Coca-Cola and Adidas are Beijing 2008 sponsorship winners

Research from Mediaedge:cia reveals the level of success achieved by the brand sponsors of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Between them, the top 12 official brand sponsors invested $866m in sponsorship, advertising and sponsorship activation. Yet research from Mediaedge:cia reveals wide variations in the success of brands in generating a strong association with the Beijing 2008 Games. MEC's research amongst 1,000 Chinese consumers into which brands they associated with the Games found that only Coca-Cola and Lenovo succeeded in generating brand awareness in more than 40% of consumers. Despite the investment made by other top brand sponsors (including McDonald’s) many failed to generate significant brand awareness. During Wave 2 only 17% of Chinese consumers associated McDonald's with Beijing 2008.

Coca-Cola is estimated to have spent between $75m and $90m dollars on its Chinese Olympic sponsorship. However, MEC’s research found that sponsorship on its own does not equal success for brands in Beijing 2008. Coca-Cola was the brand sponsor, achieving the highest awareness amongst consumers and successfully boosting its awareness from 28% in April to 2008 to more than 50% of Chinese consumers during the Games.

MEC proposes that this was due, in part, to strong above-the-line advertising support. Coca-Cola trebled its monthly spend in the six weeks leading up to the opening ceremony. The brand’s sponsorship clearly helped to differentiate it from rivals with Pepsi, not an official sponsor of the Games, only achieving 8% brand awareness.

Adidas is estimated to have spent close to $250m on its complete Olympics sponsorship and advertising package. Yet in April 2008, Adidas and Nike (which is not an official sponsor of the games) achieved similar levels of brand awareness, with 16% and 11% respectively, despite Nike not being an official sponsor. However, by August, Adidas had built 38% awareness of its brand, whereas Nike only raised its awareness to 18%. Adidas’s success was a result of on-screen presence through branded clothing and consistent Olympics-related advertising in the six months prior to the Games.

The brand that achieved the greatest uplift in consumer awareness was local sportswear retailer Li Ning. MEC research revealed that consumers’ brand awareness soared from just 8% in April 2008 to 20% during the Games. While home-grown brand Li Ning had no official Games sponsor status, the company sponsored the Chinese gymnastics team and the founder (an ex Olympian himself) was chosen to light the torch at the opening ceremony. This jump in brand awareness saw Li Ning’s share price rise 6% overnight.

These successes are in stark contrast to other official brand sponsors such as Lenovo, which is both a top sponsor and torch partner. In April 2008, MEC research found it was the brand Chinese consumers most associated with the Beijing Olympics. The brand failed to leverage its sponsorship by increasing advertising spend, arguably resulting in brand awareness levels remaining static until the first week of the Games.

Commenting on the research, Jon Wright, director of MEC MediaLab APAC, said: “Beijing 2008 was the biggest and most significant opportunity to date for brands to capture the interest of Chinese consumers. Our research clearly shows that it’s not just about how much money you have. If brands want to maximize the return of their sponsorship they need consistent, integrated advertising strategies. But it’s not just what you do with an event that is as vast as the Olympics; it is also how you do it. There are six months from the torch relay to the end of the Games, and our research has shown that the brands that succeed are the ones that continually keep their advertising and sponsorship fresh and engaging for consumers.” Have an opinion on this article? Post your comment below.

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