Marketingexpertoffersinputfor26thUniversiade
From: Shenzhen Daily
Updated: 2009-03-03 00:03
Michael Payne
A FORMER marketing director of the International Olympics Committee said he believed the 2011 Summer Universiade would be a success if new media could be given free rein to help bring information related to the event to all corners of the world.
"Only by doing this can we expect to arouse the enthusiasm of the youth around the world and help them understand Shenzhen to a fuller extent," said Michael Payne, who is now a special adviser to Formula 1 CEO Bernie Eccleston and a marketing adviser to Shenzhen Tianrong Investment Co. Ltd., the sole operator of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship GP of China.
Widely known as the world"s foremost sports marketer, the Briton also suggested at a seminar held in Shenzhen on Sunday that special attention be paid to visual effects at the Universiade venues. "Visual effects is something that is elusive, yet crucial," Payne said. "It played a significant role in the success of the Beijing Olympics."
Given the current economic conditions, Payne also advised against extravagance and waste in hosting the sports event and suggested the 26th Universiade to be held in Shenzhen in 2011 be promoted in a "down-to-earth manner."
Payne was appointed the first-ever marketing director to the IOC in 1983. He served over the course of 15 Olympic Games and helped generate billions of dollars in sponsorships and broadcasting rights. Few are in a better position than Payne to offer advice to organizers of the 26th Universiade and F1 World Championship GP of China.
"For a modern city like Shenzhen, hosting international sports events is both necessary and imperative," Payne said.
He used Singapore as an example. "For Westerners, it used to be a boring place where tourists go shopping and sightseeing and nothing else. But since the city state held a round of the 2008 FIA F1 World Championship, the first nighttime event in F1 history, people started to recognize it as a city full of vitality and fun.
"Basically, brand is reputation. By hosting sports events, Shenzhen can enhance its image in the world and more investors would be attracted to the city, which will in turn increase the added value of the city brand. In this sense, sports events are a city"s business card."
Shenzhen Daily