Business is Marketing

All roads lead to Beijing this August. As China gears up to showcase its mettle at the 2008 Olympic Games, marketers are salivating at the thought of how to make hay, while players sweat it out in the sun! “13” may not be considered a lucky number for some, but July 13, 2001 has turned out to be a lucky date for marketers worldwide. On this day, Beijing celebrated being awarded the 2008 Olympic Games. With the games just round the corner now, both marketers and media are going into frenzy. It is a great moment for China and marketers everywhere. It is also China’s way of showcasing to the world what it really is. Pride of China “Olympics-in-Beijing” is a unique combination and is breaking all records. First, China won the bid with flying colours garnering 56 votes, compared to 22 for Toronto, 18 for Paris and 9 for Istanbul. This was possible because of “a combination of good sports concept with complete government support.” For the Chinese, it is one of the “first real reasons for a c...

IT’S OFTEN QUITE TEMPTING FOR COMPANIES TO IGNORE ETHICS, BUT WHEN CUSTOMERS TAKE UP THE CUDGELS, IT CAN PROVE VERY COSTLY This year the Golden Globes cancelled its televised awards show due to lack of movie star participation. Early January this year, the Screen Actors Guild announced that 70 actors short-listed for the awards would not attend the ceremony to show their sympathy with scriptwriters, who have been on strike for over two months. If things are not set right and the scriptwriters’ voices are not heard, then next in line of fire would be the Oscars, and none other than the famous and one of Hollywood’s most powerful stars George Clooney is backing this boycott. Scheduled for Feb 24th at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, the award ceremony could well turn out to be a damp squib if the strike by the Writers Guild Association (WGA) continues. The cancellation of the Golden Globes reportedly cost broadcaster NBC $20 million in lost advertising revenue. The question on everyone’s ...