Tan eyes first place for UPS as Olympics near

In case you hadn't yet heard, the Beijing Olympics is coming. The games might mean different things to different people, but for China's marketing community, it is clearly being seen as a watershed in the country's development.

Which might explain why Peter Tan is a little envied by his peers. As director of UPS' Beijing Olympics 2008 project across Asia-Pacific, Tan has been charged with overseeing the company's role as official logistics and express delivery sponsor of the Games.

It is, as Tan explains, a heady time to be in Beijing, despite the growing pains associated with a city that is developing at a breakneck pace. Previously based in Hong Kong, Tan led the UPS regional marketing communications team before relocating to the mainland capital earlier this year.

"When I first visited Beijing more than 10 years ago, I wasn't a fan. However, I have grown very fond of it over the years," says Tan. "Culturally, it is very rich and now is a great time to be located in Beijing. True — there's a lot of construction going on right now as the city prepares for 2008, so pollution is a problem. The upside is that you get to see a major economic power transforming right before your very eyes."

For UPS, meanwhile, the Olympics offers a shop-window opportunity for both domestic and international consumers. After a decade in which it lagged rivals FedEx and DHL in the country, the company bought out its China partner Sinotrans in 2004, leading analysts to tip UPS for strong future growth.

Given its market position, it is no surprise that Tan terms the 2002 decision to sponsor the 2008 Olympics an "easy" one, after similarly partnering with the Olympics in 1996, 1998 and 2000.

"You can feel the Olympics in the air in Beijing," he points out. "Given its significance to the community at large, this is also a significant marketing opportunity. We are part of the Olympics because we intend to become part of the fabric of the community at large in China... just like we are throughout the rest of the world."

For Tan, the new role offers the chance to combine what are evidently two strong passions: communications and sports. Upon being assigned the Olympics role, he says he struggled to keep a straight face, given his love of sports. "I didn't want to appear too enthusiastic at that time — I was almost afraid that they may change their minds," he notes.

As for the communications challenges, Tan has come to view the Olympics community with a considerable amount of affection, calling it "a close-knit family".

"I have met a lot of people and made quite a few friends," says Tan. "They live and breathe the Games and are very passionate in what they do. I love working in an environment like that."

Even the closest families, of course, have their tensions — and ambush marketing remains a destabilising factor of some potential, particularly in China, where intellectual property rights have proved notoriously hard to protect. "I am personally very concerned about potential ambush marketing activities by other players not just in our industry, but on the whole," he says. "The Games' organising committee is doing its best to curtail such activities so far, but China is a huge country. It will be interesting to see what happens as we draw closer to the Games."

Not that Tan is averse to a little sibling rivalry, even within the "family" of sponsors. "There are a lot of sponsors and only a finite number of activation assets — so there will be healthy competition among the sponsors to secure these assets," he comments.

"On the branding side, there is going to be a lot of noise in the next two years and it's vital that UPS stands out."

With this in mind, Tan expects much from his agencies — which include McCann Erickson for creative and Ogilvy on PR.

Admitting that his stance is something of a cliché, Tan notes the importance of partnership, before saying: "I expect my agency to care as much about UPS as I do. I expect its commitment to go beyond, and I want it to be an extension of my department."