Enlightenment from Olympic sponsors： Coca-Cola has been tied up with the Olympic Games.
Beijing business today Coca-Cola has been traveling with the Olympic Games for nearly 80 years, and has maintained good relations with previous International Olympic Committees and national Olympic Organizing Committees. It even knows how the venues should be run and how the torch should be done, but it has never positioned itself as a teacher of the host city, but as a partner. It also tells other sponsors with less experience: in the environment of high expectations of the Olympic Games, success or failure must be determined by details …
Promotion: take risks as obligations.
If Beijing’s bid for the Olympic Games was unsuccessful at that time, the Coca-Cola commemorative cans could only be destroyed, with huge losses. Many people say that this is gambling, but when it is their duty to promote the Olympic Games, there is no need to quantify the benefits.
The relationship between Coca-Cola and the 2008 Olympic Games actually began on July 13th, 2001, the day when the Olympic bid was successful. Coca-Cola had already made commemorative cans for bidding for the Olympic Games before the results of bidding for the Olympic Games were announced, and that night, these cans entered supermarkets and major supermarkets and won the first prize. Many people think that Coca-Cola’s behavior is a gamble. If the Olympic bid was not successful at that time, these commemorative cans could only be destroyed, with huge losses. In this regard, Chen Shengbai believes that Coca-Cola is not "gambling", and this behavior is only based on the understanding of the Olympic Games.
He said: "Taking risks to make the Olympic bid commemorative jar is because we are closely linked with the Olympic Games. As a member of the Olympic family, Coca-Cola has the obligation to promote the Olympic Games while benefiting from the Olympic Games."
Chen Shengbai said that other sponsors may not do this for the practice of bidding for the Olympic commemorative jar.
He said: "Many Olympic sponsors only consider the development of enterprises, and how much direct return can they bring to enterprise marketing? Some sponsors once asked us how Coca-Cola calculates the return. How to prove success in business? I replied that Coca-Cola never thought about how much the Olympic business would increase, and we didn’t even quantify it. Because we have been sponsoring the Olympic Games since 1928, nearly 80 years have bound us to the Olympic Games, and it is our obligation to promote the Olympic Games. "
Cooperation: not a teacher but a partner.
Support for the IOC and the BOCOG of the host cities is not only simple funds and materials, but also the experience of nearly 80 years … But we are not teachers, but partners.
In the past 80 years, Coca-Cola has maintained good relations with all previous International Olympic Committees and national Olympic Organizing Committees. On August 1 this year, Coca-Cola and the International Olympic Committee jointly announced that their global partnership agreement would be extended to 2020, and this Olympic "diamond wedding" would continue. Chen Shengbai said frankly that the secret of this Olympic "marriage" is that Coca-Cola can pass on its Olympic knowledge and experience to the Olympic Organizing Committee of every host city without reservation.
He pointed out that Coca-Cola has participated in many Olympic Games and gained a lot of Olympic knowledge, which is not only known to us, but also passed on to the Olympic Organizing Committees of the host cities. Many of the Olympic organizing committees in the host cities have never experienced the Olympic Games, so we should tell them, for example, how the venues should be operated, how the torch should be made, how other cities are held, and how to learn from them. But in this process, we are not teachers, but partners, passing on what we know to them. At the same time, in this process, we are also discussing with national Olympic organizing committees, because past experience is not universally applicable. Therefore, our support for the International Olympic Committee and the host city Olympic Organizing Committee is not only simple funds and materials, but also the transfer of experience.
Advice: the key to winning is the details.
Under the Olympic environment, everyone’s expectations are very high … Any shortcomings of the enterprise may be magnified, so it is very important to grasp the details!
For some China enterprises sponsoring the 2008 Olympic Games, this is their "first intimate contact" with the Olympic Games. Among these enterprises, how to carry out Olympic marketing is often inexperienced and confusing. In this regard, Chen Shengbai gave the suggestion that "details decide everything".
He said: "In the Olympic environment, everyone’s expectations are very high. With such a high degree of attention, any shortcomings of the enterprise may be magnified, so it is very important to grasp the details. No matter how good the idea is, if you can’t think of many details and implement them in place, marketing will not succeed. At present, many enterprises in China have thought of many details, but they still need to be strengthened in implementation. "
He further explained that we should first understand the core values of the Olympic brand, because only in this way can the creativity and publicity made by enterprises not deviate from the Olympics. Second, deeply understand the expectations of their target consumers for the Olympic Games, which needs to be achieved through a lot of market research. Third, make clear the goals of your own enterprise and achieve differentiated marketing promotion.
Sponsoring enterprises should not talk about their dreams in Olympic marketing, but should reflect their creative ideas according to their own characteristics and under a consistent theme.
At present, many domestic enterprises have done special activities. For example, Lenovo once did an activity called "matchmaking" to expand its business to remote towns, and at the same time brought the Olympics there, popularizing Olympic knowledge.
In addition, Chen Shengbai believes that some China sponsors will continue to sponsor the Olympic Games after next year’s Olympic Games. He said: "At present, many enterprises have the goal and willingness to explore overseas markets, and they are fully capable of sponsoring the Olympic Games abroad. I believe they will continue to walk with the Olympic Games."
Plan: Olympic "Daily Chapter"
Although there is only one "Bird’s Nest Steel" commemorative medallion at present, and it is only a gift and not for sale, Coca-Cola has planned to launch a limited edition commemorative medallion every day during the Olympic Games.
Speaking of the "Bird’s Nest Steel" commemorative medallion, Chen Shengbai is quite proud, because it is the first Olympic product made of the remaining steel of the "Bird’s Nest" steel structure in the world. He said: "Bird’s Nest Steel is one of our suppliers. Through competition, it won the rights and interests from the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee. They told us this time. We feel that this is a good thing. It is a good opportunity for suppliers, and it is also an opportunity for Coca-Cola to help us promote the medal culture. After that, we reported this idea to the headquarters, and the headquarters approved it in less than a week. "
Although there is only one "Bird’s Nest Steel" commemorative medallion at present, and it is only a gift and not for sale, Chen Shengbai is very optimistic about the development prospect of "Bird’s Nest Steel" commemorative medallion. He said that we have now completed the design of 20 or 30 "Bird’s Nest Steel" commemorative medals, which will be implemented in the near future, and the possibility of putting the "Bird’s Nest Steel" commemorative medals on the market is not ruled out. Commemorative medals are very good business opportunities. The price of commemorative medals is very cheap, but the sales volume is very large. Therefore, many people collect Olympic souvenirs, and the first choice is commemorative medals.
Chen Shengbai told reporters that Coca-Cola has made a plan for olympic pin from now until the end of 2008. In the plan, in addition to the "Bird’s Nest Steel" series, it also includes commemorative medals on the Olympic torch and the opening ceremony, and the "one chapter a day" plan started in Lillehammer in 1994 will also be continued at the next Olympic Games. At that time, Coca-Cola will launch a limited edition commemorative medal every day according to the theme of the Olympic Games that day.
Editor: Xu Guimei