China Olympics sponsors riding out challenges

Coca-Cola faced a potential setback after the earthquake when critics on Chinese Web sites accused it and other foreign companies of failing to do enough for survivors and dubbed them "international misers." But Coca-Cola, which gave money and bottled water for quake relief, got a boost when China's commerce minister publicly thanked corporate donors for their generosity.

Activists are pressing sponsors to lobby Beijing to use its influence with ally Sudan to help end bloodshed in the country's Darfur region. Companies have expressed concern but say they should avoid politics.

Sponsors still are vulnerable to possible missteps that might alienate consumers in China or abroad, especially as corporate spokespeople and athletes start talking to reporters ahead of the Aug. 8 opening of the games, said Damien Ryan, a Hong Kong-based consultant on media strategy. Ryan said he is advising several sponsors but declined to identify them.

"This is when really tough questions are going to be asked," Ryan said. "A wrong response, a poorly worded statement to the media or the inability to answer some of these questions clearly and concisely may lead to vulnerability and potential holes in their marketing."

Still, Ryan said, looking at the Olympics' popularity in China, "I think a lot of sponsors are now realizing they are partnering with success."

Adidas AG, a top Beijing sponsor, and its Reebok unit scrapped plans for a joint hospitality center at a private school and interviews with their athletes.

The change was due to "changing logistical and practical challenges," said Reebok spokeswoman Josie Stevens. She refused to give details but denied it was prompted by political concerns.

Asked whether Reebok was trying to avoid having athletes face questions about Tibet, Darfur or other issues, she said, "We neither prevent nor encourage our athletes from expressing their personal views."

France's Atos Origin SA, which is handling data-processing for the games, plans to bring in potential Chinese corporate and government clients to demonstrate its services, said Patrick Adiba, the company's executive vice president for the Olympics.

And the effect on the company of political activism?

"Our customers don't even mention it," Adiba said.

BHP has held 110 Olympic-themed events over the past two years in places as far-flung as Australia's tiny Groote Island and Mozambique in East Africa, with basketball and volleyball games and appearances by former Olympians. In China, the company plans to hold eight events with local corporate partners and major customers.

Lenovo is supplying computers for the games, which will showcase its technology before a global audience, said spokesman Robert J. Page.

"We don't see any slowing down in how we position ourselves and use this as an example of what we can do," Page said. Asked whether Lenovo worried that political issues might undercut that, he said, "we certainly don't see that taking place."

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