[prawn]

From memory, reading about this, the guy built out the van (for $12k) and then built the Vanual site with proposed Ryobi sponsorship. He pitched it to Ryobi and they essentially paid $10-12k. You'll see the "powered by" graphics and tool promos throughout the site.

Edit:

On Ryobi: "Good question. They pretty much covered the entire cost of the project. But the van and entire site was done before they agreed. Pretty big risk for the amount of time it involved."

"Nope haha. I finished the site and mocked it up as if they were already the sponsor and sent it over in a cold email. Guess they like what they saw."

[ErikAugust]

Moral of the story is though, do it then ask. Much easier for both sides in the end.

[prawn]

Correct. Pitch a plan to Ryobi and all their marketing team would see is uncertainty and months of committee work to organise something like this. Show them a product ready to go, and they don't have to assume the worst of your ability or guess at what it might look like. I think the Vanual itself is a bit fluffy, but as a scheme by the owner, it's great.