How to Get Sponsored by Coca-Cola

Almost every racer I meet has a Coca-Cola logo somewhere on a wish list. Al Rondon has spent more than two decades at Coca-Cola, ran the Mellow Yello program in NHRA drag racing and went on to lead the company's NASCAR partnership work. On my Meet the Sponsors show and at the Motorsports Sponsorship Summit, he has been unusually candid about where Coke stands.

Start with the honest answer

When he spoke at the Motorsports Sponsorship Summit, Rondon didn't sugarcoat it. "I'll preface this by saying, we are not taking on any new sponsorships. And you know, right now our strategy with regards to motorsports is NASCAR and we are really locked in to that role," he said. "None of the brands that I talked to are really looking at expanding on motorsports." ▶ Watch Al Rondon at the summit

His advice still matters, because it describes how every big consumer brand decides. "Here's what I'll tell you, every company has a need. Find out what that need is," he said. "I would say companies are looking for partnerships. More so than just providing dollars to people to live their passion, right, whether it's driving or have a race team." ▶ See the full answer

Each brand has its own consumer

Coca-Cola is a family of brands, and each has a manager with a job to do. "Each brand manager is charged with connecting that brand to who their core consumer is," Rondon said. "You can't just send a sponsorship request to a company blindly without having done some research, understand what the company is looking for, what that brand is specifically looking for." ▶ Watch the clip

Sports are one tool for making that connection. "We identify what are the consumers interests and the passions that they have and how can we look to those passion points to drive a deeper connection with that consumer that we're looking to either recruit or retain," he told the summit. ▶ Watch the session

He knows when it works. On a trip to the Mojave Desert, a stranger in a grocery store saw his Mellow Yello shirt and asked if he was going to the drags. "When I first started in that role, my goal, one of my goals was to make that brand synonymous with drag racing," Rondon said. That moment "was justification for the amount of effort and dollars that we spent as a company to associate that brand with that sport and those fans." ▶ Watch Rondon tell the story

Pitch it like a job interview

Rondon's core advice is to stop thinking about what you need. "So much of the time, I think the thought process is, I need to get sponsorships so I can continue to race. I'd love it if people would think about, you know, what can I do to help this company, right?" he said. "It's just like going out looking for a job. You can't just go in there and say, hey, I want you to pay me." ▶ Watch the clip

For smaller teams, that starts with knowing your own brand and your fans. "Find out what brands index high among the motorsports fans," he said. "Find out what the brands are that over index with those fans and then how can you help solve problem for that company and connect them to that audience, because that's ultimately what they want to do. They want to sell more." Sponsorship, he added, is never charity: "It's not just I sponsor them because, you know, I feel good about it. But there's a business reason. It generates sales. It generates content. It creates media. It develops relationships." ▶ Watch Rondon on smaller teams

Bring business, not just a fender

The most valuable thing a racer can offer a beverage company is a new customer. Asked for his dream business-to-business connection, Rondon answered: "Is there a customer that currently does not sell our products? That would be a big opportunity for the company to secure." The reason is budget math. "The marketing dollars are not infinite, right? They're very finite and they're spread among a number of channels," he said. "So you've got to find out what kind of business you could bring to help justify the expense." ▶ Watch the interview

A restaurant owner or venue that pours a competitor's drinks may be worth more than your TV time.

Think local: the bottlers

Coca-Cola works through independent bottlers, and they make some of their own sponsorship decisions. "We operate with a network of bottlers who also are business owners. They own the franchise in the area. So they're business investors as well," Rondon said. "So a lot of times the bottlers have sponsorships. They invest as well in certain sports." ▶ Watch the clip

That is the realistic door for most grassroots racers. "If your approach is more a regional approach within that territory of the bottler and you can help them deliver on something that's important to them, I would say that that would be of value to them," he said. "And there's been a number of instances where the local bottler may support teams." ▶ Watch the interview

Find a person and plan a year out

Coca-Cola has a portal where committees review requests, but Rondon recommends a human. "Connect with a brand manager. If you can find a brand manager, find somebody that you can talk to. It's always better to have an internal contact that can help you navigate," he said. ▶ Watch the interview

LinkedIn is a good place to start, with a simple message: "Hey, I'd just like to know a little bit more about your brand, what your objectives are, and I'd love to find a way that I can help you achieve those objectives." ▶ Watch the clip

Timing kills most requests. "These big companies are planning out a year, a year and a half in advance. And those budgets are decided and, you know, pretty secure at that point," Rondon said. Coke runs on the calendar year, and "mid-year, those decisions for the following year are being made." ▶ Watch the interview

His closing thought applies to every brand you'll ever pitch: "Think about the next time somebody comes and rings your doorbell and wants to sell something. Think about that as you think through your strategy, right?" ▶ Watch his closing advice

Your checklist for Coca-Cola

• Know that Coca-Cola's corporate motorsports money is committed to NASCAR, and don't send a blind request expecting otherwise.
• Pick one specific Coca-Cola brand, learn its core consumer, and show how your fans match it.
• Approach the local bottler with a regional plan that helps its business in its territory.
• Lead with a business connection, such as a customer that doesn't carry Coke products yet.
• Find a brand manager on LinkedIn and ask about their objectives before you pitch anything.
• Plan a year to a year and a half ahead, and get in before mid-year decisions are made.
• Use the same thinking on every big consumer brand that over-indexes with your fans.