Yesterday, we all flipped our lids when we saw OK Go’s latest video spread around the Internet and saw that they yet again made one of the best viral videos the world has ever seen. The small detail that made this video a bit more interesting was that it was sponsored by State Farm Insurance and contained a little message from them at the end. We have long been told that the future of music is in corporate sponsorships and partnerships, but the question is how do you go about getting one of these? Follow us to the jump and we will give you some ideas.
Identifying
First thing is first, we need to identify a corporation that would benefit from visibility from your fanbase. This can be one of the tougher parts, but the fact of the matter is most groups fans fall into some company’s target demographic. Depending on the size of your group you should decide whether you should pursue a local or national company to get in bed with. If you have a small following, odds are national companies aren’t going to be as interested but you may be able to dream up a interesting opportunity for them.
The fact is if you have a great marketing idea (like the video above) you may be able to convince just about anybody to get involved with the idea, pending they have a forward thinking marketing team. It can be a good idea to find a few different companies who would potentially work with you, once you develop the idea of what you would do for them, it will probably apply to a few different outlets so you can slightly tailor your proposals to each of them until you find your ideal partner.
What To Do
Once you have found some companies who could benefit from being seen by your fanbase, we need to write up a proposal. Making a simple PDF file that you can email to various marketing people is an easy way to get this going. In this PDF you should identify the following:
- Elevator Pitch – What you want to do with this company and why they would benefit from aligning themselves with you in two paragraphs or less.
- Who Are You? – Give a brief bio and remember this isn’t for rock writers, make the bio relevant as to why you are a good partner.
- Why Are You Relevant To Them? – The first thing anyone who you may partner with will want to know is why you as opposed to someone else? Make a good case for why you are an ideal partner and outline some key points as to why you can help them.
- What Do They Get? – Are you going to put their logo on your merch booth, the back of shirts, in your new YouTube video? Everyone wants to know what is in it for them, so let them know!
- Why It Will Work! – Give a thorough explanation of why this is a full proof partnership, if you can’t come up with a solid argument for this, odds are you are wasting your time.
- Conclusion – Make some solid points on your way out, wrapping all of this up.
Once this is done contact that marketing head at your ideal partners office and see if you can work some magic. Good luck!