A bit of a weighty article for Overland Junction I wrote about the pitfalls, benefits, tips and advice for brands and adventurers thinking of going the sponsorship route for that epic trip. Hopefully it can assist people and brands so both win from the experience.


"The decision has been made to travel the world for ever and beyond. All that’s needed now is to rake in enough money to fund it. Why not try and hook up sponsors to help the piggy bank? Equipment is expensive and any free stuff would go a long way to making that epic trip happen. That’s what they say, right?

It’s not as easy as it seems. Getting free stuff can also potentially put a bit of a damper on that once in a lifetime experience. Allow me to explain the reason I decided to write about sponsorship deals and the pros and cons of this trend in the adventure motorcycle market......
Sponsorship advice for riders and brands.

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That's a great article and a bit of a sobering read for anyone thinking that commercial sponsorship is a shortcut to financing a trip from your own 9 to 5 efforts.

The level of commitment and professionalism needed to fulfil a sponsor's "generosity" is one reason I've always preferred to pay my own amateur way when it come to travel projects. For many years though I used to work in a different industry where success or failure was almost directly linked to how much sponsorship you could bring in each year and it was interesting to see who was able to "do it" and who was not.

Many of these guys (almost all men) were very talented at their "sport" (motor racing) but without the money and / or exposure that sponsorship brought they could only get so far. Equally, there were some who were fantastic at self promotion and P.R. and seemed to have no problems, year after year, bringing in substantial amounts of money but lacked the on-track talent needed to justify the faith placed in them. They'd be the ones with new sponsors every year (and a long list of excuses!). There were a few who were able to inhabit both worlds successfully and a number of them went on to become very successful.

Much of the difference came down to personality. You don't get very far in the motor racing world without having total self belief in your ability but some seemed to have an additional ability to make things happen around them, to convince people to back them. They were surrounded by a kind of aura of success (even if temporarily down on their luck) and somehow this would cut through the usual cost-benefit analysis that marketing departments employ. Or maybe it didn't and potential sponsors saw something they could exploit that went beyond success on the track. Either way it was obvious what a dog eat dog world it all was (and probably still is) and that anyone who wanted to get beyond the level of T. Bone (Family Butchers) chucking in a few quid because he was an enthusiast had to get very professional very quickly.

You touch on a good point, which I haven't included in the article. Some of the better sponsored riders are also good marketers and have good social personalities. It's part the reason they do well. Most of the sponsored riders are shy introvert type people and not marketers and does not know much about subtle product placement photos in articles and social media post not to come over as spam.
There are so many dynamics to being a good sponsored rider, getting the free stuff is the easy part.

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Interesting article.

I'm with BoB, having done motorsport sponsorship I can't think of anything more pointless for the supplier. Fleet managers spend their free time with their kids or collecting stamps or putting white powder up their noses or whatever. Some man-child driving in circles in a vehicle like nothing on earth doesn't change their minds on Monday morning, they buy cheaper or longer lasting based on what they talked about with other fleet managers on Linkdin. Their bosses may enjoy the champagne at the track, but would rather do without the noise interrupting the business talk. Golf is easier to ignore.

The suppliers staff faced with said hobbyist constantly asking for more free stuff or advice on how to use it or make it go faster will annoy. When they find a way to turn off the noise you end end up with bad press when he switches sponsors.

Personally, if someone wanted to take my kit on a long trip i'd suggest they bought it and if they came back with good pictures and a story of how good it is, how good the service was etc. I'd reward them with an new for old deal IF they delivered. They'd have no pressure to perform.

The idea of changing a trip into a marketing campaign would ruin it for me. Hanging about to take a photo so the light falls right on the sponsors logo? Blow that!

That photo advert was proper old school. Lovely picture, but I can't remember if it was Cannon or Nikon. I'd buy a camera based on the review sites. There are too many lovely pictures now for yours to stand out.

Andy

Oh yes, I can remember many a happy (?) day spent in the BRDC suite or sponsors boxes at Silverstone where nobody even looked at the track - except for the odd occasion when someone crashed directly outside the box and they'd glance out for a few seconds. As you say, most of the time they could have done without the noise.

Certainly in motor racing (and probably in a good few other sponsorable activities) the youngsters (teens mainly) see acquiring a "heavyweight" sponsor (not T. Bone or the local scaffolding company) as a sign they're a serious player but have no real idea about how that world works - not surprising really as they're not long out of school and only need outside money as they've exhausted what mum / dad / Saturday job can provide. I lost track of the number of times I heard a conversation along the lines of "he could afford to sponsor me, he's a millionaire" without any concept or consideration of how Mr X got to be such and why he would consider throwing away hard earnt money on a socially inept individual with limited life experience (so no good after dinner speeches) and a patchy on-track record.

In sports / activities where sponsorship (money mainly but also the profile raising that can come from some sponsor's business sector) really makes the difference between success and failure I suppose there will always be a slope to the playing field where genuinely talented individuals just don't get the breaks they think they deserve while other "journeymen" seem to attract money like magnets. That, unfortunately, is just the way the world works with people pushing whatever edge they can find, some successfully, some not and those sponsors that can see a reason for getting involved taking their pound of flesh in whatever form works for them.

If you're planning some kind of overland expedition I'm at a little bit of a loss to see where the "talent" bit comes in (assuming you have a driving licence). Most of the payback for the sponsor would (I imagine) come not from what you do but from how you do it. Lots of online followers while you're away, a (readable) book, DVD, personal appearances, lectures etc when you return and all fronted up by a warm engaging personality that makes people believe what you say and want to spend their money on the stuff you endorse. It sounds a bit like a tv shopping channel and reminds me of a measurable percentage of the stuff at this year's HU meet in Wales. If all that comes naturally and easily to you then you are blessed indeed but if it just starts to sound like a treadmill, and an uphill one at that, then maybe another look at the sponsor's t's & c's might be a good idea.