Snowboarding Sponsorship

Sponsorship Part 1: What it is and how to prepare

Author: Selena - Boardworld Staff

 

So what exactly is sponsorship?

Sponsorship is ultimately where any snowboarder, young or old, wants to be. Achieving sponsorship means a few things:

  1. You’re pretty awesome at what you do
  2. You’re seen as valuable and companies want your face representing them

It’s a form of advertising in which an organisation provides an individual with products, or money, for commercial benefit and exposure. It’s usually undertaken to encourage more favourable attitudes towards the organisation and its products within the target market.

There’s really no easy way to secure a sponsorship deal. It requires a combination of skill and business knowledge- a double duo that is hard to come by. This article will give you a better understanding of what sponsorship is, and how to prepare yourself- so you’re in the best spot possible to be approved and picked up.

In this part 1 of 2, we’re going to be focusing solely on individual sponsorship for snowboarding.

First thing?

 

Sponsorship is a business relationship

It must be mutually beneficial for both the sponsored snowboarder and the sponsoring organisation. The sponsored snowboarder will receive:

  • Products
  • Money
  • Exposure

And the sponsoring organisation will:

  • Receive advertising
  • Build brand awareness

The most successful sponsored snowboarders are talented athletes - but more importantly, they understand the business of their industry and how to leverage their skills to build their OWN brand as well.

Snowboarders need to treat their talent as their own personal business.

 

What’s so great about sponsorship?

Well, it’s simple. Sponsorship aims to build a strong and long-lasting relationship between the sponsored snowboarder and the sponsoring organisation. Is it a “wham, bam, thank you maam” deal, where you get free products and stuff, and then you bail?

No.

The longer the relationship lasts, the more brand awareness is brought to both the individual and company - creating a more solid and authoritative sponsorship.

 

How do I prepare myself to be awesome?

As I said before, you need to treat yourself like your own most valuable asset. YOU are the ultimate weapon in getting a sponsorship. Some things you need to think about are:

  • What is the most suitable organisation to sponsor me? Why?
  • What unique assets and skills can I bring to their organisation?
  • Can I gain market exposure? Am I marketable?
  • Can I influence buying habits and generate sales?
  • Do I compete? How often? What were the results?
  • Have I gained natural media coverage?
  • Do I have photos and/or videos of myself snowboarding?

Once you answer these questions, and get a better understanding of who you are and what you can offer these organisations, you can move on to the actual preparation.

Some sources also say that it’s important that you’ve ridden with someone they know. You need to make sure you’re networking and marketing yourself like crazy, to find opportunities to ride with anybody and everybody.

Networking happens when you build up your own brand. When building your personal brand, as a snowboarder, you want to make sure you’re easily accessible to anybody who may be looking for you. An excellent way to gain exposure, naturally, is to keep up a blog.

Having a blog not only gives readers a way to connect and engage with you, but it also gives sponsors and other riders a chance to see what you’re up to, how you’re training and what your interests are.

An organisation can judge your marketability and “worth” by checking out your following- seeing how you interact on a social level with readers that are considered fans, and how they interact with you.

Because snowboarding is such a unique sport, in the way that people are interested in the boarder’s life outside of snowboarding, it’s important to document the real you… riddled with snowboarding pictures and videos of course.

You also want to make sure your blog is documenting:

  • Any new gear that you’re trying out
  • Any competitions you plan on entering
  • New tricks or techniques you’re working on
  • Goals you’re setting for yourself- make sure you mark when you achieve them

ALSO! Please, please, PLEASE check over spelling and grammar.

 

How do I promote myself?

If you want to be seen by sponsors and get on their radar before you approach them about a possible business deal, social networking is an excellent way to do just that. To get exposure, make sure that you:

  • Make yourself known to you local snowboard store
  • Use social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, to self promote
  • Frequent well-known snowboarding forums online
  • Comment and engage on other well known snowboarder’s blogs or posts
  • Use a consistent name across all the boards so you’re easily recognizable. Your name usually works just fine. Don’t go all “snowboarderboy66” on us, like back in the AOL days.
  • Do not bash competition or show a negative attitude in any online or social forum
  • Update on competitions you’re entering - be sure to thank your followers/friends if they share this information as well.
  • Engage with followers and friends. This is most important!
  • Do not come off as egotistical and only talk about your accomplishments.

 

Now what?

Well, this was the initial guide about sponsorship. Now you can understand what is it, and how you can prepare. Next up, you should read part 2, where we get down into the details on the benefits you can receive and how to actually go about applying.

Now get out there and hit the snow!


If you have any questions on sponsorship, ask one of the industry experts on the Boardworld Snowboarding Forums.