by Xinhua writer Zhou Yan

    BEIJING, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The advertising campaign is getting white hot, as Beijing enters the final four days of sprint toward the Olympic Games opening.

    Refusing to be overshadowed by international big names of Adidas and Coca Cola, Chinese sponsors of the Games are seeking to draw public attention from buses, subway trains, neon lights and right there in the Olympic venues.

The Olympic Games have brought many business opportunities to the host city of Beijing. (Photo: english.CCTV.com) Photo Gallery>>>

    The Lenovo Internet lounge in the Main Press Center of the Beijing Olympic Games opens 15 hours a day and its 24 big-screen, state-of-the-art computers are almost always occupied.

    "Several hundred people drop in daily, and most of them are foreign reporters," said He Weifeng, a manager of the Lenovo service center.

    Lenovo, the only Chinese company among the International Olympic Committee's 12 top-tier sponsors, is supplying 30,000 servers, personal computers and other equipment for the Beijing Games.

    The Beijing-based company has recently made its way into Fortune's top 500. "It's worthwhile after all to be a top-tier sponsor," said the group's board chairman Yang Yuanqing at the inauguration of Lenovo's lounge at the Olympic Park near the athletes' village in northern Beijing.

    Lenovo was only a local firm with about 3 billion U.S. dollars of turnover when it clinched the sponsorship deal with the IOC four years ago. "Some said we were taking too much risk, but we couldn't afford to lose this once-in-a-century opportunity," said Yang.

    His company acquired IBM Corp.'s PC unit in 2005 and is now hoping its link to the Olympics will boost its efforts to become a global brand name.

    "It's a hard-won opportunity for Chinese businesses to expand their international market through their links to the Games," said Yuan Bin, an official in charge of market development with the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games.

    From Haier's air-conditioners, fridges and washing machines in the Olympic media village to Tsingtao beer and Yili diary products, Chinese companies are taking the chance to bolster their brands and expand further on the world market. All are trying to follow Sony and Samsung to Olympic fame.

    SHORTCUT TO FAME

    When top Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning lost to Adidas in the running for official Olympic sponsor for the Beijing Games, many of its employees cried.

    "For four Games since 1992, Chinese athletes wore Li Ning to the podium. It's painful to see Adidas in the glory at our doorstep," said Zhang Zhiyong, chief executive officer of Li Ning, founded by and named after the gymnast who won three gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

    "We are not as powerful as Adidas financially, and that means we have to budget our marketing expenditures in a wiser and more economical manner," said Zhang.

    Li Ning has since had its logo sewed on shirts, shoes and other sportswear worn by reporters and sportscasters at China Central Television's sports channel from Jan. 1 2007 to Dec. 31, 2008.

    The company has clinched deals with China's gymnastics, shooting, table tennis and diving teams to wear its sportswear during the Games, and reached out to international teams including the Swedish Olympic delegation, the Argentine and Spanish basketball teams.

    A recent poll by CTR, a leading Beijing-based market research firm, found 37.4 percent of the people it surveyed believed Li Ning was the official Olympic sponsor, while only 22.8 percent knew it was Adidas.

    LAUGHING TO THE LAST?

    The controversy over whether it is really worthwhile to sponsor the Games has always haunted Lenovo and at least 20 other Chinese firms. Some have reportedly been forced to give up part of their Olympic marketing plans.

    "Most of the sponsors are public companies," said a seasoned financial analyst on condition of anonymity. "I'm waiting for their annual report to tell whether they are winners or losers in the Olympic deal."

    Just to be an official sponsor is just the beginning, said Prof. Lu Dongbin with the Beijing-based Renmin University of China. "The company needs to budget at least three to four times the initial spending in subsequent marketing activities."

    "It all depends on yourself to maximize the economic returns. An Olympic logo next to your brand is certainly an advantage, but that doesn't immunize anyone from the market competition," said Lu, also an expert on Olympic economy.

    Yili Industrial Group, one of China's largest dairy producer in Hohhot of Inner Mongolia, will provide an estimated 14 million yuan of milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream to the Beijing Games. From the production lines at the group's seven plants to the Olympic tables, the group said, it has imposed stricter quality control measures.

    "The Games are like a magic cube -- only the few lucky ones can benefit," said Yili Group's President Pan Gang. "From production management to quality control, we have bolstered our overall capacity to stand the test."