Sponsors

---

Next month's Winter OlympicsContent ='JJ Lin'> is a huge marketing opportunity for SponsorsContent ='JJ Lin'> - a showcase for brands.

However, Beijing 2022 is also causing a huge headache for the 13 official corporate partners of The GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> .

Stuck in The MiddleContent ='JJ Lin'> of a diplomatic spat between the US and China - Many are choosing to stay silent.

The US, UK, Australia and Canada are among the countries making a diplomatic boycott of The GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> , although their athletes will still participate.

Those country's governments have criticised China for alleged Human RightsContent ='JJ Lin'> violations against its minority Uyghur population, and its actions in Tibet and Hong KongContent ='JJ Lin'> .

BBC analysis shows a dramatic reduction in tweets referring to The GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> from The OlympicsContent ='JJ Lin'> ' global SponsorsContent ='JJ Lin'> - as compared to Last YearContent ='JJ Lin'> 's Summer GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> in Tokyo.

The BbcContent ='JJ Lin'> also approached all 13 Olympic partners for comment on accusations of China Human RightsContent ='JJ Lin'> abuses. None responded directly to the allegations.

The former chief marketing officer for the US Olympic Committee at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, Rick Burton, told The BbcContent ='JJ Lin'> multinationals were " walking a tightrope".

" I don't think that any of them as global brands can afford, or are willing, to insult the Chinese government, " he says.

Tokyo buzz

The official worldwide partners of The OlympicsContent ='JJ Lin'> are Airbnb, Alibaba, Allianz, Atos, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Intel, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Samsung, Toyota, and Visa. Apart from Allianz, they were all Global PartnersContent ='JJ Lin'> for Tokyo 2020.

In the build-up to The OlympicsContent ='JJ Lin'> in Japan, Many partners were pushing Social MediaContent ='JJ Lin'> Content - hyping up The GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> .

For example, French tech firm Atos tweeted dozens of times in the lead-up - and would regularly post Content marking the months, weeks and days until The GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> began.

The BbcContent ='JJ Lin'> is not responsible for the Content of external sites.

It also posted videos explaining how its tech was being used in The OlympicsContent ='JJ Lin'> .

Some of The OtherContent ='JJ Lin'> major international partners tweeted regularly about sponsored athletes and Olympic-related innovations.

Yet those same accounts have barely mentioned Beijing 2022, which runs from 4 to 20 February.

" Visa, Coca-Cola and others have kept an unusually low marketing profile, " says Diana Choyleva, chief economist at Enodo Economics.

The explanation, she says, is Washington's boycott.

The InternationalContent ='JJ Lin'> Olympic Committee (IOC) told The BbcContent ='JJ Lin'> its worldwide partners are long-term and don't choose the location of The GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> .

" The commercial partners are not involved in The SelectionContent ='JJ Lin'> of Olympic and Paralympic hosts, " it said.

But the decision to give China The GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> has left Olympic partners with A DilemmaContent ='JJ Lin'> .

They are SponsorsContent ='JJ Lin'> of The OlympicsContent ='JJ Lin'> , rather than the location of The GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> , something that watchmaker Omega wanted to make clear to The BbcContent ='JJ Lin'> .

" We firstly wish to highlight that Omega is not a sponsor of Beijing 2022, " a spokesperson for The CompanyContent ='JJ Lin'> said, adding it is the " official timekeeper and data handler of the Olympic Games".

Yet that has not stopped it from celebrating past Olympics on Social MediaContent ='JJ Lin'> , far more so than in Beijing 2022.

The ProblemContent ='JJ Lin'> is simple, and will have been played out in PR meetings in boardrooms of all of these companies.

Being overly supportive of The GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> , without making reference to accusations of Human RightsContent ='JJ Lin'> abuses in China , will lead to criticism from The West Content ='JJ Lin'> .

Equally any statement that criticises the Chinese government may hurt prospects of doing business in the country.

Atos, for example, told The BbcContent ='JJ Lin'> : " We do not comment on issues outside of our role as worldwide IT partner of the Olympic and Paralympic GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> . "

Mr Burton believes that companies have kept quiet partly for political reasons, but there are also other factors at play.

" A lot of these SponsorsContent ='JJ Lin'> spent a lot of money in Tokyo just a few months ago, So ThereContent ='JJ Lin'> 's not only a bit of fatigue, but I think there are limitations on their budgets, " he says.

" The Winter GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> have just traditionally never been as big as the Summer GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> . "

But others believe Beijing 2022 presents global corporations with a problem that isn't Going AwayContent ='JJ Lin'> .

" Multinationals will find it increasingly hard to remain neutral in the Great PowerContent ='JJ Lin'> contest between China and the US, " says Ms Choyleva.

Apple, The WorldContent ='JJ Lin'> 's most valuable company, has long grappled with this problem. Its supply chain is heavily reliant on Chinese ManufacturingContent ='JJ Lin'> - and the country is a huge market for The FirmContent ='JJ Lin'> .

However its chief executive, Tim CookContent ='JJ Lin'> , is regularly criticised for staying silent on the allegations against China .

The Olympic partners all say they believe passionately in Human RightsContent ='JJ Lin'> . But Zumretay Arkin, from The WorldContent ='JJ Lin'> Uyghur Congress, got In TouchContent ='JJ Lin'> with them Last YearContent ='JJ Lin'> asking to meet to talk about alleged Human RightsContent ='JJ Lin'> abuses, and says the response was silence.

" These companies always promote their values saying that they're aiming for inclusivity and Human RightsContent ='JJ Lin'> and all these beautiful values. But when It ComesContent ='JJ Lin'> to China it's crazy how silent they become, " she says.

" It's all about money, " she adds.

Alibaba is The OneContent ='JJ Lin'> Olympic partner that is Chinese, but it too is trapped in this diplomatic tug of war. It has also stayed fairly quiet on Western Social MediaContent ='JJ Lin'> .

" Alibaba faces a variety of vulnerabilities. " says Scott KennedyContent ='JJ Lin'> , China expert at The CenterContent ='JJ Lin'> for Strategic and International Studies.

" Not only are they listed on the New YorkContent ='JJ Lin'> Stock ExchangeContent ='JJ Lin'> , they have significant business through their trade platform and e-commerce with the United StatesContent ='JJ Lin'> , " he says.

Just as Western companies worry about antagonising China , Chinese companies worry about the US. Video app TikTok, owned by a Chinese company, has learned the hard way that enraging US presidents can prove problematic. President Trump tried to

What is likely to happen are Two Winter OlympicsContent ='JJ Lin'> . An Olympics inside China , where brands heavily promote Beijing 2022 - and an Olympics in The West Content ='JJ Lin'> - where brands barely mention The GamesContent ='JJ Lin'> .

If you watch TV in the US, for example, finding an advert that mentions Beijing 2022 is a rare thing, although there is some Focus OnContent ='JJ Lin'> individual US athletes.

" The framing is going to be different, The TopicsContent ='JJ Lin'> are going to be different. " says Mr Kennedy.

" Even the interpretation of the results are going to be different. And companies that do business across that chasm are going to have to adapt for both, " he says.

Beijing 2022 offers an insight into The FutureContent ='JJ Lin'> for multinationals - trying to keep Two global superpowers Happy - Two CountriesContent ='JJ Lin'> with totally different value SystemsContent ='JJ Lin'> .

Source of news: bbc.com