Lenovo Group, the only Chinese Olympic Partner Programme (TOP) sponsor, yesterday launched its marketing campaign for the Beijing Olympics with the release of the first Lenovo product designed for the world's largest sporting event.

Lenovo Group yesterday released its Kaitian computer, and symbolically donated one to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

The world's third-largest computer maker said it would supply more than 10,000 computers for use at the Games, besides other devices such as printers.

The computer giant won TOP sponsorship in 2004, becoming the first Chinese company in the dozen-member Olympic club.

Lenovo has already supplied more than 6,000 computers and around 600 other devices such as printers.

Li Lan, vice-president and global leader of Olympic marketing with Lenovo, said yesterday that the company would provide a number of other products specially designed for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

More than 300 Lenovo engineers will work at sports venues and other facilities during the Games.

The donation of the Kaitian computer is also expected to help Lenovo's plan to attract major corporate customers.

The product was a result of 12 months of development by engineers at three Lenovo development centres in the United States, Japan and China.

Li believed Lenovo's role as a computer provider to the Olympic Games will also help it win more major corporate customers.

According to market intelligence firm International Data Corp, Lenovo's share in the big enterprise market rose from 28 percent in 2004 to 32 percent, while its penetration in the government sector was 38 percent.

Lenovo also launched a 1,000-county Olympics roadshow in China last month, which aims to bring the Olympic spirit and Lenovo products to smaller cities and rural regions, which have become key growth engines in the computer market.

TOP sponsorship has also become a key vehicle for the computer company to achieve its international ambitions, along with the acquisition of IBM's personal computer unit in 2004.

In the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, Li said Lenovo would undertake a global advertising campaign to promote its brands and products.

It has also won the right to supply computers to Internet cafes at Olympic facilities. At this year's Turin winter Olympics, it already supplied 400 computers to Internet cafes, with the number in 2008 expected to greatly exceed that.

Lenovo will also recruit some potential Olympic stars as spokespersons in its marketing campaign.

It signed up Brazilian football star Ronaldinho as a representative for the company during the World Cup in June and July. Commercials featuring him got a very good reception from the audience and contributed to Lenovo's 29 percent growth in the second quarter in China.

(China Daily August 9, 2006)