If you survey ordinary Chinese on the street and ask him what are the national issues that he is most concerned about in the next few years?

That must be the 2008 Olympics in the Chinese capital!

Since nearly 100 years or so, the Chinese nation has lagged behind the world and has been trampled on the ground by the Western powers for too long, so that the descendants of Yan and Huang have lost their former glory and self-confidence, and the overall economic, military, and cultural backwardness has made the Chinese people deeply confused when they look at the world today, and they urgently need a grand event to show their national prestige to boost the morale of the people of the whole country.

The 2008 Olympic Games was a clarion call for the rejuvenation of ancient China and showed the world the great achievements that China has made since its reform and opening up.

Therefore, since Han Hao saw Hyundai-Kia Motors become a big brand in the world with the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, he was determined to get the exclusive sponsor qualification of the car for the 2008 Olympic Games!

Such a good opportunity, not only Han Hao sees, but also other foreign brands know, so Hyundai Motor wants to start first.

As a car sponsor of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup and the 2004 Athens Olympics, Hyundai-Kia Group tasted the sweetness of sports marketing and went out of control.

At present, Sonata and Elantra are selling well in China, but the popularity and reputation of the Hyundai-Kia brand in China are far behind Japanese brands, let alone challenging Volkswagen, the king of the market.

The 2008 Olympic Games were held in the capital city of Tianjing, and South Korea's Hyundai-Kia Group, which is a partner of Shouqi Hyundai, an automobile company in Tianjing, is naturally the most suitable sponsor.

Zheng Mengjiu, the head of Hyundai Kia, made a special trip to the Chinese capital to meet with the secretary of the Tianjing Municipal Party Committee and the chairman of the Tianjing Olympic Organizing Committee, and expressed to him his strong desire to sponsor the Tianjing Olympic Games.

"We are very satisfied with our investment in Tianjing City, and Shouqi Hyundai has achieved unimaginable results. We have decided to invest no less than 5 billion RMB in Tianjing City to build the second phase of the factory within three years, and strive to achieve the goal of one million sales in China in 2008. ”

Zheng Mengjiu knows that China is in urgent need of foreign investment, and Hyundai Motor has promised to make a huge additional investment in Tianjing, which will make Tianjing City and even the Chinese government have a better impression of Hyundai-Kia Group. It can be said that the local interests of Hyundai Motor and Tianjing City are tied together to a certain extent.

Hyundai-Kia Group is not afraid of spending money, and Zheng Mengjiu knows that the 1 yuan sponsored can bring back 5 yuan in return in the future.

If the Tianjing Municipal Government really chooses, then the deep-pocketed local car company Shouqi Hyundai Partner is undoubtedly the most suitable sponsor choice.

Although the Tianjing Olympics are held in Tianjing, they are the Olympics for all Chinese, and Tianjing City cannot make decisions alone. If you use a more vivid analogy, Tianjing City has the right to recommend, but the decision is not in their hands.

Knowing that Hyundai-Kia Group's exclusive sponsorship of the 2008 Olympics was the first to go, Volkswagen, the leader of China's auto market, and GM, a rising star, could not sit still.

In GM's global territory, the Chinese market is outstanding, ranking first in terms of profit margin and growth rate, showing strong development potential.

Therefore, GM also wants to use the 2008 Olympic Games to catch up with the Chinese auto market and beat Volkswagen to become a well-deserved first place, so as to be worthy of GM's global No. 1 hegemony.

GM China's president had the opportunity to have a dialogue with the secretary of the Tianjing Municipal Party Committee.

"GM is very interested in the 2008 Olympics in China and hopes to be a partner of the Games. We had a successful sponsorship of the 2000 Olympics, and it would be a pleasure to work with GM. ”

Relatively speaking, GM's only weakness is its lack of budget, and despite the large profits offered by the Chinese market, GM is relatively conservative in the amount of sponsorships. In 2000, its Horton brand sponsored the Olympic Games, but in fact, it did not achieve the desired publicity effect, and the influence of the Horton brand was still limited to Australia. This made General Motors feel uneasy and did not go all out.

Unlike GM, Volkswagen, as the most successful foreign car brand in the Chinese market, urgently needs to use the Tianjing Olympics to consolidate its market position and increase its influence in the context of other foreign auto giants entering China.

Among all the foreign giants, Volkswagen is the first brand to taste the sweetness of the Chinese market, so it does not hesitate to increase investment in China and introduce various advanced models to China, all of which need the big platform of the Olympic Games to show.

Volkswagen Group Chairman Richard Brad personally came to China and decided to sponsor the Tianjing Olympics in the name of the group, and various brands including Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Porsche, etc. will appear one by one.

In order to balance the relationship between the North and South Volkswagen, FAW has acquired the Audi brand, and it is reported that the Skoda brand is very likely to marry SAIC.

"We at the Volkswagen Group are old friends of the Chinese, and the 2008 Tianjing Olympic Games is a major event in China, and Volkswagen hopes to be able to play a part in it! The Volkswagen Group will try its best to participate in the competition for sponsors of the 2008 Olympic Games, including providing vehicles for the Olympic Games, and other direct or indirect services!"

Volkswagen Group has a very good relationship with the Chinese government, and as a benchmark foreign investment company that entered China in the 80s, the Chinese government treats it with great courtesy.

The opinion of the Volkswagen Board of Directors on becoming the exclusive sponsor of the 2008 Olympic Games is: do whatever it takes!

In addition to these three auto companies, there are also Mercedes-Benz and Toyota who have also expressed their intention to participate, but not as strongly as the former.

The $50 million sponsorship starts with two to three times the marketing cost in the future, which is a high price that domestic independent car brands cannot afford.

Therefore, neither FAW, Dongfeng, SAIC, nor Changan, GAC, and Brilliance have shown their willingness to participate.

Judging from the current competition among foreign auto giants, the price will be a record-breaking amount in the previous Olympic Games.

What a pity it would be to hold the Congress of the Century in China without the participation of Chinese car brands.

"Just imagine, if athletes from all over the world come to the capital and ride in their own brand cars, how proud they should be of China's own brands! If they are all foreign brand cars, then what is the difference between Tianjing and Berlin, New York, and Seoul, and the grand events we hold in China have made dowries for others in vain. ”

As soon as the news of several international brands competing for the qualification to sponsor the Olympics came out, someone wrote such a post on the Internet, calling on Chinese domestic brands to also seek sponsorship.

However, the sponsorship amount of nearly one billion yuan is a sky-high price that many brands cannot support, and China's own brands cannot afford to bear such a heavy responsibility.

"Save it, come up with such a high sponsorship fee, and accidentally go bankrupt in 08 and can't provide vehicles for the Olympic Organizing Committee, isn't it a big joke?

For the sake of safety, I am an official of the organizing committee who will not consider this domestic brand that may close down tomorrow, and it is a responsible attitude to choose a large international company. ”

There are also netizens who speak out about the weaknesses of domestic brands.

After a round of discussion, we found that there are really no Chinese auto brands that can independently apply for sponsorship, because the competitiveness of our own brands is too weak, and it is really possible that they will not survive for 5 years and then go out of business.

The big brother of FAW did not speak, the other little brothers were silent, and netizens also lost confidence in the idea of sponsorship of their own brands.

The Tianjing Olympic Organizing Committee received so many applications for car sponsorship, so it was naturally impossible to make a decision at once, and in order not to offend people, it basically set the policy of the highest bidder.

In this way, both the top and the bottom can be explained.

Just competing for money, Zhonghua Group will not be the opponent of global automobile companies such as Volkswagen Group and Hyundai Group, Han Hao knows this.

To become a sponsor of the Olympic Games, the biggest advantage of Zhonghua Group is its identity as a Chinese independent car brand.

Because the opportunity has been lost, the relationship between the Zhonghua Group and the Tianjing Municipal Government is average, so Han Hao can only start with the government relations and ask the provincial government for help.

The application of Zhonghua Group to represent Chinese car brands in the 2008 Tianjing Olympics was quickly sent to the table of Zhao Guoping, the number one in the province, and the support of the province is the premise of success or failure.

"Although China's national auto industry is now insufficient to compete with foreign brands, from the perspective of safeguarding national interests, the government has the responsibility and obligation to use all means to quickly help the development of independent brands. The 2008 Olympic Games are the first Olympic Games hosted by the Chinese, and we cannot afford to miss such an opportunity. ”

Zhou Nansheng, the governor of the province, raised his hands in favor of the application of the China Group, and he said to Zhao Guoping.

To be honest, I'm a little worried that if the market situation changes in two years, what will happen if the Zhonghua Group is not doing well? When the central board is down, it is not you and I who can pass the test. The inability to provide vehicles or substandard quality caused the negative international impact of the Olympics did not end so well. ”

Zhao Guoping considered the problem more comprehensively, and no one can guarantee the future development of Zhonghua Group.

"Comrade Guoping, you have personally visited the Zhonghua Group and seen the results of their efforts over the years. If even we don't trust domestic cars, how can we convince ordinary people?

At that time, whether the sponsor is qualified or not, the Olympic Organizing Committee will also send people to visit the site. Now that the sponsorship is hot, we don't have much time to think about it.

The Zhonghua Group respected us before seeking the opinions of the province, and if we didn't intervene, according to Han Hao, they would fight for it alone. The grand event held by us Chinese should be organized by ourselves, and foreigners should not be allowed to see jokes. ”

If Zhonghua Group can take advantage of the Tianjing Olympics to soar, then the economy of Zhehai Province will really not have to worry about it in the future.

"Your agitation won't work for me. Well, I agree in principle to support it, but you have to do a solid job. ”

After thinking for a while, Zhao Guoping decided that the advantages of this matter outweighed the disadvantages, and it was impossible not to take risks.