How to Get Sponsored by Kenda Tires

Kenda Tires has grown from backing a couple of grassroots drifters to supplying a growing roster of Formula Drift Pro drivers, while also racing in off-road. The man behind that growth is Ed Koczan, who leads sales and marketing for Kenda and has worked for tire manufacturers for more than a decade. On drifting panels at my Sponsorship Summits, he has been unusually open about how a tire sponsorship works from the inside, including the budget math most drivers never see.

Kenda races to prove what's on the shelf

Kenda's motorsports program has a slogan, and it tells you what the brand is selling. "For Kenda, our mantra in motorsports is called Podium to Pavement, where we win with tires that are literally off the shelf, nothing that's a special R&D," Koczan said. In off-road, he said, the team has pulled tires from a wholesale distributor's warehouse and raced them that weekend. Racing serves two jobs: "We try to use that as a brand building exercise as well as an R&D." ▶ Watch Ed Koczan explain why Kenda races

The R&D side is serious. "When you think about tires specifically, it's the highest level of abuse that you can pretty much throw at a tire in the shortest amount of time possible," he said. "We don't want to just participate and throw a lot of money into motorsports... we want to really be competitive." He credits racing directly: "The progression of our tire the last two years has really been a direct result of that." ▶ Watch Koczan on R&D

Kenda also uses racing to reach the people who sell its tires. Koczan described bringing dealers to Formula Drift events: "We're going to bring some tire dealers out that are selling tires to the end users. We're going to educate them." ▶ Watch the clip On a later panel he put it plainly: "Just as much as it's consumer awareness, we're also doing that from a B2B standpoint." ▶ Watch the drifting panel

Kenda is small, so it needs boots on the ground

Kenda makes a huge range of tires, but its sales and marketing staff is a handful of people. Koczan called it "a very large small tire company." That shapes who it sponsors. ▶ Watch the clip

"We're a small company, we can't be boots on the ground everywhere," he said. So at the grassroots level, "one of the things that I do look for on a grassroots side is people that can kind of be some of those boots on the ground." Kenda also works with regional drift series to reach their fields. Its internal motto for that program, he said, is "good for bros, good for pros." ▶ Watch Koczan on what he looks for

Follower count isn't the gate. He works with drivers at "2,000 followers, 20,000, 60,000, 180,000 on up." The real test is "ultimately, what can they bring to the table, what can they do for us that we can't do," including "drivers who might be involved in media and who can bring additional media helping hands." ▶ Watch the clip

Tell a story, not just a slide

Drift clips are everywhere, which is exactly why they don't stand out. "The slidey stuff on track is great, kind of a dime a dozen," Koczan said. "That's kind of a low-hanging fruit of social media." ▶ Watch Koczan on content

One pro-am driver he signed had run out of money on his way up the ladder. Koczan saw an opening: "a behind the scenes kind of a blog type episode... around what you're doing and kind of why you took a step back in your program could be kind of a compelling story." The lesson, he said: "It's that unique pitch that not everybody's doing." ▶ Watch the clip

Kenda also likes partners who bring other brands along. "We're always looking to collaborate with other brands as well, because... the rising tide lifts all boats," he said. "That helps to kind of extend some dollars as well." ▶ Watch the drifting panel

Understand what your tires cost Kenda

Koczan wants drivers to understand the budget behind the tires. In drift, "it's the highest consumable, it's the highest cost center typically that's involved in any driver's program." And they aren't free to him: "A lot of people think I'm getting free tires, but I still have to pay for those from our plant and offset that against the overall marketing budget." ▶ Watch Koczan explain a Kenda sponsorship

His comparison is worth memorizing. A season's worth of tires for one drifter could, "theoretically... outfit 50 different vehicles," including SEMA builds and magazine and video review cars. "When you're drifting, four tires isn't much... whereas four tires on a SEMA build, that could get me all around the show." Your pitch has to beat that math. ▶ Watch the clip

So expect product first. "Product is the big thing," he said. Some pro and pro-am drivers get money too, but "not every driver that I'm... working with... is getting that monetary value," and "a lot of drivers are just happy to have that tire backing." ▶ Watch the clip

Offer something Kenda isn't thinking about

Koczan's best advice for any driver approaching a product company is to bring a new idea. "Value is the biggest word I want to throw out there," he said. "What can you offer that that company might not be thinking about?" For a tire brand, that might be testing: "You're creating value by saying, hey, I can be your test dummy, if you will, to help make that product better." ▶ Watch Koczan on creating value

He also told how Kenda's European drift program grew. At a Formula Drift announcement at SEMA, a three-time champion introduced himself at the back of the room, and his wife, who drifts in Europe, needed a tire partner. Kenda now has a European sales office behind that program. "Timing is everything," Koczan said. Be in the room, and be ready when the conversation starts. ▶ Watch the drifting panel

Your checklist for Kenda Tires

• Pitch Kenda's real goals: proving off-the-shelf tires, R&D feedback, consumer awareness and reaching tire dealers.
• Show how you can be Kenda's boots on the ground at events and series its small staff can't cover.
• Bring content beyond tandem clips, such as a behind-the-scenes story only you can tell.
• Acknowledge that tires cost Kenda real budget, and show why your car is worth more than four tires on a show build.
• Offer structured test feedback as part of your deal.
• Bring partner brands that can share costs and cross-promote with Kenda.