Coca-Cola tops the Olympic sponsors' list, according to rankings
published by the Paris-based survey company Ipsos Group.
About 22.1 percent of Chinese people surveyed said the beverage
maker was the most popular Olympic sponsor.
It was followed by Lenovo, with 21.5 percent, and Haier, 21.4
percent.
Others to make the list's Top 10, were Yili, a dairy products
company; China Mobile; Bank of China; Tsingtao Beer; Mengniu, also
a dairy company; Li Ning, a sports clothing company; and Sohu, the
Internet portal.
An interesting observation is that Mengniu and Li Ning are not
sponsors.
Adidas, the sports goods manufacturer, is a sponsor, but it only
ranked 17th on the list.
Mengniu and Li Ning were mistaken as sponsors because they are
so famous in China, the survey said.
It said Adidas needs to make itself better known as it is one of
those paying the bills.
The survey showed people preferred to buy the products of the
Games sponsors. Purchases increase by an average 13.65 percent when
the Games' logo appears on their products.
As sponsors of the Olympics, the companies are displaying social
responsibility, the survey said.
Tsingtao Beer has benefited the most as a sponsor, sales are up
21.6 percent. The two non-sponsors, Mengniu and Li Ning, have also
seen sales increase by 13.21 percent on average.
The survey also ranked the popularity of sponsors' slogans used
in their advertisements. Sinopec topped the list.
Also on the list were Tsingtao Beer, Lenovo, Bank of China,
Coca-Cola, Adidas, Yili, China Mobile and Sohu.
(China Daily August 9, 2007)
