BOCOG launches Olympic sponsorship program

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) launched on Thursday its campaign to seek sponsors for the games.

"As our work of seeking partners nearly came to a successful close, we are entering the second phrase of Olympic marketing program," Yuan Bin, director of BOCOG's marketing department, told a press conference.

BOCOG's marketing plan includes partnership, sponsorship and licensing programs. Partnership and sponsorships grant enterprises four-year exclusive marketing and promotion rights, while the licensing program authorizes companies to produce and sell products with the official Olympic logo only after paying royalities to BOCOG.

To date, BOCOG has signed seven partners for the 2008 Games. They are German automobile giant Volkswagen, Sinopec, Bank of China, China Mobile, China Netcom, sportswear manufacturer Adidas and Air China.

Yuan said that several enterprises are in talks with BOCOG over the possibility of cooperation.

"We are likely to sign one or two partners in the near future,"she said. "But sponsorship program is the focus of our work from now on."

Yuan refused to reveal the amount of money companies should pay if they want to join the Olympic sponsorship program, only saying it will be much less than that for an Olympic partner. Insiders say that a partership deal could be worth 50 million US dollars.

White goods, office supply, logistics, tyre, tourism service are listed as the categories in which potential Olympic sponsors come from.