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Jumpmunki

Sponsorship And What I Want To Do

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Your best bet is to find a sugar-Momma who is turned on by adren junkies.;)


Are you turned on by adrenalin junkies ??? Wanna be my sugar-momma ?? Need to promote your company in Switzerland ?? I am your man :P
scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

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To expand upon quade's earlier comment ....
Skydivers love to brag about how they are "sponsored" by manufacturer "X."
They just quietly forget to mention the details of their contract.
"Sorry, that's confidential."
Chances are their team only got "best dealer discount" when they ordered five similar jumpsuits.
This is a long way from earning a salary in the skydiving business.

The funny thing is that lots of wannabees sew embroidered patches on their jumpsuits for the "sponsored" look.
The last time this practice made sense to me was when a jumper asked me to sew an Icarus embroidered patch over a hole in his jupsuit.
Hee!
Hee!

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Okay...here goes for what it's worth.

I jump on a "High Profile" demo team, by high profile
I mean that we do a lot of big venue events nationwide,
and get paid somewhat more that the average
"Local DZ " demo team...

We work with several different sponsors,
depending on the venue, the area geographically,
and to an extent even the season.

Sponsor involvement with us varies...

It's all a marketing game.
As mentioned above, there are plenty of 'sponsors' out there
who's involvement with you is nothing more than 'team discount'
prices...
similarly, there are sponsors who will provide you with
a large 'sample' of their product...with which you may do as you will.

For example, my better 1/2 was an air racer & air show pilot
that had Rolex as a sponsor...
she had their logo on her promo stuff and a sticker
on her plane...
no cash, but 1/2 a dozen watches a year.

Same with Goodyear, Die hard, Sporty's Pilot Shop, some high dollar leather jacket company, Revo, Chevron...

You can often sell / trade the items for some
currency / value enabling you to 'stay in business'.

The companies make out because on their books they've
spent say 20,000 in marketing / advertising
(retail value of the items)
but in fact their true cost is 1/4 of that.

That type of sponsorship is quite helpful, and though hard to get...
is easier to get than a 'dedicated' sponsor that is going to give you a decent amount of cash money for operating expenses.

To obtain a 'dedicated' sponsor, you have to be able to bring something to the table that they want / need...
(real or perceived)

For the most part, that is advertising,
name placement & recognition.

Companies judge their advertising / marketing effectiveness
by the 'CPM' or cost per thousand of exposure..
how much money it cost them to get an effective message
out to 1000 people in their target market.

You need to show them that you have a
'product / business' that will be a positive and cost
effective means of promotion for them.

You will have to 'walk the walk' as well as if not better
that everyone else, before you even begin to try
to 'talk the talk'...

Winning a ton of metals and trophies is one way...

Another is setting yourself apart from your competition
by offering a slant the others can't or don't.

Your individual niche or hook.

The 'Misty Blues" all girl parachute demonstration team
is a good example...
they offer for the most part a 'standard' demo program...
but the fact is, they're not only talented skydivers...
but great looking women in tight pink jumpsuits,
it's their hook.

I started jumping in 1976 with an 'outlaw' type of club
that did demos for operating money instead of slinging meat.
Did my first demo with 22 jumps on a Pap
with 4 M18's on my feet into a SRO stadium.
(semi-pro baseball)

After gaining lots of experience...
a couple of us wanted to take it to the next level.

The Golden Knights have always been the standard for Professional Parachute Demonstrations...
we wanted to be 'like' them but not them.

We carved out a niche..

A CIVILIAN patriotic demo team...:)

We were the first to be jumping flags over 2500 sqft.
Flags honoring all the Military Branches, POW / MIA banners,
MASSIVE amounts of aerial smoke, night pyrotechnics,
CReW & canopy stunts, McGruff himself jumping a
'Just Say No' parachute, and many other 'acts' no
one at the time was doing.

Building a name & reputation, we after a time,
then had a 'product' to offer a sponsor.

To procure sponsorship for an organization such as ours,
one must first target that company...

For example, if the venue(s) I want sponsorship assistance
with are air shows...
Camera or Soft Drink companies are a better fit
than ladies hair coloring.

I can go to my prospect and say something on the order,
your average CPM for this region is .12
For 30 days in June, I can give you an exposure total of
1.2 million at a cost of .10
With a residual of + - 15% for up to 12 months due to the
personal video & photograph record as well as local
Television and Print Media coverage on the events.

(I use the pitch that no one ever shows photos of a billboard
to their friends and coworkers, but everyone shows off their
air show PICS...
and there's YOUR product name over and over.)

We offer various levels of sponsorship....
From their logo on the parachute, to towed banners,
to patches on the jumpsuits...

...all get recognition on our 'autograph handouts'
and mention in the show program, as well as being
named during the act itself by the event announcer.

Depending on how hard I want to work,
I can do rather well...
there are the local car dealers, Real Estate brokers,
insurance companies, grocery chains,
there's national fortune 500 companies that may
already have a presence at the event and wish to
increase that exposure....

The possibilities are endless...

It's hard work~
sales, marketing, PR,
You gotta have all your ducks in a row business wise...
In addition to being a safe competent
Skydiving Professional!

...Find something about your area interest and expertise
in the sport that sets you apart from almost everyone else,
then find someone that will compensate you for letting them
use that specialty to THEIR advantage.

Any real sponsor will only be interested in being associated
with you...
When you can show them what you can do for them,
that no one else can as well, for bargain basement rates.

Or then again..

You can just head out to the DZ
and have some fun with your friends!!!!B|










~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

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Maybe consider the smaller picture first.
Go local....find someone or someones who will each throw a 'small' amount of support your way....support them in whatever way you think you can......skydiving and 'swooping' produce powerful visuals and associations........local councils, independant sports shops......even bigger'sports drinks' manufacturers;)....may like that association ( and I dont think you would have to be a gold medal winner to atract that interest....getting on the band wagon first may be enough)

Just a thought before you start looking at the bigger boys for kit deals or more.....

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That will translate to sales, not having a one liner buried in an article saying jumper X on his Spectre landed safely at the DZ after an uneventful skydive.


Yeah, it has better to be 'Jumper X had a full-of-events skydive because of his rig was manufactured by YYY and his main was packed by ZZZ' !:ph34r:

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