Costs of expeditions can be extremely high and often corporate sponsorship is required to make them viable.

However…

Corporate sponsorship is extremely difficult to find. Before you chase corporate sponsorship, ask yourself whether it might be easier to just work for another month or two before you set off and fund your expedition yourself. Another advantage of this method is that you are not tied to the demands of a sponsor. It’s all very well promising a sponsor that you will stream a live broadcast from a remote location, but it’s a different storey when you’re out there, haven’t slept for days and you can’t get your kit working. Also a sponsor might require to finish by a certain time, or inflict other kinds of demands, all of which you could probably do without.

That said, there are many amazing expeditions that have only happened because they have been backed by businesses that share the vision. So here are some tips to help you go about attracting help from sponsors.

If you’re going to attract sponsorship to cover the costs of an expedition a website is a great place to start. An online presence shows people you’re serious and it is also a great way for people to learn about what you’re doing in their own time. You’ll often find yourself talking to brand or marketing managers when you're chasing sponsorship, these are very busy people, initially you’ll probably only have a few minutes of phone time to pitch your ideas to them (you might only be able to get their email address) so it’s important you can direct them to a website where they can find out more details. The website should give clear details about the expedition, the preparation, you / the team, why you’re taking on the challenge, what you can offer a sponsor, links to your chosen charity fundraising page and of course contact details. Other things like blogs are also great additions as they allow people to follow your progress. You should also link to any social media channels you use (Facebook, Twitter etc).

You should try and make the website as visual as possible with images that give an idea about what the expedition is about, you need to capture peoples imagination.

Give some thought to the URL. Try and make it relevant e.g. www.atlanticrowing.com or www.climbmteverest.com. It makes them easy for people to remember. You can check URL availability and costs at either www.godaddy.com or www.123-reg.co.uk.

There are a number of routes you can take to get a website built, the cheapest option is to go with companies like http://thechallengenetwork.com/

Another route is to get help from a web developer. Either way it helps to have a website. Brands are more likely to align themselves with a professional looking outfit, if you look organized brands will believe you’re more likely to succeed in what you’re doing.

Another great thing about a website is it’s easily available to everyone, you never know when you might have a chance encounter with a potential sponsor. Often, even if you would not associate a brand with your particular challenge, if you happen to meet the MD or marketing guy and they have a personal affiliation with what you’re doing they might end up backing you. If, once you’ve spoken to them and they seem interested, hand them a business card (see point 2) with your contact details and web address and tell them to have a look. (Take their details as well so you can chase them).

Get your website up as soon as you possibly can, it doesn’t have to be all there to start with, you can always add to it later, but as soon as it’s up, you can start directing people to it and promoting it through any social media channels you use.

Get some printed – simple!

These guys are great, they’re cheap and you can add a different image to the back of each one.

Although you probably need sponsorship money more than anything else, companies may be more willing to provide you with kit rather than cash. So it could be worth targeting companies who produce products that are relevant to your expedition, that way if they can't fund you they could save you money on kit.

I imagine The North Face receives thousands of requests for sponsorship money or kit every year and you will either have to know someone who works there or be doing something special to get anything from them. It might be worth asking challenger brands for support, up and coming outdoor shops or brands that want publicity.

Marketing budgets (which is probably where your sponsorship money will come from) are often set at the beginning of the financial year. If you can, it might be worth getting your proposal into companies around that time, that way money can be allocated to you rather than you having to persuade a company to divert spending away from something that’s already been decided on.

If you can demonstrate to companies that you are receiving good coverage in the press they are more likely to sponsor you. Good coverage might also inspire a company you haven’t even spoken to get in touch with you. (Remember to include your website in your press release).

Nowadays, there are so many people doing expeditions and crazy challenges that you have to be doing something fairly unique to make it into the national press. You might be better off targeting your local press, to start with at least. You should also think about industry press that is linked to the particular discipline you’re involved in.

Make it easy for the journalists, send them some details about what it is you’re doing and also make yourself available for interviews (even if it’s just by phone). Journalists love to get quotes so have a couple ready. You should also try and get one or two really good high res images that can be used in the articles. Make them exciting and include images of yourself.

Social Media channels like Facebook and Twitter are a great way to promote yourself. It’s a bit of a dark art but if you get it right you can reach out to a wide range of people, and you never know, one of them might be the sponsor you’re looking for. This link is to an interesting article about how to get the most from your social media presence, it’s written with small business in mind but you can use a lot of the same principles for you sponsorship campaign.

http://on.mash.to/bsoH9H

If you’re raising money for a charity as well as funding for your campaign you could combine both activities into one. Charities will normally have established PR and fund raising departments who may well be able to help you. Your charity can use you as a vehicle or talking point when trying to raise funding for themselves.

One of the best examples we’ve seen of this is by Elin Haf Davies who rowed the Atlantic in 07/08 and raised a staggering £250,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, while at the same time covering the entire cost of her campaign.

In this instance the Charity actually invested initial funding to the tune of £60,000, to cover all of her costs (race fees, boat build, equipment, food etc) and get the campaign on the road. They then created a whole marketing campaign around Elin and her challenge to find corporate sponsorship and to raise money for themselves.

Rather than just asking for money, Great Ormond Street were able to give people the opportunity to become a sponsor, it made people feel engaged, they felt that not only was their money going to a great cause (The Hospital), they also felt involved with the challenge.

This is a great example of how a charity can work with an expedition team, Identifying a commercial opportunity and capitalizing on it.

For more information on Elin or to book her to speak at an event click this link:

Often the equipment you need for a particular challenge will look quite alien. You can use this to attract attention.

You could take you kit to relevant events or even set up in areas of high footfall with a view to engaging people in conversation about what you’re up to.

To raise money for his Trans Atlantic Arctic Expedition, Bear Grylls took his RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) to the London Boat Show and charged people £10 to sign their name on the hull. This is just one fairly creative idea of how to use your assets.

Have a think about what you can offer sponsors. Although it’s great for a sponsor to have their logo plastered all over your kit, most expeditions happen in remote places where no one is going to see the branding. With that in mind think of other ways sponsors can benefit from you campaign. Some ideas include:

Exclusive content – you provide articles about your challenge that can be used for PR or internal comms. This could also include live expedition updates

Public speaking – you can give talks about your expedition to clients of the sponsor or internally to motivate staff, there is often a crossover of skills between an expedition and work in general (team work, problem solving, team structure, crisis management, discipline etc).

Use of your assets – loan your assets to your sponsor for any trade shows or other events they might be attending. A branded ocean rowing boat or ski pulk will provide a great talking point for your sponsor and help them stand out from their competition

I hope these tips are a useful starting point. There will be many other ingenious way people have raised sponsorship for their expeditions, but this list covers the basics.