Marketing the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: The importance of sponsors

Yuan Bin, Director of the BOCOG Marketing Department

(BEIJING, August 14) -- Marketing efforts by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) have progressed very smoothly in the past four years. Since September 1, 2003, BOCOG has fulfilled its sponsorship goals, securing a formidable lineup of commercial sponsors for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games including 11 partners, 10 sponsors, 15 exclusive suppliers, and 17 suppliers, in addition to the 12 worldwide partners of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Yuan Bin, Director of the BOCOG Marketing Department, recently spoke with the official website, expressing that the sponsor enterprises would provide the material foundation for stability for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Only the best

Coca Cola, Mc Donald's VISA, Bank of China…what these brands have in common is that they are not only well-known brand names, but they also carry the weight of the Olympic spirit.

Yuan explained that both the IOC and BOCOG are very strict when it comes to selecting sponsors. However, the entire solicitation process for sponsors is based on open, fair, and transparent principles.

All Chinese and foreign enterprises have an equal opportunity to be selected as a sponsor. The decision is not based solely on an enterprise's financial and technological strength, but there is also a consideration for the enterprise's ability to promote the Olympic brand and how the enterprise fits with the Olympic brand. In the end, the IOC and BOCOG select only the best candidates as sponsors of the Olympic Games. For example cigarettes and hard liquor do not match the Olympic ideal and Olympic spirit, thus such enterprises have been excluded from BOCOG's consideration as sponsors.

Internet sponsor spreads the Olympic spirit

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games expanded the realm of Olympic sponsorship when SOHU.com Inc became the first Internet sponsor in the history of the Olympic Games. This was inevitable, said Yuan, based on the development of the Internet in China.

The Internet is becoming evermore commonplace, with more and more users everyday. Additionally, the majority of Internet users are young, and this fully complements the historical emphasis of the Olympic Games on youth development. The Internet allows the Olympic spirit to reach more people, more quickly than any other channel.

Yuan also emphasized the vital functions served by Internet sponsor SOHU.com, including supplying the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and promoting the Olympic spirit and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to the public.