I'm looking for some corporate sponsors. Its not for racing, its for my new 18-wheeler-converted-to-a-home project. The home will be a showcase of green energy and have a "where's curtis" website. The idea is to have a mobile house that I live in, but also A) crowd source funds to help, B) be an ambassador of alternative energy, C) make a wee bit of money with an ad-supported website, D) potentially continue building homes as a business.
So, I wanted to approach some solar energy manufacturers for panels and inverter systems, maybe get generac on board with a generator, heck even Frigidaire or Bosch for some appliances. Then the prototype rig can have a big www.wherescurtis.com and then Sponsored by: Solartec, Bosch, Lumber Liquidators, Budweiser, Playboy, etc. (playboy would supply the brass pole and strippers, and Bud would supply kegs of beer for when I come to the challenge)
How do I do that? I figured you folks might have some experience getting sponsorship for your racing. I have very little business experience. My experience with pitching an idea is that one episode of Shark Tank that I watched. I would assume that going to these companies with a business plan is key? How does one do that? A 100-page complete layout? A 5 page summary? A pamphlet and a handshake? What content is included in a proposal like that? What job position do I contact within these companies - VP of freebies?
If you need someone to run your website, I'm desperately short on mo - uh, I mean I'm available.
Contact the most senior person in marketing you can find.
Good advice. And Gameboy, I will contact you about a website. Last website I did myself was with Microsoft Front Page back in about 2002. I'm guessing things maaay have changed a bit since then.
This almost sounds like it has Kickstarter potential.
I agree with Kickstarter. I'm also looking into some other crowd funding sites. One of the more intriguing is Bitcoin. Its not a crowd source site so to speak, but a new form e-currency that can be used in a crowdfund way.
The biggest thing to keep in mind is that you're trying to convince them that the value of the goods or money they're contributing would be made back several times over in increased revenue from the publicity they get from the project. It's not the same thing as a business plan. If possible, put together some sort of decent looking brochure and PDF file to send to them.
MadScientistMatt wrote:
The biggest thing to keep in mind is that you're trying to convince them that the value of the goods or money they're contributing would be made back several times over in increased revenue from the publicity they get from the project. It's not the same thing as a business plan. If possible, put together some sort of decent looking brochure and PDF file to send to them.
I'm hoping that can be accomplished with graphics on the trailer, offering them free ads on the website, and general advertising exposure... maybe some articles in RV magazines, home living magazines, green living magazines, etc.
Are you trying to build a green house that can be relocated or a Eco RV?
curtis73 wrote:
I agree with Kickstarter. I'm also looking into some other crowd funding sites. One of the more intriguing is Bitcoin. Its not a crowd source site so to speak, but a new form e-currency that can be used in a crowdfund way.
Bitcoin is "just" a currency, and a very volatile one at that. Yes, it could be used for crowdfunding, but unless you expect your campaign to be massively oversubscribed, the volatility of the exchange rate to currency that actually buy you stuff might work against you.
Still, I agree on the crowdfunding potential of the project.
Sure, everyone's a critic...
I am concerned that WhereIsCurtis is too narrow focused.
When looking for sponsorship, every decisions should be, "how does this benifit the sponsor?" With the brand being CURTIS, I think that this could be a problem.
As examples, Mike Rowe's show (when he was mostly unknown) was not WhereIsMikeWorking.
No, it was Dirty Jobs.
Also, not PhilHarrisAndSomeGuysFishOffAlaska but Deadliest Catch, etc.
You might be served with something different like EnergyOnTheMove or EcoRV or RoamingEfficiency, etc. You can become the celebrity within but not being the celebrity yet might hold you back. Though, you should highly exploit your acting experience, personality and camera presence.
...you asked
Edit: for those "in the know" how about Pet Dander Takes a Holiday or Pet Dander on the Move!
nocones wrote:
Are you trying to build a green house that can be relocated or a Eco RV?
Sorta neither? Its one of the issues I'm facing - target audience. Tiny homes are an emerging craze. Eco and off-grid homes are popular. I didn't set out to follow a trend, I actually just really like Tiny Homes, I have a CDL, and I don't want to own a normal house.
This is my personal home, and truthfully I can do it alone, but what a neat idea to do it with a sorta co-op of supporters whom I can update and blog.
It is a tiny home, it is movable at the drop of a hat like an RV, and it will be self-sufficient (meaning it can live off grid) Much of its energy (if not all) will be created and stored within itself; photovoltaic cells, some solar heating for water and air, biodiesel generator. The point is to be able to not have to plug in all the time, but that doesn't necessarily mean that a generator is an eco-friendly option.
So, it is a minimal-carbon-footprint transportable tiny house. Its not a completely new idea, it borrows ideas from several trends in modern living quarters.
JohnRW1621 wrote:
Sure, everyone's a critic...
I am concerned that WhereIsCurtis is too narrow focused.
When looking for sponsorship, every decisions should be, "how does this benifit the sponsor?" With the brand being CURTIS, I think that this could be a problem.
As examples, Mike Rowe's show (when he was mostly unknown) was not WhereIsMikeWorking.
No, it was Dirty Jobs.
Also, not PhilHarrisAndSomeGuysFishOffAlaska but Deadliest Catch, etc.
You might be served with something different like EnergyOnTheMove or EcoRV or RoamingEfficiency, etc. You can become the celebrity within but not being the celebrity yet might hold you back. Though, you should highly exploit your acting experience, personality and camera presence.
...you asked
Edit: for those "in the know" how about Pet Dander Takes a Holiday or Pet Dander on the Move!
You are right about the name. The website name was just what popped into my head, although there are many times I see very successful campaigns in which the website has nothing to do with the business name. For instance, Verizon Wireless toyed with the idea of their new mobile site being www.canyouhearmenow.com. The commercials and the phrase became so iconic that more people were remembering the quote from the commercial than they were which company HAD the commercial.
And in a way, I am selling me as the brand. I would have to be the personality that draws people to the website with blogs. My design for the graphics on the trailer would have to draw them to the site. The site would show where I've been, where I am, where I'm going. I could have contests; "if you see the truck, stop in to enter to win a free weekend vacation in it."
My thought (and its just that... a thought) was that if someone passes me on the highway, takes note of my catchy graphics, they might remember WhereIsCurtis.com more readily than EcoMobileHouse.com or GreenRV.com. I have to treat it like a billboard. Thousands of people will see it every day... for 4 seconds. Whatever the name is and the website is needs to be instantly implanted in their brains.
Decided on a path, right or wrong.
I think I will crowd source funds for a modest goal, then use that money to build a prototype. I will link it with a website and blog. If it is a sustainable venture for me, I can step it up to bigger sponsors.
A friend asked me this week (concerning this project) "what if you hate it?" The thought is valid. What if I don't perform like the sponsors wanted and/or contracted? What if I hate being compelled to blog? What if I spend most of my time in just a few places and therefore don't reach as many targets with my mobile billboard? This way I can build it with $20 donations from friends and family and test the waters.
Then if it works well, I can soak massive corporations for all the hardware I want. 
Seems to me you're missing a potential target audience. It may seem like an odd paring (it is), but there is a significant crossover between the eco crowd and the prepper/doomsdayers. "Off the grid" and mobile means different things to each, but the net effect is the same. Marketing to both at the same time would require some creativity, but it seems like it could be done. (Example - exterior paint job that "blends with nature" for the eco crowd is "camo" for the preppers, etc.)
The good news from a product prospective is that, in my experience, prepping seems to be a "hobby" for people with a decent amount of time and money on their hands. It also has a pretty strong following from various blogs and television shows.
Good luck!
Do you have a business plan? The very first thing you need to do is write up a business plan. If you approached me looking for free anything for that project I would want to see a comprehensive business plan. Secondly don't call them sponcer's. You are looking for a partner or partners in this. Very different!!
And most importantly what is in it for them. You are getting free or discounted stuff is what is in it for you. A partner is going to want to know what is in it for them. How many units are you going to sell? Be prepared to answer these kinds of questions. IF you just say I am going to build this neat thing and then see if there is a market for it they are a lot less likely to get involved. If you do your homework and get some hard facts and statistics that support that there is a market for your new idea they will be much more apt to listen and if you can prove there is a market for them (not you) then they will listen even more.
The short of it is the more professional you are the more likely you will be to get the interest of potential partners.
Another approach is to build It with less than optimal products that prove the concept then approach manufactures of products that are better and show them that there product is what should really be there. Bigger up front cost on your part but it shows people that you are for real.
No real useful advice but I like the idea and will be watching to see where this goes.
