China and the Pressure to Perform
[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 3, No. 5
14 July - 10 August 2008 ] By David Scott with Janine Sim-Jones
Tens of thousands of athletes, trainers, support staff, officials and fans are headed for the Olympic Games in Beijing with dreams of winning. But there’s more to it than medals.
The athletes of the ancient Olympic Games in Greece were often treated as heroes, greatly admired and immortalised in poems and statues by their fans and peers. When the first starter’s gun is fired at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing, an estimated global audience of four billion people will provide further proof that despite thousands of years of sporting evolution and development, some things will never change – athletes are still seen as larger than life and almost universally adored.
Statues and poems, however, are less in vogue today as a reward for sporting success. Sponsorship is the new laurel wreath of recognition. And as a peak sports marketing event the Olympiad is a magnet for companies seeking to sign deals with each new crop of rising young stars.
According to Dr Angela Paladino, a senior lecturer in Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne, athletes more than many other mainstream public figures are able, with their celebrity status, to influence consumers – through ‘informational social influence’.
“Athletes can influence another person to accept information that they communicate as evidence of reality – or what they say is true,” says Dr Paladino.
“This is of course dependent on two key criteria: credibility and similarity. The athletes must be perceived as being an expert in the field. Hence, what they recommend about healthy eating and choice of a brand of food, for example, is seen as highly credible by members of the public.
“The second criteria, similarity, relates to the extent to which the athlete would be perceived to share the goals and values of the audience they are communicating to.
“If nothing else, established stars and those who have attained a significant achievement – such as an Olympic medal – help to generate free positive publicity for companies, by enhancing a particular company’s image and convey information about the company. Plus, the publicity is significantly cheaper than advertising,” she says.
Sponsoring an athlete to present a message to a particular audience does, however, bring risks for companies. The athlete may suffer injury, lose form or be at the centre of controversy (such as the Marion Jones drug scandal). A celebrity may also become ‘too famous’ or suffer from overexposure.
Dr Paladino says other issues for sponsors might include China’s recent bad press on human rights, the possible effect of pollution on athletes in Beijing, ongoing disquiet in Tibet, and even China’s recent earthquakes.
“Of course there will always be groups of consumers who will boycott certain products as a result of their affiliation or link with the Beijing Olympics, and the earthquakes may deter some from travelling there.
“Many other consumers will however see the Games as an opportunity for China to redeem itself in a way. Consumers can be quite forgiving; many will not hold the events that have happened in China against them.”
Media and Communications Law student Kimberly Crow, who will row in the Australian women’s pairs team in Beijing, is one who believes that the Olympics have a high redeeming factor. Speaking at Melbourne University Sport’s Blues Presentation Dinner in April, Crow said, “I think by going and participating and by showing what it really means to work together as a team irrespective of our backgrounds, that that will achieve more than engaging in a different stance.
“I firmly believe that what sport achieves is so valuable in uniting people throughout the world, and I think that message is really integral to the idea of the Olympics.”
“The Olympics is seen as a peaceful event that could bring future prosperity to China,” agrees Dr Paladino. “However it is difficult to predict consumer reactions, though I wouldn’t expect the brand of the Olympics or IOC (International Olympic Committee) to be tarnished at all.”
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