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Beijing was elected the Host City for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in 2008.
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RIDING THE OLYMPIC WAVE
How business is benefiting from the Beijing Olympics.
With just over a year to go, the sense of anticipation as China braces itself for its debut as an Olympic host-nation is already at fever pitch. You can feel it when you talk to the cab-drivers, the street vendors and local shop keepers. Images of the five Olympic mascots adorn everything, from counterfeit key rings to giant billboards. All around Beijing, banners proudly proclaim the motto of these Olympics: ‘One World, One Dream’. Meanwhile, those in the world of business are dreaming about the multitude of opportunities afforded by the two week sporting extravaganza - for obvious reasons. As the biggest sporting event in the planet, the Olympics consistently draws a giant worldwide television audience. For the Beijing games, it is expected that around 4 billion people will be tuning in, offering those brands lucky enough to grab a spot in the limelight the marketing chance of a lifetime.
But what is it that makes the 2008 Beijing Olympics different from those bygone? The fact that they’ll be hosted in China. As a country still making the transition towards a modern capitalist system, China differs significantly from Olympic host-nations of the past. It is a country very much in the midst of development; development of its infrastructure, development of its markets and development of its identity. It is for these reasons that the Beijing Olympics will be a particularly attractive event for businesses.
Outside Worker’s Stadium in Beijing’s Chaoyang District, there is a billboard which proclaims ‘New Beijing, New Olympics’. The message is a neat summary of the unprecedented tidal wave of construction that has taken place in preparation for these games. Twelve major Olympic venues have been constructed from scratch and all of the existing venues have been refurbished. Never before has an Olympic host-city spent as much money on infrastructure and this has presented openings for a range of businesses, both foreign and local.
PTW Architects are an Australian Architectural firm that has experienced first hand the benefits of being associated with the Olympic Games. In 2000, they were involved in the designs of twelve Olympic venues in Sydney and it was this experience which helped them win the tender for the aquatic centre in Beijing, known as ‘The Water Cube’.
‘Having the Olympics in your portfolio gives your client confidence that you can deliver a major project’ says Toby Wong, Co-Director of the company’s Beijing practice. However, it is the Beijing Olympics in particular that has been a major boon for the company. ‘In terms of Sydney, after completing twelve Olympic projects, our international profile was still low. Now, after the water cube, on average we are getting two to three enquiries a week.’ Interestingly, most of these enquiries are coming from outside of China, where despite minimal marketing, the company has nonetheless managed to ride the wave created by the hype surrounding the upcoming games.
The burgeoning nature of the Chinese domestic market is another distinct feature that sets these Olympics apart from the rest. The last three Olympic Games were held in Greece, Australia and The USA, whose domestic markets were largely saturated. In contrast, China’s domestic market is still young and offers businesses associated with the Olympics the prospect of extending their reach into what many claim will be the most lucrative market on earth. And it is a very real prospect indeed. In one survey by international public relations firm WPP, Chinese sports fans indicated that they were 68% more likely to purchase brands that sponsor the Olympic Games. This is a statistic that has excited many sponsors, including American logistics company UPS, the first major international company to sign a sponsorship deal with the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) in 2005. In a media release following the agreement, David Abney, President of UPS International said that the sponsorship deal represented ‘another important step in strengthening our brand presence in one of the fastest growing markets in the world.’ Since then, UPS has signed off on a deal to build an ‘International Air Hub’ in Shanghai, the first of its kind for an American cargo carrier in China, which was no doubt assisted by their status as an Olympic sponsor.
For a country constantly striving to improve its international image, one issue of particular importance during the upcoming Olympics will be China’s environmental record. China has touted these games as the ‘Green Olympics’ and to that end has set about instituting several measures designed to improve everything from the air quality in Beijing to the energy efficiency of its Olympic venues. This has provided unexpected opportunities for many businesses. One such business is the 570-room Trader’s Hotel in Central Beijing, one of a number of hotels which have been officially listed as Olympic Partner Hotels. For this business, involvement with the ‘Green Olympics’ presents long-term advantages, aside from the obvious spike in sales that will occur in and around the two-week period.
‘As an Olympic Partner Hotel and a leading four star hotel in the capital, the environment is a key priority on our list of preparations for the Games and beyond’ says the hotel’s General Manager, Teresa Xin. ‘We have started introducing water-free urinals and are making adjustments throughout the entire hotel to reduce our water and energy consumption during the Games.’
For businesses like the Trader’s Hotel, Beijing, their association with the ‘Green Olympics’ offers them a valuable opportunity to publicise their own environmental credentials and market themselves to a global customer who is increasingly conscious of environmental issues.
By Jeremy Sung
