What happened ???
07-22-2009, 02:58 PM
#16
i just always believed that being sponsored was about getting recognized for doing the things that make you a great rep for the community you are in whether it be mx , bmx , rc , skiing , snowboarding or whatever . you should have enough skill that people see you and want to run/use the products you do because you are good at using them and show how well the product/s work .
internet sponsorships to me just seem like a marketing ploy but , times are changing . half the guys on rctech might not have even seen an rc track let alone drive on one .
i have never asked a sponsor for anything , everything i have been given has been offered to me
07-22-2009, 02:58 PM
#17
Tech Master
iTrader: (3)
It seems to me that the sponsorships in Canada, or at least Ontario, are still what you would consider traditional sponsorships.
The nobodies who are perpetual C-Main drivers are not sponsored, do not represent anyone.
The fast guys are sponsored by the chassis manufacturers.
I think there is ONE person who MAY have a full ride in Ontario. And our scene is growing day by day. The best track in Ontario sees club race entries as high as 94. (www.hardcoreracersrc.ca)
The nobodies who are perpetual C-Main drivers are not sponsored, do not represent anyone.
The fast guys are sponsored by the chassis manufacturers.
I think there is ONE person who MAY have a full ride in Ontario. And our scene is growing day by day. The best track in Ontario sees club race entries as high as 94. (www.hardcoreracersrc.ca)
07-22-2009, 02:59 PM
#18
As a business man (putting your diehard RC enthusiasm behind you) If someone came to you and said I have 1000 guys who will all run/buy/promote your engines if you give us all 25% off your regular prices. I am sure Houstons Engine Service would now be a proud sponsor of that Team.
As far as using/promoting products you believe in..I agree 100%..and I love the fact of having an entire team giving input of the product
As far as using/promoting products you believe in..I agree 100%..and I love the fact of having an entire team giving input of the product
07-22-2009, 03:01 PM
#20
I also seem to think that there alot more sponsored racers than ever before. When I first started racing, there were A and B sponsored racers. With A sponsored racers getting full rides and factory support and travel expenses. B Sponsored racers got to get parts at 50% or somewhere around there, but no travel expenses. Those were pretty much the way the sponsorships went. Now, there are alot more companies trying to promote their companies as well as shops. You can't argue with how they spend their own money, but it does take away from the term "Sponsored" driver. But, in reality it depends on so many factors to determine who gets the sponsorships and support. Some people drive petter than others, some promote better. In a perfect world, you could find a pro level driver who wins who also has a great rapore with other drivers in supporting their sponsors. But those are far and few between so it's up to the companies to decide who they support.
To me, I'd rather support a racer who has decent results but good attitude than a jerk driver who wins a few races. You get respect more by how you handle yourself, than your results.
To me, I'd rather support a racer who has decent results but good attitude than a jerk driver who wins a few races. You get respect more by how you handle yourself, than your results.
07-22-2009, 03:03 PM
#21
I also seem to think that there alot more sponsored racers than ever before. When I first started racing, there were A and B sponsored racers. With A sponsored racers getting full rides and factory support and travel expenses. B Sponsored racers got to get parts at 50% or somewhere around there, but no travel expenses. Those were pretty much the way the sponsorships went. Now, there are alot more companies trying to promote their companies as well as shops. You can't argue with how they spend their own money, but it does take away from the term "Sponsored" driver. But, in reality it depends on so many factors to determine who gets the sponsorships and support. Some people drive petter than others, some promote better. In a perfect world, you could find a pro level driver who wins who also has a great rapore with other drivers in supporting their sponsors. But those are far and few between so it's up to the companies to decide who they support.
To me, I'd rather support a racer who has decent results but good attitude than a jerk driver who wins a few races. You get respect more by how you handle yourself, than your results.
To me, I'd rather support a racer who has decent results but good attitude than a jerk driver who wins a few races. You get respect more by how you handle yourself, than your results.
07-22-2009, 03:07 PM
#22
I also seem to think that there alot more sponsored racers than ever before. When I first started racing, there were A and B sponsored racers. With A sponsored racers getting full rides and factory support and travel expenses. B Sponsored racers got to get parts at 50% or somewhere around there, but no travel expenses. Those were pretty much the way the sponsorships went. Now, there are alot more companies trying to promote their companies as well as shops. You can't argue with how they spend their own money, but it does take away from the term "Sponsored" driver. But, in reality it depends on so many factors to determine who gets the sponsorships and support. Some people drive petter than others, some promote better. In a perfect world, you could find a pro level driver who wins who also has a great rapore with other drivers in supporting their sponsors. But those are far and few between so it's up to the companies to decide who they support.
To me, I'd rather support a racer who has decent results but good attitude than a jerk driver who wins a few races. You get respect more by how you handle yourself, than your results.
To me, I'd rather support a racer who has decent results but good attitude than a jerk driver who wins a few races. You get respect more by how you handle yourself, than your results.
07-22-2009, 03:12 PM
#23
I also seem to think that there alot more sponsored racers than ever before. When I first started racing, there were A and B sponsored racers. With A sponsored racers getting full rides and factory support and travel expenses. B Sponsored racers got to get parts at 50% or somewhere around there, but no travel expenses. Those were pretty much the way the sponsorships went. Now, there are alot more companies trying to promote their companies as well as shops. You can't argue with how they spend their own money, but it does take away from the term "Sponsored" driver. But, in reality it depends on so many factors to determine who gets the sponsorships and support. Some people drive petter than others, some promote better. In a perfect world, you could find a pro level driver who wins who also has a great rapore with other drivers in supporting their sponsors. But those are far and few between so it's up to the companies to decide who they support.
To me, I'd rather support a racer who has decent results but good attitude than a jerk driver who wins a few races. You get respect more by how you handle yourself, than your results.
To me, I'd rather support a racer who has decent results but good attitude than a jerk driver who wins a few races. You get respect more by how you handle yourself, than your results.
07-22-2009, 03:19 PM
#24
When sponsorships are thrown around like they are now it makes the honor, well, not much of an honor anymore. A person should earn it with a great personality, knowledge of the sport, exceptional skill, and must be able to get the word out to others about the product or products they support. They must also be able to travel to different parts of the country to achieve this goal. A person that never leaves their home track is pretty useless when it comes to marketing.
This is especially true if they only have to give each homer 10% off their stuff versus having to pay the whole ride for the best racer in the country.
It is a happy medium - no need to get disillusioned about it.
07-22-2009, 04:21 PM
#25
maybe we should call it "rep" instead of sponsored ?
i just always believed that being sponsored was about getting recognized for doing the things that make you a great rep for the community you are in whether it be mx , bmx , rc , skiing , snowboarding or whatever . you should have enough skill that people see you and want to run/use the products you do because you are good at using them and show how well the product/s work .
internet sponsorships to me just seem like a marketing ploy but , times are changing . half the guys on rctech might not have even seen an rc track let alone drive on one .
i have never asked a sponsor for anything , everything i have been given has been offered to me
i just always believed that being sponsored was about getting recognized for doing the things that make you a great rep for the community you are in whether it be mx , bmx , rc , skiing , snowboarding or whatever . you should have enough skill that people see you and want to run/use the products you do because you are good at using them and show how well the product/s work .
internet sponsorships to me just seem like a marketing ploy but , times are changing . half the guys on rctech might not have even seen an rc track let alone drive on one .
i have never asked a sponsor for anything , everything i have been given has been offered to me
I used to shoot a lot of archery and compete in indoor and outdoor tournaments. I was sponsored by my local archery dealer and one on the largest archery manufactures. It was earned by talent and by respect for what I gave back to other people in the sport. When I wore my shooting shirt it was representative of those who backed me and I behaved accordingly in actions and by words. If we went out to eat and I still wore my shirt I would not even have a drink so as not to be disrespectful to their name.
If it is not offered to you by respect and without asking then you did not earn it in the first place. There is a major difference between putting a product name out there for anyone to use or one that's been earned to use.
The people who see it know the difference if they pay the slightest bit of attention at all.
Last edited by AZrcdriver; 07-22-2009 at 04:58 PM.
07-22-2009, 04:48 PM
#26
Interesting Thread
Just to add my 1p worth (UK)
I run top 5% at my club and win a fair few races there, we arent pro level by any stretch of the imagination, however I do enjoy deals I have for "discounted" parts, for this interaction i dont feel its a bad thing to add their name in avatars and such on forums or on my own RC cars as sponsors, at the end of the day what is a sponsor other than someone who helps out (normally financially) in our sport and if this is by reduced parts cost then its still sponsorship whether its a full ride or 5% off parts, perhaps we are getting employed and sponsored mixed up here as some of the top guys are employed where as the rest are sponsored ? 
Just to add my 1p worth (UK)
I run top 5% at my club and win a fair few races there, we arent pro level by any stretch of the imagination, however I do enjoy deals I have for "discounted" parts, for this interaction i dont feel its a bad thing to add their name in avatars and such on forums or on my own RC cars as sponsors, at the end of the day what is a sponsor other than someone who helps out (normally financially) in our sport and if this is by reduced parts cost then its still sponsorship whether its a full ride or 5% off parts, perhaps we are getting employed and sponsored mixed up here as some of the top guys are employed where as the rest are sponsored ?
07-22-2009, 05:10 PM
#27
That's an idealistic view of sponsorship. I guarantee you companies aren't thinking that way. They want to get their name out as fast and as cheap as possible. If they sponsor one homer from each track in the country, then will get their name out much more effectively then if they were to sponsor the best racer in the country who happened to visit each track once each year.
This is especially true if they only have to give each homer 10% off their stuff versus having to pay the whole ride for the best racer in the country.
It is a happy medium - no need to get disillusioned about it.
This is especially true if they only have to give each homer 10% off their stuff versus having to pay the whole ride for the best racer in the country.
It is a happy medium - no need to get disillusioned about it.
Since being sponsored is "theee thing" its easy to get people into buying their products at a discounted price and yet spread the company name. Odds are that out of 100 people they sponsor if 10 are really good drivers and another 20 are decent, then thats a pretty good results. How ever if all those people are below average drivers then people would not listen to them as much no matter how nice their attitude is. Just like any other business advertising is a big expense and giving a few people discount is far cheaper than putting ads in magazines and paying adwords to place your ad above everyone elses.
You can pretty much have the best engine in the market but with poor skills and setup you can finish dead last. People have a tendency that if lets say homer keeps on winning all races they want to use the products that he uses, copy his setups and mods on his ride. Racer's attitude does not matter AS much as the results unless if he is completely flat out rude even then people would try to see what engine and what brand buggy he is running.
07-22-2009, 05:28 PM
#28
maybe we should call it "rep" instead of sponsored ?
i just always believed that being sponsored was about getting recognized for doing the things that make you a great rep for the community you are in whether it be mx , bmx , rc , skiing , snowboarding or whatever . you should have enough skill that people see you and want to run/use the products you do because you are good at using them and show how well the product/s work .
internet sponsorships to me just seem like a marketing ploy but , times are changing . half the guys on rctech might not have even seen an rc track let alone drive on one .
i have never asked a sponsor for anything , everything i have been given has been offered to me
i just always believed that being sponsored was about getting recognized for doing the things that make you a great rep for the community you are in whether it be mx , bmx , rc , skiing , snowboarding or whatever . you should have enough skill that people see you and want to run/use the products you do because you are good at using them and show how well the product/s work .
internet sponsorships to me just seem like a marketing ploy but , times are changing . half the guys on rctech might not have even seen an rc track let alone drive on one .
i have never asked a sponsor for anything , everything i have been given has been offered to me
But RC being so small viral marketing is a very viable advertising medium and sponsorship is therefore also about people who will help the newb and make recommendations. So if you believe in what you make offer a discount RC does not equal Internet access. It is a outdoor sport for the mechanically inclined. Not necessarily the internet geek with pasty pale skin.
I bought AKAs based on this forum and I am very happy with them. 4 pair sight unseen. Answer shoes looked good to me too, but again forum sold them after hearing reinforcing banter.
Word of mouth will sell a lot more merch than a internet forum. Think of all the people Jaz must pester while hopping pipe at the track.
I would at very least make sure he had a preferred customer status knowing he is going to tell and retell his experience.I guess to end this endless rant you have to look at how you think your customer will buy because Drake does it or because Jaz and a few others swear by it.
07-22-2009, 05:35 PM
#29
Sponsorship is really just a promotional agreement; this idea of sponsorship having to be "earned" just makes me chuckle. There are no free lunches, and if a given company is willing to part with either product or money or both, you can bet that they aren't doing it out of the goodness of their corporate hearts, but to gain something from the transaction.
That having been said, different companies have different business plans/business models/advertising strategies, but the end goal is usually the same: to have their product or service seen in the most favourable light possible, so as to generate sales and thus, revenue.
When I think about it, offering a pro or club driver free or discounted equipment is probably a very efficient way of promoting one's product.
Let's take engines for example. Let's say that BRAND X has a mill that retails for $300, and they want to get the word out to get as many people as possible to buy the BRAND X mill. The engine itself probably costs $70 to fabricate, parts & labor included, so even if they flat-out give a dozen of them away, those dozen BRAND X-sponsored runners will probably be seen by 800-1000 people each (conservatively), over the course of 6 months, so roughly 12000 people reached in total.
Of those total 12000 avid RC-ers, maybe one in ten will actually buy that mill, so 1200 mills sold... With less than $850 out-of-pocket. Granted, I've grossly over-simplified the matter to make my point, but you get the jist of it: if a company "gives" someone something, they're getting something back in return
That having been said, different companies have different business plans/business models/advertising strategies, but the end goal is usually the same: to have their product or service seen in the most favourable light possible, so as to generate sales and thus, revenue.
When I think about it, offering a pro or club driver free or discounted equipment is probably a very efficient way of promoting one's product.
Let's take engines for example. Let's say that BRAND X has a mill that retails for $300, and they want to get the word out to get as many people as possible to buy the BRAND X mill. The engine itself probably costs $70 to fabricate, parts & labor included, so even if they flat-out give a dozen of them away, those dozen BRAND X-sponsored runners will probably be seen by 800-1000 people each (conservatively), over the course of 6 months, so roughly 12000 people reached in total.
Of those total 12000 avid RC-ers, maybe one in ten will actually buy that mill, so 1200 mills sold... With less than $850 out-of-pocket. Granted, I've grossly over-simplified the matter to make my point, but you get the jist of it: if a company "gives" someone something, they're getting something back in return
07-22-2009, 05:42 PM
#30
Sponsorship is really just a promotional agreement; this idea of sponsorship having to be "earned" just makes me chuckle. There are no free lunches, and if a given company is willing to part with either product or money or both, you can bet that they aren't doing it out of the goodness of their corporate hearts, but to gain something from the transaction.
That having been said, different companies have different business plans/business models/advertising strategies, but the end goal is usually the same: to have their product or service seen in the most favourable light possible, so as to generate sales and thus, revenue.
When I think about it, offering a pro or club driver free or discounted equipment is probably a very efficient way of promoting one's product.
Let's take engines for example. Let's say that BRAND X has a mill that retails for $300, and they want to get the word out to get as many people as possible to buy the BRAND X mill. The engine itself probably costs $70 to fabricate, parts & labor included, so even if they flat-out give a dozen of them away, those dozen BRAND X-sponsored runners will probably be seen by 800-1000 people each (conservatively), over the course of 6 months, so roughly 12000 people reached in total.
Of those total 12000 avid RC-ers, maybe one in ten will actually buy that mill, so 1200 mills sold... With less than $850 out-of-pocket. Granted, I've grossly over-simplified the matter to make my point, but you get the jist of it: if a company "gives" someone something, they're getting something back in return
That having been said, different companies have different business plans/business models/advertising strategies, but the end goal is usually the same: to have their product or service seen in the most favourable light possible, so as to generate sales and thus, revenue.
When I think about it, offering a pro or club driver free or discounted equipment is probably a very efficient way of promoting one's product.
Let's take engines for example. Let's say that BRAND X has a mill that retails for $300, and they want to get the word out to get as many people as possible to buy the BRAND X mill. The engine itself probably costs $70 to fabricate, parts & labor included, so even if they flat-out give a dozen of them away, those dozen BRAND X-sponsored runners will probably be seen by 800-1000 people each (conservatively), over the course of 6 months, so roughly 12000 people reached in total.
Of those total 12000 avid RC-ers, maybe one in ten will actually buy that mill, so 1200 mills sold... With less than $850 out-of-pocket. Granted, I've grossly over-simplified the matter to make my point, but you get the jist of it: if a company "gives" someone something, they're getting something back in return
