What to buy for my sponsors?
Discussion
This year has been my first proper year of competitive motor racing which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I gained sponsorship from a company who have been nothing short of fantastic for me and have helped me throughout.
The season is now at an end and I want to buy/do something for them to show my gratitude - as without them I wouldn't have been able to live out a dream of mine since I was a nipper.
My problem is, what do I get/do for them? These guys aren't short of money and I only have a few hundred quid max to spend.
Any ideas?
The season is now at an end and I want to buy/do something for them to show my gratitude - as without them I wouldn't have been able to live out a dream of mine since I was a nipper.
My problem is, what do I get/do for them? These guys aren't short of money and I only have a few hundred quid max to spend.
Any ideas?
mr_spock said:
Take them on a track day and scare them to death, then down the pub.
Thats a really good idea actually - Are the sponsors anyhting to di with Motorsport itself - or are they just a random company..
If they are people who dont actually have any experience of track driving then what would be a really good idea - get them out in some caterhams or something on a track.
mr_spock said:
Take them on a track day and scare them to death, then down the pub.
agreed. i'm sure they'll appreciate a white knuckle ride and a meal/beers will give you the opportunity to relax with them and do a thankyou speech. maybe have a model of your car made up with a plaque and presentation case and present them with it at the same time?
i'm sure this kind of gesture will be appreciated more than something shop bought.
shirt said:
mr_spock said:
Take them on a track day and scare them to death, then down the pub.
agreed. i'm sure they'll appreciate a white knuckle ride and a meal/beers will give you the opportunity to relax with them and do a thankyou speech. maybe have a model of your car made up with a plaque and presentation case and present them with it at the same time?
i'm sure this kind of gesture will be appreciated more than something shop bought.
Not sure what you were racing but if a tin top you could pop a second seat and belts into that would be even better as they will get to have a trip in 'their' car.
The model is also a great one, although it is surprising how much they can cost
Edit to add - Just looked at profile and see a Sports 2000 (?) Job done I would have said. Make sure you make a play on how (comparatively) close the lap times are to F3.
Edited by Rude-boy on Friday 23 October 11:47
shirt said:
mr_spock said:
Take them on a track day and scare them to death, then down the pub.
agreed. i'm sure they'll appreciate a white knuckle ride and a meal/beers will give you the opportunity to relax with them and do a thankyou speech. maybe have a model of your car made up with a plaque and presentation case and present them with it at the same time?
i'm sure this kind of gesture will be appreciated more than something shop bought.
Job done!
Rude-boy said:
The model is also a great one, although it is surprising how much they can cost
i thought it would be tin top of some kind and therefore a simple case of shop bought + decals but having read the OP's profile i think he'd need to find a specialist. depending on scale/detail i think its within the realms of possible on that budget. OP - ask around in the scale model forum. A single seater hillclimber I know hires Curborough one day each year and takes his sponsors along for hot laps. He can't take them round in the single seater, but he invites a bunch of people who sprint in road cars to take his sponsors round with them - in return the sprinters get a free track day. It's a bit late in the year now, but it seems to be a very successful formula you could consider for next year. (Just make sure that the only people who drive on track are people you know and trust to be sensible - don't let the sponsors out to drive themselves or it will end in tears.)
Thanks for the replies. I'd love to get a scale model of the car made - will look into this.
Trackday is another good idea. It's classed "technically" as a single seater but there is room for a passenger seat to be fitted so that could be a fantastic idea, especially as they are not in the motorsport industry.
Thanks for the help.
Trackday is another good idea. It's classed "technically" as a single seater but there is room for a passenger seat to be fitted so that could be a fantastic idea, especially as they are not in the motorsport industry.
Thanks for the help.
The trackday offer is one angle I'm putting to potential sponsors. Along with being prepared to take the car to shows etc, I reckon these are the best ways to entice them in (not worked yet).
If none of them have driven on track before, frankly you could go round much slower than you normally would and they'd still think you were the Stig.
If none of them have driven on track before, frankly you could go round much slower than you normally would and they'd still think you were the Stig.
What I did for my sponsor (and what has previously been suggested) was to bolt a passenger seat in the car and take him and two of his mates out for a few laps of Goodwood. Back then I was able to pay for just a couple of hours tracktime rather than a whole day. I also let them drive too and timed them against me so that they could see the difference in their ability and mine. I had a friend of mine there who was a photographer who took some photos of them with the car etc and while we went off to a lovely pub in the village for a pie and a pint he quickly developed a couple of nice pics and brought them to me to present to them after lunch.
They loved the experience, and were amazed at the speed at which I got the photos developed.
They loved the experience, and were amazed at the speed at which I got the photos developed.
We do a lot of track days for sponsors and corporate guests and it always goes down a treat. We run them around in a Focus or MINI first to see what driving on track is all about and we can obviously talk to them whilst driving it, and then its bolted into one of the Astons for a passenger ride experience to finish the day. Normally just 2 laps or so, but after the slower (although still comparably faster than they are usual!!) experience earlier in the day 2 laps is normally quite enough (we are talking GT3 or GT4 cars so they are relatively swift!).
Watch out for those that get travel sick though!!
Combined with lunch etc, or a dinner and drinks in the evening makes for a great day out
If you can't find a scale model, try a local vacuum forming company and they might be able to help out with producing body shells for radio control cars as these are pretty straight forward to produce if you can make up a plug.
Watch out for those that get travel sick though!!
Combined with lunch etc, or a dinner and drinks in the evening makes for a great day out
If you can't find a scale model, try a local vacuum forming company and they might be able to help out with producing body shells for radio control cars as these are pretty straight forward to produce if you can make up a plug.
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