Interview: IOC satisfied with BOCOG marketing program

Over-commercialization is criticized

The IOC official said IOC is very strict in avoiding over-commercialization in Olympic marketing. "We do not have any advertising whatsoever in the sporting venues; you cannot see any advertising in venues or arenas and also on the athletes themselves.

"We are aware that over-commercialization is detrimental to the Olympic Movement and all our sponsors, and our partners understand it and accept it."

Internet sponsor is welcome

Mr. Heiberg said IOC is very proud to have Sohu.com as its Internet sponsor for the Beijing Olympics. "We have always been in the technological forefront, and we feel strongly that the development now taking place with more and more use of internet and mobile phones and so on.

"So we would like to follow this trend and having them as sponsor on the internet, as a partner, or as a sponsor is really interesting to us. So the whole technological field is in total development; we would like to follow this, and that way we hope also to be known as always being in the forefront when it comes to technological revolution, something we are going through at the moment."

In the future of marketing, IOC would like to have not only Internet but other Chinese companies as top sponsors. "So an internet company and one or more others, they're very welcome to become a top sponsor of the IOC," he said.

Commenting on the Games organizers' services for the partners and sponsors, Heiberg said: "It is very important for us when we get sponsors or partners that they have exclusivity in their product category, and this means that the IOC as well as BOCOG don't have what we call 'ambush marketing'. We have to protect our partners and sponsors, so that nobody can steal what they are trying to achieve, and that they feel safe that whatever they do will be protected, and this ambush marketing will not take place."

"I look forward to August 8, 2008"

On his feelings about the 2008 Olympics just one year away, Mr. Heiberg said BOCOG's preparations "are very well on their way. This gives us the assurance that the Games will be something very, very special for the whole world, so we are excited about the development, we feel that everything is under control, and we wish the organizers the best of luck and we are sure that we will get the Games which the world has never seen before. So I look very much forward to August 8, 2008."