Olympic Games Generate Historic Impact on Lenovo Brand

BEIJING, 24 August 2008 – Lenovo today described a successful deployment of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games marketing programs, including product placement, advertising, news media coverage, and innovations in computer hardware and technical support. These programs build on Lenovo’s excellent technical support of the Olympic Games.

At least two studies by third-party organizations show Lenovo’s leadership in marketing activation among Worldwide Partners of the Olympic Games, including Dow Jones Insight and Global Language Monitor. This leadership has helped Lenovo leverage the impact of the Olympic Games on its global brand.

“Looking back at the history of the Olympic Games, there are numerous examples of how the Olympic Movement can create a powerful impact on the launch of a new global brand,” said Timo Lumme, director of television and marketing services for the International Olympic Committee. “In the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the company that continues that tradition is Lenovo.

“Lenovo has directed its hardware, service, and marketing programs so skillfully at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games that the IOC believes this sponsorship will have a long-term, lasting impact on the Lenovo brand,” Lumme said.

Lenovo’s successful support of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games started with excellent operation of computing hardware as part of one of the most complex information technology systems in the history of the Olympic Games. The more than 30,000 pieces of computing equipment, supported by nearly 600 Lenovo engineers and technicians, have been critical to the success of the Games.

Lenovo built on this foundation with a comprehensive marketing approach that touched all aspects of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. These included:

· Creating seven Internet Lounges used throughout Olympic Villages in Beijing, Qingdao and Hong Kong, averaging more than 3,000 athlete visits per day.
· Creating the first-ever PC service centers for journalists, where they could get their PCs fixed for free, regardless of brand.
· Becoming the first Worldwide Partner in history to design the Olympic Torch.
· Advancing the Olympic Movement through blogging and personal computing. During these first games in which athletes can blog throughout the games, Lenovo created the “Voices of the Olympic Games” website, averaging more than 50,000 visitors a day and transforming the way people connect with the Olympic Games.
· Creating a “store inside a store” at the Olympic Superstore, where the first licensed technology products at the Olympic Games were sold.
· Creating a city-wide presence in Beijing, starting with 175 billboards at the new international airport terminal, and continuing with more than 500 buses wrapped in Lenovo advertising and another 500 billboards throughout the city.
· Operating Lenovo’s Showcase on the Olympic Green at capacity since opening day, averaging more than 4,000 visitors per day. Lenovo generated crowds with a combination of the Lenovo-designed Olympic Torch; exciting, interactive technology exhibits; and engaging performances by dancers, musicians, acrobats and other artists on the company's outdoor stage.
· Partnering with the Right to Play philanthropy for Olympic Games athletes, creating a global auction of Olympic Games sports memorabilia signed by athletes. All proceeds from the auction support Right to Play, in an example of the creative use of personal computing technology to support a good cause.

“We have worked to be comprehensive, creative and cutting-edge in our marketing activation,” said Deepak Advani, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Lenovo. “From our billboard advertisements to our teams of brand ambassadors to our multiple sites on the Olympic Green, Lenovo’s goal is to support and engage people everywhere who use personal computers to create the world’s greatest ideas.”

One of the most notable examples of Lenovo’s Olympic marketing activation is the Olympic Torch. The IOC and the Beijing Olympic Olympic Organizing Committee announced Lenovo’s “Cloud of Promise” design for the torch in April 2007.

“The Olympic Torch demonstrates Lenovo’s design leadership, just as our flawless operation of the Olympic Games technology systems demonstrates world-class products and brand,” said Alice Li, vice president of Olympic marketing, Lenovo.