both of you. You save money, and the business doesn't have to give any out of pocket. Getting cash as a sponsorship is almost unheard of unless you have a major supporter (IE a college, or large business) Talk to your local field: The most common sponsorship is from your local field. You wouldn't know it but finding hard working, knowledgeable refs is very tough for field owners and they are usually more then happy to take on the extra help of a tournament team. The usual deal is that your team refs the field one day, and gets to use the field for free or a greatly reduced price. Or they simply get paid, which still helps out. Make a portfolio: Make a nice looking advertisement of your team. A resume if you will. Include names, playing expereince, makers, and your teams history and accomplishments. Pictures are always nice to put in to. Slap a nice cover on it and take lots of copies with you whenever you go to large events. Persist: Almost all companies will turn you down the first time. They get bombarded with sponsorship requests like no other. So do stuff that will make your name stand out. Get recognized, get magazine coverage for doinging something, and give them a new copy of your resume everytime you see them. Don't be rude, or over do it, just make sure they remember you and see that your willing to work for what you want. NEVER COMPLAIN: Your not really in any position to make demands of a sponsor, at least I'd bet not. This is a business relationship and with all the requests for support by teams you can very easily find yourself without a sponsor and them picking up someone else. So keep your supporters happy. I've seen a lot of teams complain that they are not getting a good enough deal, and end up with no deal at all. Sportsmanship: Remember that when you have a sponsorship you are representing a company. If you act up or do something bad the company you represent looks bad, and trust me, they don't like that. But the reverse is true. If your kind, helpful, and great to have around then people will see the companies that support you and have a higher opinion of them. Out of Industry: Does your mom work for a office or do you know someone who has a business that would like to reach out? Sometimes local extablishments are the best places to look if your starting off small and looking to stay in local tournaments. Diners, returants, heck even the laundry mat likes to get inexpencive advertising, so don't over look them. Sponsorship is a great goal to try to obtain, but never jump
in assuming you'll get support. There are too many teams looking,
and too few comapnies giving. So do something to stand out. |
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