How to Get Sponsored by NGK Spark Plugs

NGK Spark Plugs, along with its NTK sensor line, sponsors racers in drag racing, drifting, motorcycle racing and more. Jackie Donahue, NGK's marketing manager, reviews the applications and decides who gets a deal. She has been on several of my Sponsorship Summits, and she is refreshingly specific about what she needs from racers, what gets an application deleted, and where extra money can come from.

NGK only sponsors people who use the product

Start with the basic requirement. "Mostly we're looking for folks to represent our brand... who authentically use our product, and they can relate to the folks that also use our product," Donahue said. Fans want to know what their favorite racers run, and to her those are "the most genuine and most authentic ways to sell product." ▶ Watch Jackie Donahue explain why NGK sponsors

She doesn't make exceptions. "All of our sponsorships are folks that use the product. We don't sponsor anybody who doesn't genuinely use the product and like it," she said. That's what makes their recommendations believable: "It's not that we gave them $10,000 to do it. They actually use it. They feel comfortable recommending it to other teams." ▶ Watch the clip

Know where NGK sees results

Drag racing is NGK's biggest program, but drifting has delivered its best activations. "Only because it's been more of our target audience, the 18 to 24 year olds," Donahue said. Drift fans build their own cars, and drift cars use more of NGK's catalog: a drag car might run spark plugs and O2 sensors, but "in drift they can use a ton more of our product." She was careful not to discount drag racing, where teams talk to consumers and refer other racers. ▶ See the full answer

Motorcycle racers have a real opening. NGK pulled back from Supercross because so many riders already used its plugs, and Donahue said few motorcycle racers ask anymore. "It is kind of interesting how no one has really reached out to get sponsorship, because literally almost everyone uses those plugs," she said. "We're always looking for motorcycle sponsorship." ▶ Watch the clip

Your content is NGK's content

NGK runs a small marketing team that doesn't attend many events, so sponsored racers supply the footage. "I am relying on teams to share content, like when they're filming themselves racing or talking about our product and all those testimonial type things. That's all stuff that I need. I can't get it on my own." She also counts on racers to amplify NGK's posts on their own channels, since many have followings as large as the brand's. ▶ Watch the clip

That makes social media a requirement, even if your following is small. "If you're getting sponsored by NGK, you have to have a social media account, whether it's five people, whether it's a thousand people," Donahue said. "One of the requirements is you have to do two posts a month." ▶ Watch the clip

Clean up your channel before you apply

The most common reason Donahue passes on an applicant is a messy, inconsistent feed. "Just having a polished social media handle, where you're posting your videos and you're consistently posting, you would think that would be the easiest thing, but it actually is the hardest thing," she said. Her fix is simple: "Maybe separate your racing social media from your personal, and then really focus on your racing one and make that consistent. Don't post every three months. Post once a week at least." ▶ Watch Donahue on what knocks out applicants

This matters most for motorcycle racers, who have little room for logos. "No one's going to really see my 1-inch logo on a screen going by at 100 miles an hour," she said. Riders have to sell themselves through content. ▶ Watch the clip

Fill out the application, then write a real email

NGK uses an online application, and you have to complete it. "You have to fill an application, so you have to do that bare minimum," Donahue said. The email you send afterward is what she notices. "I can tell when people just blanket an email and they change out the name. Sometimes they forget to change out the name." Those get deleted: "Those ones I just delete. I don't even look at them." ▶ Watch the clip

What works is a genuine note and a question. She described the email she likes: "'Hey, I really like your product... I really want to work with you guys. What do you need?'" She added, "I like the back and forth," and said she can usually tell right away when someone who approaches her at the PRI Show really loves the product. ▶ Watch the clip

Bring NGK a retailer

NGK doesn't sell to consumers. It sells to retailers, and that creates money most racers don't know exists. "When a retailer buys product from us, we have what we call co-op," Donahue explained. NGK now calls those dollars marketing partnership funds, "and I've been able to take that money and kind of refocus it on sponsorship." If she can't fit a racer into her own budget, she can ask whether they'll help drive sales at a retailer instead and pay them out of those funds. ▶ Watch Donahue explain marketing partnership funds

Racers can start that conversation. A Formula Drift driver stopped by NGK's PRI booth and mentioned his relationship with Summit, an NGK customer that receives co-op funds. Donahue contacted Summit's marketing team and they set up a small sponsorship branded with both companies. NGK handles the work: "We do all the payouts, we manage it all for them, and then they just reap the benefits of it." ▶ Watch the co-op story

Few racers pitch this way, which is why it stands out. "Those are mostly unique. Not a lot of people come to me with those kind of ideas, but those are the ones that I like. My ears go up," she said. ▶ Watch the clip

Not a racer? NGK has an ambassador program

NGK has also opened a brand ambassador program for people who don't race, such as YouTubers doing car builds or repairs. Donahue said of the ambassadors NGK picks, "they'll be treated just like a race team." Watch NGK's social channels for when applications open. ▶ Watch the clip

Your checklist for NGK Spark Plugs

• Run NGK or NTK parts and be ready to talk about why.
• Fix your racing social channel first: separate from personal, posting weekly.
• Complete NGK's online application, then send a personal email that asks what NGK needs.
• Plan to post at least twice a month and send NGK footage and testimonials.
• If you have a relationship with a parts retailer, pitch a co-op deal.
• Motorcycle racers: NGK says few of you ask, so ask.