SPORT+MARKT found that global interest in the Games was at 52 per cent, with 54 per cent of Americans interested in the games, 48 per cent of the population in the top five European markets showing strong interest, 63 per cent in central and Eastern Europe, 56 per cent in Central and South America and 51 per cent in Africa and Australia.
The percentage dropped to 42 per cent in Asia, but in China itself, research showed that 53 per cent of respondents were ‘very interested’ in the Summer Olympic Games, with a further 36 per cent’ interested’.
Unprompted awareness of Olympic Sponsors in China also showed high interest and good results according to the SPORT+MARKT’s Online study. Chinese brand Lenovo came top with 38 per cent awareness, followed by Coca-Cola with 36 per cent and China Mobile with 30 per cent. Samsung and Yiligroup had 18 per cent awareness, Bank of China 17 per cent and adidas, Haier, Johnson & Johnson are all on 14 per cent.
The interest level in the Olympic Games, says SPORT+MARKT shows the enormous anticipation of the Chinese. “The riots in Tibet and worldwide protests have not reduced the interest so far. Intensive work by sponsors in China to activate their engagements before the start of the games has led to very good results in China. Especially international brands such as Coca-Cola, Samsung, adidas and also China sponsor VW have reached very good awareness levels. This strengthens the point that most sponsorship engagements work in the home country. The question is, whether this penetration can also be reached internationally.
With regards to the impact the current situation could have on sponsors, with protests against China’s position in Tibet, Hartmut Zastrow, Executive Director SPORT+MARKT said: “We cannot speak of a loss of image for the sponsors yet, as sponsorship engagements have not been widely communicated globally in the campaigns. Currently, there is a certain understanding among the population of most countries for the situation of the sponsoring companies, but we cannot predict the dynamics of the upcoming weeks. Right now, China is still the villain in the eye of the public.”
“Olympic Games have always been a platform for activists, e.g. Catalans at the Olympics 1992 in Barcelona, the African American movement in Atlanta 1996, or Aborigines minority issues in 2000. Nevertheless sponsors have never suffered a loss of image. Consumers can distinguish between political situations of hosting countries and the engagement of a sponsor in a great international sporting event.”
“The value of sponsorship engagements of official sponsors of the Olympics will decrease by half, as sponsors are not able to activate their Olympic campaigns outside of China in the given situation. Considering Olympic Games are free of ads, classical advertisement is their only way to display their engagement – a possibility which was taken from sponsors for western countries. No sponsor could possibly exploit the Olympic spirit in their campaigns right now, except for in China. This could mean a loss of millions of investment as sponsors currently find themselves trapped: either they intimidate the Chinese, which represent an important economic strength, or they risk the reputation of being a China sympathiser among the western population. All sponsors can do right now is wait and see.”
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