China Inc makes Olympian leap of faith into brand-building
Chinese companies have eagerly exploited the Beijing Olympics to market themselves as sophisticated brands. Will the Games be a watershed moment or a wasted opportunity?
Resources
Medal table
In pictures
First week in review
Pictures of the games’ pivotal moments
Audio slideshow
Video - China Beyond the Games
China quashes Sichuan spirit
Olympics prompts China to curtail citizen activism in Sichuan quake aftermath
China’s laws are one system, two fates
Two lawyers’ contrasting fortunes show shortcomings of China’s legal system
FT series
Principal content
US in attack on stifling of dissent
China releases 10 foreign activists after the US embassy in Beijing issued an unusually strong statement attacking Chinese authorities for their handling of protests
Iceland unable to turn the medal tables
Jamaica tops per capita medal ranking
A city clamours for blue sky ideas
Concern about the games’ practical legacy
London can look on the bright side
The IOC will be glad to see the back of China
Medal tally validates hothousing system
China’s record haul is the source of huge pride
Athletes look at fireworks during the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games at the 'Bird's Nest' stadium
Related content and features
Video
Video interview: Paul French on nationalism in China marketing
Access Asia’s chief China analyst on how Chinese brands have learned a painful lesson in relying too much on nationalism as a marketing strategy
Video interview: Tom Doctoroff on China brands and Olympics
JWT greater China CEO analyses why Chinese brands have failed to leverage the Olympics as a marketing opportunity, the errors they’ve made and what they need to learn
Video interview: Zhou Dongsheng on China wasting Olympic moment
Zhou Dongsheng of China Europe International Business School on the country’s awkward handling of Olympic sponsorships
Comment and analysis
Beijing bows out for cool Britannia
During the closing ritual, there was an element beyond the control of either the IOC or the Chinese: Boris Johnson, mayor of London, writes Matthew Engel
Outside Edge: Fool’s gold consoles unloved America
The biggest US sports are primarily domestic. Neither their athletes nor spectators are well-prepared for the Olympics, writes Matthew Engel
Legacy looms as Bird’s Nest empties
What does a country actually gain from investing billions in staging the Olympic Games, apart from a brief shot at showing off, asks Matthew Engel
Hard blow against softball
In one of the most stunning results of the entire Beijing extravaganza, the US lost the final and the gold medal to Japan, writes Matthew Engel
Sorting the women from the buoys
The games returned to its roots when 25 women jumped into the waters of the rowing lake outside Beijing and stayed there for the next two hours, writes Matthew Engel
Buying into gold
Public funding for elite sports is popular because crossing athletes’ palms with silver has proved a good way of securing gold for the UK
Distant thunder: Separatism stirs on China’s forgotten frontier
Bombings in Xinjiang province have exposed simmering resentments that mirror those of Tibet
Repression and a gutless IOC
It has taken less than a week for contradictions between the reality of Communist rule and pre-Olympics promises to burst into the open
Brands act local to woo 1bn Chinese
Hosting the Olympic Games has forced Beijing to embrace western standards and opens up enormous marketing opportunities
Olympic trickery
The Chinese government is trying to control every conceivable element of the Olympics, often by rather dubious means
More Olympics stories
