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What to Expect in 2006, 2005 Fund-raising Reviewed

The success of Beijing’s Olympic Marketing Plan, particularly its fund-raising activities, is a very important matter.

So the staff and management of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), since December 2005, have looked with pride upon a recognition board in its lobby at BOCOG Headquarters building on Dongsi Shitiao in Dongcheng District. The recognition board lists the logos of worldwide International Olympic Committee partners and Beijing Olympics partners and sponsors. The board serves a dual function of showcasing the achievements of the Beijing Olympic Marketing Plan and expressing thanks to all the supporters of the Games, especially those who provided solid financial support to BOCOG and its 2005 preparations for the 2008 Games.

Sponsorship Programme Fruitful in 2005

Of the ten Beijing 2008 Olympic Games partners and nine sponsors, four partners—CNPC, adidas, Johnson & Johnson, and PICC—and eight sponsors were selected during 2005. Though BOCOG has not revealed its 2005 revenues, it is expected to draw about US$1 billion in local sponsorships, almost twice that of Athens 2004, and IOC officials have said Beijing will likely break a record for fund-raising set by Los Angeles in 1984, regarded as the most profitable Games in history.

The following achievements were reported in 2005:

l        The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China's largest producer and supplier of crude oil and natural gas, was announced as an official partner of the 2008 Beijing Games after BOCOG and CNPC signed an agreement on May 30, 2005.

l         The agreement entitles CNPC to provide funding and services to the Beijing Olympic Games, the Beijing Paralympic Games, BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee and to Chinese sports delegations to the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy, and the 2008 Games in Beijing.

l        adidas Salomon-AG, a German sports products and clothing giant, was named an official partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on January 24, 2005. The well-known adidas brand will be worn by Chinese teams and athletes during the 2008 Olympics. adidas-Salomon AG will also supply all of the sportswear for staff, volunteers and technical officials. In addition, the German-based manufacturer will outfit China's competitors at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.

As the company’s Web site claims, adidas had a high profile at the Athens Games in 2004. Athletes wearing their shoes or apparel won 147 gold, 128 silver and 148 bronze medals.

l        BOCOG announced on July 26, 2005, that Johnson & Johnson has been selected as an Official Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. Johnson & Johnson will provide funding and services for the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games, BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee and to the Chinese Olympic Teams to the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Johnson & Johnson’s product lines include consumer and personal care products, medical and diagnostic products and non-prescription medical products of the Johnson & Johnson companies in China.

l        The PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited (PICC P&C) was announced on September 15, 2005, as an official insurance partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. As the official insurance partner, PICC P&C will provide insurance protection and financial support for the Beijing Olympic Games, the Beijing Paralympic Games, BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Chinese sports delegations to the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy, and the 2008 Games in Beijing.

l        UPS was selected as the Official Logistics and Express Delivery Sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on July 27, 2005. As a sponsor, UPS will provide logistical consultations to BOCOG and will assist BOCOG in developing and executing a logistics operating plan for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. UPS will also provide express delivery services to all venues nominated by BOCOG for the duration of the Games.

l        Haier, one of the largest manufacturers of household electrical appliances in China, was named the Official Home Appliances Sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 12, 2005. As an official sponsor, Haier will provide funds, home appliances and related services to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, BOCOG, to the Chinese Olympic Committee and to the Chinese Olympic sports delegations to the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Haier Group, established in 1984, is headquartered in Qingdao, a coastal city in East China about 800 kilometres southeast of Beijing, which will join Beijing in hosting the Olympic Sailing Regatta of the 2008 Games.

l        On November 7, 2005, Sohu.com Incorporated, China's leading Internet content service company was selected as the official Internet content service sponsor of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.  

Sohu will provide exclusive services to BOCOG, including constructing, operating and hosting the official BOCOG Web site, www.beijing2008.com, for this historic event. The contract will be effective through December 2008.

l        Yili Group, a dairy products producer in Inner Mongolia, signed a sponsorship agreement with BOCOG in Huhhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on November 16, 2005, under which it will provide funds and dairy products to the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics, BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee and to the Chinese sport delegations to the 2006 Olympic winter Games and the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

l        Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited (Tsingtao Beer) was named the Official Domestic Beer Sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 11, 2005.  Tsingtao Beer will provide funds, beer products and related services to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Chinese sports delegations to the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

"Tsingtao Beer, a hundred-year-old brand, has made great contributions to cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world in the past century," Wang Wei, BOCOG executive vice-president and secretary-general, said at the signing ceremony.

l        Beijing Olympic organizers on August 10, 2005, announced that the Beijing Yanjing Brewery Company Limited has been selected as the Official Domestic Beer Sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The Beijing-based brewery will provide funds, beer products and related services to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, to BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Chinese sports delegations to the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

l        BHP Billiton, the world's largest diversified resources company, was named the Diversified Minerals and Medals Sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games on December 8, 2005, by BOCOG. In keeping with the sponsorship agreement, BHP Billiton will provide financial support to the Beijing Olympic Games and the Beijing Paralympic Games and raw materials for Olympic and Paralympic medals.

l        Heng Yuan Xiang, a leading company in Chinese textile industry, was selected as an Official Sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on December 22, 2005. It will provide funds, formal wear and other textile products to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Chinese sports delegations to the Olympic Games.

Sidebar

The Beijing 2008 Sponsorship Programme has three tiers of support: Beijing 2008 Partner, Beijing 2008 Sponsor, and Beijing 2008 Supplier. Since the Beijing 2008 Olympic Marketing Plan was launched on September 1, 2003, 10 partners have been designated: the Bank of China, China Netcom, SINOPEC, CNPC, China Mobile, the Volkswagen Group, adidas, Johnson & Johnson, Air China and PICC P&C. Nine enterprises have been selected as Beijing 2008 Sponsors: UPS, Haier Group, SOHU, Yili Group, Tsingtao Beer and Yanjing Beer, BHP Billiton and Heng Yuan Xiang.

In addition, Budweiser, a US-based beer manufacturer with holdings in China, has become an international beer sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games through an agreement between the IOC and the company.

Licensing Programme Generates Cash, Excitement

As one of the three programmes of the 2008 Marketing Plan, the BOCOG Licensing Programme was officially launched in November 2005. It immediately helped BOCOG to raise more funds. By the end of August 2005, about 600 kinds of licensed goods in seven categories, including leisure clothes, pins, stationery and bags, were available in 27 licensed merchandise stores in seven cities: Beijing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Nanjing, Chengdu and Shenzhen. According to BOCOG statistics, sales have risen to 600 million yuan (US$4.86 million) in value. Profits from sales of products bearing the five mascots of the Beijing Games, the Friendlies, could reach as much as $300 million.

In addition, a limited edition, collectable version of the Beijing Olympic Emblem Seal (resembling a chop) came onto the market on December 13, 2005, which provided another opportunity for Olympic fund rising. A total of 2008 pieces will be issued at a price of 56,000 yuan (US$6,939) per piece. As of July 2006 all the seals had been subscribed to and 800 had been delivered. The seal is half the size of the original Olympic Emblem Seal. It is made of precious jade from the same source of production as the official seal, in Hetian in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Stamp Collecting Favoured by Many

Stamp collection has long been a favourite choice for investment in China as elsewhere. It is also provides a good funding stream for 2008 Olympic Games preparations. As a part of the 2008 Marketing Plan, BOCOG signed an agreement on November 7, 2005, with the State Post Bureau of China authorizing the latter to issue 2008 Olympiad-related stamps, which indicated the Stamp Programme was officially under way.

According to the programme, the Post Bureau is licensed to issue a number of sets of stamps with the theme of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, including their emblems, mascots, competition sports, venues, and the torch relay to meet demands from home and abroad.

On December 12, a day after the unveiling of the Beijing Olympic mascots, the State Post Bureau issued commemorative stamps featuring the 2008 Olympic emblem and mascots, which were the first set of stamps related to the Beijing Olympic Games issued.

A portion of royalties collected by the State Post Bureau will be used to fund the preparations for the August 8–24, 2008, Beijing Games.

More Action in 2006

With less than 1,000 days remaining before the opening of the 2008 Olympic Games, many preparatory works are still under way. In 2006, building upon the successes and experiences gained in 2005, BOCOG will forward many more activities to strengthen the three Beijing Games’ concepts, that of the “Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and the People’s Olympics.”

Activities include:

l        Plans by the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, to renovate and preserve the main hall of the Tai Temple (east of the Forbidden City), the Tai Tomb of the Ming Tombs, the Simatai Great Wall, and the relics at Zhoukoudian. Work will begin in 2006 with 120 million yuan (US$14.87 million) budgeted for this action.

Repairs to the Dragon Temple in the Olympic Village will begin in March 2006 when the protection plan of the Temple is implemented. The Dragon Temple is a rare cultural relic in the Olympic Village. Only two halls and their attachments from the Qing Dynasty (1616–1911) exist. It is estimated that 5 million yuan (US$619,578) will be needed for the repairs.

Also in 2006, improvements to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in the Temple of Heaven, the Tower of Buddhist Incense at the Summer Palace and the ancient buildings on the central island in Beihai Park will be completed.

l        The Third Campaign to Solicit Songs for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games commenced on January 1, 2006, and will end on June 1, 2006. The campaign will solicit and select a song for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and a song for volunteers of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. It will also determine a theme song for volunteers of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games from the selected songs. Participants may submit works to the campaign in the form of either songs, Internet songs or simply as lyrics.

Since 2003, the Campaign to Solicit Songs for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games has received extensive support from the public. The campaign has spread the Olympic spirit and has promoted the “Green Olympics, High-Tech Olympics and People's Olympics” concept. The campaign also aims at illuminating the connotation of One World, One Dream, as well as carrying forward the humanism and the passion of Chinese people for the Games via songs.

l        Solicitations for design proposals for the 2008 Olympic torch will end on February 28, 2006, and the final design will be unveiled in the middle of 2006.

The solicitation began on December 6, 2005. Three top designs selected from the many expected to be received will be forwarded to the BOCOG Executive Committee and the IOC for a final decision.

The concepts of the torch design are “glory and dream, tradition and modernity, culture and harmony” and design proposals for the Beijing Olympic torch are supposed to artistically interpret the rich connotation of the concepts. Submissions are also expected to display the distinguishing features of the Beijing Games, namely “Chinese style, cultural splendour and a contemporary spirit,” and to fully demonstrate the vitality and passion of prospective torchbearers.    

l        2008 Olympic sculpture designs will be shown to the public.

As the second phase of the three-phase “Contest of Landscape Sculpture Designs for Beijing Olympic Games,” BOCOG will select 290 items from all the sculptural designs submitted. Replicas of the 290 sculptures will be made and shown during tours of major cities around China during the first half of 2006.  

On August 8, 2005, BOCOG launched the "Contest of Landscape Sculpture Designs for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games." International sculptors and designers were invited to leave their mark on the landscape of the Beijing Olympic Games. The contest is jointly sponsored by the Culture and Ceremony Department of BOCOG, the China Artists Association and the Beijing Jintai Art Gallery.

In phase one of the process, from August 8, 2005, until the end of March 1, 2006, sculptors and designers from all over the world are invited to submit sculpture designs to BOCOG via Chinese embassies and international organizations outside China. Since the contest does not require the submission of real works, the participants have only to come up with a script of design and a small-sized replica of the sculpture.

In phase three of the process, through public balloting and assessments by specialists, 110 items will be picked up for the final round of the contest. In the end, 29 winning pieces will emerge from the final round for the gold, silver and bronze awards. The number 29 represents the XXIX Olympiad.

l        Beijing enhances Olympic education

From 2006 to 2008, the middle school entrance examination and the unified examination for admission to institutions of higher learning should moderately reflect the contents of Olympic education. It was unveiled at conference on Olympic education held jointly by relevant departments of the Beijing Municipal Government on December 6, 2005.

All model schools of Olympic education should allocate no less than two class hours per month for the Olympic subject, using textbooks compiled by BOCOG, and at the same time, comments on students' learning results should be put in their handbooks.

In addition, the Education Commission of the Beijing Municipal Government will launch an action plan to train people specializing in Olympic knowledge. The commission made sure that the city's higher learning institutions, currently teaching a total of 38 foreign languages, will enrol students to capacity.

l        Number of Beijing Olympic suppliers subject to control.

As the third tier of the 2008 Olympics Sponsorship Programme, launched on December 12, 2005, the supplier selection will end in 2006. Regardless, BOCOG will moderately confine the number of Beijing Olympic Suppliers and Exclusive Suppliers to prevent excessive commercialization of the 2008 Games.

Whether a company's credit and brand image fit with Olympic brand and other values is considered a priority as far as the selection of Beijing Olympic Suppliers is concerned, said Yuan Bin, director of BOCOG Marketing Department at a press conference held for the launch of Beijing 2008 Supplier Sponsorship Program on December 8. BOCOG will also take such factors into account such as whether a sponsor reaches benchmark prices, if a sponsor's products and services meet the needs of the Olympics, and whether sponsors undertake to deploy Olympic marketing, Yuan said.

Yuan said that the products provided by the suppliers should primarily fall in with the needs of Beijing Olympic operations and should be beneficial to reducing the BOCOG’s cash outlays.

Additionally, a special creative team, including directors and supervisors, will be established during the first half of 2006 to start preparing the programme for the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Games.

Though tickets for the Games will be on sale from early 2007, BOCOG’s Ticketing Programme efforts will not linger in 2006. It will be a time or preparation, and those who are concerned about the tickets for the 2008 Games will likely see a lot more information about it.