By David Liu, managing director, China

The year 2008 is to Beijing what 1988 was to Seoul and 1964 was to Tokyo: a date to showcase the nation’s development to the global community. There is still a stereotype about China that is outdated. For those people who have never visited the country for themselves, the Olympics are a good opportunity to discover the real China.

The Olympics is the venue where Beijing plans to jump from neutral to positive coverage in international media. Headline news about Chinese basketball player Yao Ming is a good example of the positive attention Beijing seeks. Not only does it speak of direct economic value for Chinese brands, cultural coverage contributes to China’s growing supply of “soft power”. Much like Japan and Korea, which have built international recognition and interest based on comics, films, pop music and sports like karate, Beijing hopes to establish a worldwide China “fan base”, which is enthusiastic about the products of Chinese culture and economy.

Chinese people really take pride in their right to hold the Olympics. Because the Beijing Olympics are really a China national effort, any affiliation carries the brand value of a government endorsement, so brands that associate with the Beijing Olympics will be trusted. Olympic affiliation in other countries may not have this kind of impact. In some areas of China, people may not even be aware of famous Chinese brands. So this is especially an opportunity for multinational companies in China to make themselves known.

One such example is the brewing industry. Chinese breweries have the advantages of name recognition, loyal client base and lower prices. Budweiser took advantage of another big-name sports event, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, to make its name known to Chinese consumers. Though the event took place in Germany, the American brand bet that millions of Chinese football fans would be watching and used Chinese characters for their advertising on the field. A first for an international brand outside China, Budweiser scored big points with Chinese media and consumers.

Since Olympic sponsors enjoy exclusive rights in their own category, we suggest to our clients that are not Olympic sponsors to promote their brands in other ways. Sponsoring star athletes or famous sports teams are efficient ways for non-Olympic sponsors to raise their brand profile. Second, the sports-sponsorship equation offers an unparalleled opportunity to athletic brands. China is a rising sports powerhouse, but sports marketing is still at the starting line. The nationwide, government-backed push to promote the Olympics will provide a boost to local and foreign athletic brands, as the overall market for sports products increases.

Finally, it is important to partner with a public relations company that understands the Chinese market and can create consumer-focused campaigns. Weber Shandwick has had great success rallying customers for Nike’s new products because we engaged consumers, even rolling out sports tournaments across multiple major cities that allowed the client to interact directly with its customers.

A good example of Asian brands using the Olympics as a springboard is Samsung. It began its involvement with the Games at the Sydney Olympics; before this time, it was seen as a Korean brand. Since then Samsung has grown into a truly global brand. The key was high-profile sponsorship combined with high-quality products. Samsung went on to sponsor activities such as the FIFA World Cup, but it carried through with innovative product lines. Chinese brands will also need to take this long-term view of Olympic marketing to be ultimately successful.

China has already begun to change the way it communicates with the world. The technology it uses to communicate is also new. At the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 another communication milestone was reached: the first television program broadcast across the Pacific using satellite. The innovation today is Web 2.0, which allows people all over the world to interact. Chinese are already active on the Web, with a recent report by the China Internet Network Information Center pegging the population of Internet users at 162 million. At the current growth rate, the country is on track to overtake the United States’ 211 million Internet users in about a year. Chinese netizens already spend much more time online than any other country in the world—18.6 hours per week.

With all eyes on China next year, the Olympics are sure to spur greater interest in the country. But instead of purchasing a plane ticket, most people’s first reaction will be to go to Google, Wikipedia or the blog of a Chinese college student. The Internet is putting China in touch with the world, and the Olympics will give the world something to talk about.