Hey guys I've been looking at all the really awesome mods on the site and almost everyone has been sponsored. I know my MOD will cost a pretty penny, thats why I'm spreading it out over a year, but I'd like to get into the sponsorship game. I've read the guide on how it works, but I want to know how to contact these companies, and wat companies would be the best to start with. Any advice helps guys! Thanks, Pat
If you used the search feature, there are a few threads about this already. Basically you just send an e-mail to the company, let em know who you are, where your from, what your doing, some progress shots of your skills, any previous mods that you've done, and start small and simple. If they think your good enough, they'll throw in the extra. If it's your first mod and you have no previous work / crafted items to show them, chances are you won't be getting much out of it though. Be patient, look around at local stores, plastic stores are great as you may be able to pick up decent sized scraps for free, and if all goes well and they like what your doing, you can be rewarded with even more fancy stuff to use / put towards your mod.
What were you thinking about when you typed this? M is very far from D on most keyboards! Anyways, you generally need to make a name for yourself before sponsors will take you seriously.
your momma... You might want to edit your first post just to avoid future 'your momma' jokes. Like the others said.... I think every modder would like to get sponsored. Who can argue with free gadgets and I haven't heard of any negative sponsorship experiences. I'm not sure if it's more likely to happen with a shop/distributor, or a manufacturer. Seems like both kinda things happen to the modders I see online, but I'd bet local shops would be a good start (like mansueto said.) Also, if you're really into a game or something, you could try to make a themed mod that the company would be willing to use. (see battlefield 2 mods, etc) Good luck!
Changed The sad thing is there arent any shops around me. I live in a real tech city (Austin) and the only place I can find is a Fry's. And they're not too big on handouts.
See if you can join the Austin Modders group. That would help you a bit. (Mind you, I know nothing about them...)
VERY Long time, no post (or mod...sniff), but I was here on a e-mail request and saw this. First off Join Austin Modders (Shamless plug), we are pretty active and have built quite a few PCs including quite a few sponsored projects. We also have resources that may help you. Second off, no one will sponsor without something they can gain in return. Either free advertising if your project gets lots of views, or if the project you build is for their own use. Also getting cold hard cash instead of hardware is sometimes impossible. Third, sponsorship isn't all it's cracked up to be. Yes, you get some free hardware, but it messes up all kinds of other things. Most sponsors are slow on getting things out to you. Sometimes they completely fall through, leaving your project in pieces. If you are building a project for a client, they can often cramp your creative style, asking for something that they saw before, logo, color schemes, materials etc... In the end the free hardware is often short lived going obsolete before your mod is even finished. -ZapWizard
Nice to see you again ZapWizard. I have seen many of your mods. PatrickJ check out this link also hitchhiker guide to mod sponsorship for more info on sponsorship.
Hey Zapwizard! I joined Austin Modders, but I've been in the Hospital for a few weeks. (Lymphoma is a bitch) I'll get on tonight and post my project. I'm thinking its gonna be good! Pat
Lots of good info already posted, so I can't really add much. But I'll post what I posted over at Mod Bros. when someone asked about this. An easy stripped-down answer would be that you have to have a few really top-notch mods under your belt before expecting any kind of sponsorship. It's not an issue of getting free stuff from manufacturers; it's a business 'partnership' in the sense that you would basically be modeling their hardware/name for them. An advertisement if you will. Mod mod mod and if you're good enough you'll get noticed. Personally, I get the occasional odd thing here and there, but I'm also not pursuing the sponsor angle. I just mod for the sake of modding. It's a hobby. Like crack!
