INT// Sedrik Vomir from Evomo
Company: Evomo
Athlete Support Manager: Sedrik Vomir
Accepting Sponsorship: 9/1 to 2/1
Sports: Motocross, Skate, Surf, BMX, MTB, Snowboard
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Tell us about your sponsorship program:
The Evomo sponsorship programe is all about working with athletes who want to go out and have some fun and who understand that getting on board with Evomo means being a part of a brand whos' motto is "bring the rukus", whos' team jersey is jet black with guns on the back and our latest marketing campaign was briefly investigated by Los Angeles Police Dept. Sound good?
Okay, seriously all that is true - even the LAPD part, very true, but one thing we need to be clear about is we are a corporation and we dont encourage violence or breaking the law and all that... we just have an aggressive style that is strong and independent. We have a knack for doing things differently and in turn generating controversy that periodically gets us some awesome attention and really gets people talking about us. And if people are saying "who's Evomo?" and you happen to be a part of our elite club, than that's pretty awesome 'cause we don't let everyone into our club which makes you even more awesome.
Is there anything unique about your program? Why would someone want to be a part of it?
There are two reasons someone would want to be a part of the Evomo program.
The first reason is the Evomo brand has such a unique style and edge that people want to be a part of our brand - part of something different and original. There are a lot of great companies out there but most are just rehashing the same graphics and styles. Evomo is quite the opposite and in fact you cant really compare us to any existing brands and that is a desirably quality for people who want to differentiate themselves from the pack.
Second, athletes who work with us to spread the word about Evomo will in turn be promoted by the Evomo brand. In our marketing we feature riders in our advertising and on-line presence so the more active you are with us the more likely you are going to be invited to participate in our advertising and marketing ideas. This type of exposure will get your name in front of a lot of people. This is in addition to our standard levels of free and discounted product.
Tell us about your newest or most exciting product for this / next year:
Next year we have some great clothing with awesome graphics in the works. Its much too early for us to show anything, but check our www.evomo.com website periodically for fresh news and funny stories on our blog and new products that show up in our on-line store.
What do you look for in a sponsored athlete or team?
We look for sponsored athletes that have enthusiasm for their sport and enjoy being active in the scene where ever that maybe. We want to partner with athletes that love what they do, have fun and are out going. Winning at competitions is great but having a good attitude and being out there talking with people is better for Evomo.
What is the most important information for someone to include in their application?
It would be pretty sweet if you said more than "I love Evomo" and even better if you didn't copy and paste something you wrote to another company but accidentally left their company name in. 'Cause honestly I know Evomo is the coolest company but its not because of our wicked 8 inch travel front fork.
Ideally you should tell us what and where you do what you do and how you would help spread the word about Evomo. We love to hear your grass roots ideas and appreciate your effort to be sincere and honest in your proposed actions, cause action is what we need.
What is the most important thing for people to understand about sponsorship?
People need to understand the basic concept of sponsorship. Being a sponsored rider for Evomo means you need to fulfill certain requirements. All are clearly listed in our contract and are really easy. Mostly its about being a representative of Evomo and when you go to events, parties, rides, races, etc.. to tell people about our brand and what we do. This also should be done via the internet as well. We fully encourage athletes to blog about Evomo and use social networking sites like myspace and facebook to advertise our logo and brand.
In return we have varying levels of support that range from free product to deep discounts and even a new cash reward program. But, if you don't come thru for us on promotion, then we cant kick down those perks.
Its a pretty simple concept of "you scratch our back and we will scratch yours, or whatever needs scratching."
Every company has a different method for how often they review applications. Do you have a methodology or schedule?
Our schedule is about 1 to 2 times a week to run thru applications and see whats up. Its pretty straight forward process and sometimes sad to see applications come thru with almost no information, no photos, no bio. We decline those since there was obviously no effort made to communicate to us. But most people will get accepted on some level with the option to be re-evaluated and moved up on our team.
Has the internet changed the way you manage your sponsorship program or your sponsored athletes? If so, how?
Actually the internet has revolutionized a lot of things including the way we do business, advertise and definitely being able to manage our sponsorship program. We are honestly not a big enough company (yet) to dedicate someone to managing sponsored athletes so when this site came along we gave it a try. Now its one of the best tools for us to communicate and evaluate sponsored riders and teams.
Now when people contact us directly we can refer them to our profile and explain that they can apply right through the site. Its so easy.
Besides being able to manage sponsored athletes all over the world, the sponsorhouse website has allowed us to cherry pick the best and most dedicated athletes and add them to our in house factory team which goes way above and beyond what our programes on our profile offer. We did this because some athletes were doing so much for use that we wanted to make them a part of a special group that gets special treatment and attention. So hint, hint... for all you athletes out there who want to get in tight with us...