Sponsorship

[sparty69]

Hi everyone,
I haven't been on for a while as I've been busy trying to build up my new business. I'm a mobile bicycle mechanic covering the Glossopdale and Tameside areas and I'm seeking a young up and coming rider who may be interested in me sponsoring them. By sponsoring them I would set up and maintain their bike free of charge and be able to get them parts at cost price.
If anyone on here knows of someone in my area that may be interested in taking me up on this offer then please pass on my details. andy@cycletechtameside.co.uk website www.cycletechtameside.co.uk .
Thanks.

 

[black'n'yellow]

sounds more like ad-hoc support, rather than actual sponsorship..?

 

[sparty69]

sounds more like ad-hoc support, rather than actual sponsorship..?

What do you regard as sponsorship?, throwing large amounts of money at someone?. I'm a small business looking to support a local rider with my time for free, something that they would otherwise have to pay for, or do themselves. This saves them time and money. Sponsorship takes all forms.

 

[black'n'yellow]

The problem you will have is that any 'up and coming young rider' will almost certainly already be part of a local club/team structure (if they are any good). Consequently, if you are expecting him/her to carry your logo on their kit, then the only way that will happen is to sponsor the entire club/team with new jerseys, etc.

Sponsorship takes 'many' forms - but not all of them make sense. If raising your profile is the aim, then offering some kind of service at local events (Tameside crit series, or local sportives for example) would probably work better. Strictly speaking though, if you are a franchise (which I believe Cycletech is) then you should be looking to head office for national advertising/sponsorship which you can ride on the back of...

 

[sparty69]

Thanks for your input, you're obviously more clued up regarding the local club scene than I am. I'm not part of a club, simply because I don't get the time to ride much myself (more's the pity). Cycle Tech is a network and not a franchise per se, we provide support and advice to each other. Martin, who started Cycle Tech, sponsors a young rider in his area, providing the same service that I have mentioned. His experience is that a lot of riders turn up to events and suffer mechanicals because they don't have the kind of support he offers to his rider. Your suggestion re the Crits and local sportives has been investigated by myself, to no avail. Unfortunately they all seem to have the provision of mechanical support in place already.
I would still like to pursue the sponsor route as I feel it would be beneficial to someone out there. I would not be looking for major advertising from it, maybe a small logo somewhere about the kit. I think my presence at events would be sufficient advertising.

 

[Rob3rt]

What do you want in return? How young? What do they need to have as palmares to count as up and coming?

Could you offer something similar but to a full club with reduced costs rather than for free?

I am a member of a local club (who have a fair presence at the local tameside crits and other local CDNW and TLI races) and I am sure someone (I am NOT talking about myself here) could benefit from such an offer but before I mention this to the racing sec, it would be good to know exactly what the deal is.

 

[black'n'yellow]

I would still like to pursue the sponsor route as I feel it would be beneficial to someone out there. I would not be looking for major advertising from it, maybe a small logo somewhere about the kit. I think my presence at events would be sufficient advertising.

What I would suggest is approaching a local club/team (preferably one that isn't already sponsored by a bike shop - as a few of them are) and offering them your support service. That would get you a presence in the paddock/outside the race HQ/wherever and it would make the team look more pro as well. There's one local team in particular that I've seen doing this - the riders usually turn up individually, but the bikes all go up on the stand for a pre-race check and are then lined up next to the van - looks very impressive - perhaps a little OTT, if I'm honest - but it gets the name noticed.

 

[sparty69]

What do you want in return? How young? What do they need to have as palmares to count as up and coming?

Could you offer something similar but to a full club with reduced costs rather than for free?

I am a member of a local club (who have a fair presence at the local tameside crits and other local CDNW and TLI races) and I am sure someone (I am NOT talking about myself here) could benefit from such an offer but before I mention this to the racing sec, it would be good to know exactly what the deal is.

I tried this with a local club who already had an arrangement with the local shop, who then got arsey with me for approaching them.

I'll have a think about what I could offer and how it would work and I'll get back to you.

 

[black'n'yellow]

I tried this with a local club who already had an arrangement with the local shop, who then got arsey with me for approaching them.

that's why I suggested trying it with a club with no links to a shop....

 

[sparty69]

that's why I suggested trying it with a club with no links to a shop....

Yeah, but I didn't know they had links to a shop before I approached them! Catch 22.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Another suggestion would be to find a local race or race series and sponsor a trophy for the most aggressive rider, fastest woman (womens cycling needs much support)

 

[Rob3rt]

I tried this with a local club who already had an arrangement with the local shop, who then got arsey with me for approaching them.

I'll have a think about what I could offer and how it would work and I'll get back to you.

Which club was it, pm if you don't want to post up publicly. It won't go any further, just curious if it was the club I am in.