Music Funding 101
Print Ads
Print ads (as opposed to online ads or broadcast ads) are a staple of all sponsorships for both the band and the sponsor. Like t-shirts, print ads do not require any explaining to sponsors of how they work. Print ads are straightforward, predictable, scalable, documentable, and there are a million options and choices in every part of the world.
Like all other sponsorship media choices, it's best to start with an ad that is both understood by the sponsor and which reaches the right fans for the band. An ad in the city's underground metal music magazine might reach the right people for a metal band, and the sponsor might even appreciate what the band is trying to do, but if the sponsor is John Doe & Sons Tractors, the sponsor might not really understand how a metal music crowd could buy their tractors. Likewise, an ad in Tractors Monthly would not pull many kids into the band's metal shows.
A good first ad choice is the entertainment section (usually on Thursdays) of the city newspaper, because it reaches a lot of the music audience, and because it's citywide and is part of the city paper. Being a part of the city paper is important to the sponsor because his pride is on the line; since the city paper is a known entity, it's easier for the band to sell the idea to the sponsor. The paper may not hit the exact metal music kids, as in the above example (and it may even cost more) but it's better than getting no ad at all; which is what the band has now, and what they may end up with if they demand esoteric media at the beginning of a new sponsorship. Plus, don't forget the peer-effect: standard businesses respect the city paper, and if the sponsor knows that his peers are seeing his ad, he'll be more likely to say OK to the sponsorship. TalentFunding.com focuses on where bands and sponsors are located in relation to their nearest large town, and being able to use a city paper is one of the reasons for this.
The next print ad choice would be the city's arts weekly paper (sometimes called "weeklies".) These reach more of the music audience, but may not be perceived as "upstanding and proper" by the sponsor, so it's best to use these as the second choice, after you already have an ad running in the city paper.
An advanced technique: If you are on good speaking terms with a club/venue/restaurant and you are close to being booked there, you can do a "tag" of sorts, whereby if they book you, you will "tag" the bottom of your ad with "Appearing Tues at the XYZ club." But you will only do it if they book you. This is a tool to use on the tougher-to-get bookings. You do not need to use it for the easier bookings. It's actually a standard technique that booking agents and entertainment property managers use, but a band trying to set it up for the first time will be pushing themselves to make it happen. An even more advanced technique of this fashion is called "co-op," where the club actually pays part of the cost of the ad in return for getting tagged. However this takes great sales skill to set up and is best left to booking pro's.
After print ads have been running in the city entertainment section and the city arts weekly, the only other change would be to run larger ones or to run more of them in each issue. It's not recommended to ask the sponsor for more money for other print ads outside of these two papers; it's better to go into other media instead.
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