By Tom Ryan
China's role as the spot for the 2008 Olympics appears to be leading to a big payday for PR flacks. According to the Associated Press, a few sponsors of the Games, such as GE and BHP, have already turned to PR specialists for advice to mollify activists pressing for change on Tibet, Darfur and other issues without angering China.
The Olympics almost always attracts threatened and actual boycotts, but China is taking activism to another level. Most recently, protests by Tibetans against Chinese rule - and Beijing's crackdown - has caused the most concern to sponsors. Darfur activists have been prodding sponsors to lobby Beijing to help pressure Sudan to end the conflict there. These and other long-standing issues around press freedom and human rights in China are only expected to ring louder as the games approach in August.
All this has left the event's global sponsors, including Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and Johnson & Johnson, wondering whether their brands will end up being associated with the Games for the wrong reasons. On the positive side, this year's Olympics offer a premier advertising platform in the fast-growing China market.
So far, sponsors are insisting that they should stay out of politics.
Lenovo, the only Chinese company among the top 12 major sponsors, took into account possible activism when it made its plans.
"All of these potential considerations are taken into the planning process," Robert Page, the company's Olympics PR manager, told the Associated Press. "The potential for people to express their opinions is certainly something we have taken into consideration, and we would work with [the Olympic committee] on anticipating."
The sponsorship is aimed to help establish Lenovo as a global brand following its 2005 acquisition of IBM's personal computer unit. Asked whether he worries about tarnishing the brand's image, Mr. Page said, "That's not a concern at this point.
He added, "There is no question that the Olympic Games are a powerful force for peace. We believe that the Games will focus on all the good that is being brought to China, and we are proud to support that."
Sponsors also clearly want to avoid jeopardizing market access to China by doing anything that might upset communist officials. According to The Economic Times, Beijing has retaliated in the past for unwanted foreign actions by canceling contracts or restricting market access.
"It's obviously a fine balancing act that every single Olympics encounters," said Michael Payne, a former marketing director for the International Olympic Committee who now works as a consultant. "The PR departments of each of the sponsors have got to be sensible in how they respond."
Typically signed up for multiple Games, many of the global sponsors had little choice in deciding to sponsor the Beijing Olympics.
Discussion Question: How would you assess the brand image risk to sponsors of the Beijing Olympics? If possible, should sponsors have avoided the Olympics this time around? Generally, what's a wise PR strategy for sponsors at this point?