How Do You Go About Finding A Sponsor?

Qui-Gonn Jew asks: "A group of us were designing a robot for BattleBots, and [managed to get to the] building stage when our sponsor dropped us. So now we need to find a new sponsor that will fund us the money to finish and enter the 'Bot for next season. Any suggestions on how/who to ask? We are willing to completely cover our bot with a company logo." There are always people willing to look for sponsors to underwrite a portion of their costs whether they are entering a contest, battling robots, or driving a race car. Even .ORGs need sponsors every once in a while. What's the best way to go about finding sponsors in such situations? Hopefully, a few of you out there have different ideas that might not have been touched on the last time around.

It's not that hard

[Anonymous Coward]

1. Attend a meeting in your area. Look in the yellow pages under AA.
2. Admit you have a problem.
3. You will be assigned a sponsor

Hardware Store

[vbrtrmn]

I'd try getting sponsorship from a hardware store such as Home Depot or Ace, they'd probably be more willing to give you parts than cash, but that's probably what you need :)

--
you are not what you own

I know

[SquadBoy]

that in the past these people [ptc.com]. Have provided some support to battle bot teams. Mostly it has been in the way of software in exchange for putting a sticker on the bot but you never know and they do have at least some people who know what it is and who have supported it in the past.

Tried your suppliers?

[John Jorsett]

How about hitting up the manufacturers/distributors of the components you're using? Perhaps being able to say "our widgets helped trash our competitor's widgets" would be sufficient incentive.

Re:Slashbot...

[Yottabyte84]

And what's wrong with the name slashbot.... On I side note my friends and I are toying with the idea of building one (We have a bunch of sketches but haven't decided to make it...) and I was also thinking about how to get a sponser... And what would happen if we slacked off... (Most of my friends and I have work alergies...)

Putting the ... in slashdot.

Understand why companies sponsor

[Usquebaugh]

Sponsorship and the World of Motor Racing
Guy Edwards
0-905138-95-3

As the title says it's primarily aimed at Motor Racing, but the fundementals are the same. The author has arranged some huge deals

In a brief summation it's about giving the sponsor more than they paid for.

You are going to be a moving bill board for them on T. V. do you know how much TV time costs? $$$ If you win how much exposure will you generate for the company?

The work doesn't stop when you get the money, that's when it starts.

When the competition is over you should work out how much publicity you generated for the firm and let them know, a slick video is not out of the question given todays hardware.

In short you can get a small amount of money fairly easily, but getting more money or getting money for the next campaign takes effort.

Re:Ask Slashdot: Will you sponsor me?

[Medieval_Gnome]

And call it what? The Slashbot?

Ask Slashdot: Will you sponsor me?

[Anonymous Coward]

Go on, you wouldn't want a robot with a /. logo on it?

Writing a sponsorship proposal

[Christopher Bibbs]

I've seen a few of these for racers, but I don't see why it should be any different for a battle bot maker. What you need to do is put together a one or two page write up on who you are and what you're building. Include a cover letter asking for sponsorship and then mass mail the thing to local businesses and the makers of the stuff you need.

If a business can supply you with parts (either free or at a discount) it usually works out pretty well. Getting cash can be tricky (particularily with no past success), but you may just get lucky.

start small

[milgram]

Your best bet is to try a smaller local business. But, try as many as your can. Make them all "co-sponsors" for a smaller amount. Hit up any company you have relations with, like the phone company, your cable company, etc. It may sound strange, but you might be suprised what you will find. What weight class are you in? I might not want you to get a sponsor. :>