Holding the torch

Well today was amazing, following a gruelling cab ride to the North of Beijing - think nearly an hour, for a half hour journey - we met Sir Clive Woodward, our tour guide for the Olympic Village.

Following a briefing over coffee in Clive's hotel on how not to spend the next 21 days in a Chinese prison, we were whisked away in an Offical Beijing 2008 (VW) Car towards the highly secure Olympic Village, which is due to house the carnival that is the Olympics. Consisting of 15,000 athletes, the same again or more in workers, and plenty of officials.

Getting into an airport or out of a prison (Chinese?) might be an easier task - however for this trip we'd be guests of the GB NOC, and a few words had us our passes and into the camp.

No cars were allowed in the village, so by foot we went in the most humid and smoggy conditions we had experienced. we dropped in on the British quarters where the blocks are plain but serve a purpose, being nicely dressed by Team GB sponsor - B&Q who have made them look a little more like home.

Clive handed us over to Simon Clegg (CEO of BOA) - who took us round the rest of the camp. Clearly a lot of work still to do (finishing touches!), but seems a really great team and an amazingly small one!

One of our highlights being shown around was being given the opportunity to hold one of the Olympic torches - not something any of the Flyers would have thought possible.

Some thoughts following this experience:

1. It put the Olympic games into some perspective - the games are BIG; a massive undertaking for all involved, especially the host nation, one that we certainly hadn't appreciated.

2. London has a big challenge ahead of it for delivering 2012 and needs to be supported.

3. Several brands managed to gain exposure within the village by providing a key service to the athletes (e.g Coke provide free drinks, McDonalds have a restaurant, Lenovo provide the cybercafes, Visa/Bank of China jointly share ATMs).

4. Within the Team GB compound there was little evidence of sponsor activity, other than B&Q. It would seem comparatively liitle investment here could create advocates amoungst the athletes creating a nice "halo" effect.

Later we went to the 'Birds Nest' stadium and the Aquatics Centre. We struggled to get near, with many of the nearby streets locked down.

See pic below (more to come later!).


Aarti, Ross and Nicky. xx

There are 5 million bicycles in Beijing.... And one Jackie Chan.

Today's travels took your fliers to...

Meet Mr Diamond Tai - MD of Kinetic Worldwide China
Meet Mr Jeremy Sy - Head of Planning TBWA China
See the world's largest Adidas store (and the most amazing 3d product display)
See the world's largest outdoor screen* - one of 65 to bring the Olympics to the people
See the Beijing workers stadium - where the football will be held
See the Beijing workers gymnasium - where the indoor games will be held

Detail below, but a little spot competition - best insight, comment, etc. gets something from the 'heart' of Beijing.

Mr Diamond Tai...

Diamond run's Kinetic - by billings, China's number one outdoor media buying agency, with 100+ clients including Beijing 08 sponsors and 'hi-jack' brands.

Unsurprisingly, non-Olympic brands spent heavily before the black out period, using athletes to associate themselves with the Games. Some have also broken the ban, putting up one day executions. We'd expect that this would be impossible at the London games...

Of the Olympic brands, he's really noticed Coke ramping up spending - looking to dominate city travel routes.

He really highlighted the clutter around the landscape, with many different brands competing for a small expensive inventory. Plus, worryingly for international brands, the best outdoor spots in Beijing are decided more with a wink and nod than the more traditional contract route.

Mr Jeremy Sy...

As head of planning for TBWA China, Jeremy oversaw the agencies efforts with two TOP sponsor: Adidas and McDonalds.

Here's what we talked about:-

1. there are 60 sponsors at the Beijing games (each allowed to communicate their sponsorship)
2. the same 3-4 athletes are being used by each sponsor
3. outdoor has gone up 100% in cost and the city pruned outdoor sites in the build up to the games
4. most sponsorship is directed at the domestic audience, however leader brands have shifted to an international audience
5. the whole messaging/brands were all very cluttered, in his view there was a degree of 'brand fade' - where many brands went out with a similar message and thus are not apparent
6. little experiential is allowesd - China is nervous re the "T" word and using a rule of no more than 5 to congregate together at public events.
7. China, and Beijing to a lesser extent has had trouble engaging people with the Olympics. In a land of 1.3 B and a city of 10M how do you excite people with the games when, for them it could be happening anywhere.
8. No sponsors have tried to align themselves with the themes of the games (and that these are confusing, unbelievable and perhaps not working)
9. Adidas' platform - one of connecting the athletes to the the people (a factor he saw being missed out on the other campaigns around)
10. Beijing's 08 advertising has been up for the last year and as such is no longer creating any internal excitement.
11. The best sponsors got their advertising out and made their positions know early.

The worlds biggest addidas store...


With no ability to do experiential, this is clearly a massive opportunity for Adidas to connect with the many people coming through its doors everyday. On entry you're confronted with a high-tech 3D holographic display and a number of clever digital screens connecting the Games, to the sportsware.

The worlds largest outdoor screen*...


Very large, Coke sponsor acitivty being built below.

Massive and growing and perhaps one for any future teams who go out to Beijing to take a look at once complete.


*According to to Jeremy

The stadiums....

Nothing great going outside these. A little sponsor acitivity visible inside, however not much going on outside. We're hoping for more from tomorrow's destinations:

The Olympic Village
The Birds nest stadium
Team GB lodge
The Olympic green

Tired and out, love the team. xx

We're still standing!!!

Just back from dinner with our new best mates Simon and Clive, great evening! (Clive is standing up and Simon seated)...


We had a great discussion on what is currently going on in Beijing. They both commented on the good luck messages of support at T5, and said that its touches like that which make a difference to the team. They are so excited that BA is a partner.

Throughout our conversation there were one or two quotes which connected us to the Games. One from Simon Clegg, CEO BOA "This is the journey that will change peoples lives".

We have managed to secure ourselves a visit to the Olympic Village on Friday and the BOA Lodge! (.....we may have to go in as Ivory Coast guests - Gucci bags required!!!!)

After a very full day with no sleep, its nearly time to call it a day! or will Ross be tempted to go to a karaoke bar.....................

Until tomorrow...

Nicky, Aarti and Ross xx

Hot, dusty and tired (but not daunted)

And no time to sleep....

A quick update from Beijing. Just arrived back to the hotel after a day's searching Beijing's streets, checking out where the tourists go, looking at activations, (trying) to talk to 'Beijing hosts' and seeing the first of the stadiums.


Many of the key attractions have the air of a building site, Tiananmen square in particular is engulfed with cranes, men in hard hats and the ringing of spanner and wrench. But it looks like it'll look amazing when they're done.

We found the Omega countdown clock somewhat disappointing. Tiananmen is massive - our guide suggests 67 football pitches - the clock is small, and the digital display was feint and unreadable with the bright sun.

The Games' pictograms connect well with crowds and landscape - they're on-display in flower, print, digital, sculptures and on the t-shirts of ordinary locals. The picture below shows them on display in Tiananmen, drawing in the crowds half-finished.


Umbrella's... Seems like there's competetive air around which brand will supply these - keeping security and police out of the sun around olympic venues and other key tourist spots. We've seen brollies from a range of top and local sponsors without a clear pattern behind who goes where.

One of the strangest sights of the day was several free poster sites around one of the Olympic venue, perhaps these are on there way however an opportunity being missed at present.

This evening we're meeting, Sir Clive Woodward, Simon Clegg (CEO BOA), Mark England (Chef de mission BOA) to talk Olympics and BA 2012.

Good night.

The Rest Of The Flyers Arrive

After touching down at Beijing capital airport, a couple of thoughts from our new arrivals, Aarti and Nicky. Sadly Nick Phelps couldn't make it, but we all wish him well on the road to recovery (perhaps he wasn't up of the Karaoke challenge?).

First impressions, you know right away that the Olympics are here. Billboards from TOP and national sponsors welcome an international audience. Individually the executions had good stand-out, however taken as a whole no one sponsor owned the welcome - more a feeling of being welcomed to Beijing and it's games by Beijing it's self.

We'll need to think about our position when it comes to our turn, it seems unlikely we'll be able own all of Heathrow, so how do we create unique position amongst the clutter?

The advertising was welcoming, perhaps missing a personable side. Beijing is quite a confusing city, there's a language barrier: people don't speak much English and rarely understand Western attempts at Chinese. Perhaps a z-card with key translations would be a better understanding of the needs of those who arrive.

On the way to the hotel, the roads have been branded 'the Beijing Games'. The lamposts have multi-coloured banners celebrating the One world, one dream games.

Nicky - I was asked if I was a movie star by the immigration official, made my day. However I was asked just afterwards to rate his customer service skills just 2 minutes later...

BTW - T5 isn't the only airport with finishing touches being carreid out, take a look.

A nation spits, polishes and holds it's breath

On arrival the question, it seems for all international travellers, is "you here the Olympics"? Well yes, but not quite...

It doesn't stop there. Speaking to them, it's clear that the people of Beijing are very proud to be holding the games, they see it as their time on the world stage, a time where they have an opportunity to show how far they've come and what they're capable of. This is a big moment for the Chinese people and government and they're determined to show off China at it's best.

Having been in Beijing now for over a week the difference, even in such a short time, is dramatic. On every highway an army of workers are trimming back bushes, planting flowers and making displays for the "One World, One Dream" games. Old "non-olympic" bill boards has been replaced with new advertising for brands involved (and some that are not) with the games. Helpers have materialised for lost tourists, where before there were none.

And there's the air as well. A week ago, as the temperature hit 35 degrees the pollution was choking. Now with some of the more polluting factories closed and half the cars off the road, it's more bearable.

Reports of the stadiums suggest that have had as much attention to make them as impressive too, and they're our destination tomorrow, when the rest of the Come Fliers arrive.


*In case you can't make it out, the photo's of "One world, One dream" spelt out in flowers...

Beijing 2008 - Come Fly With Me

Much like the attention now focused at Beijing, in 2012 all the worlds’ eyes will be turned to London and Britain as we’ve our chance at hosting the Olympics. As a tier one sponsor, British Airways has much invested in the London games – both financially and in terms of status; and has a great opportunity to capitalise on this attention and energy positively for the business.

So the third ‘Come Fly With Me’ trip would be to China’s capital city as it prepares to host it’s games to discover some of the opportunities and threats that relevant for our games; and help inform activation strategies in the lead up to them. The flyers for this trip; the sponsorship team’s very own Nicky Hall and Aarti Pall, Ross Landles from Agency.com; and as a late substitute for Roberto Colandangelo BBH’s Nick Phelps; are due to scour Beijing for the next four days for insights, meeting with local marketeers and sponsors, visiting the stadiums, and most-of-all looking for the best activations on the ground.

For more info on the flyers, read on: Ross Landles