• MSNBC , Monday, August 4, 2008 10:30 AM

Though capitalism has been a fact of life in China for years, no brand category has been captured the way, say, Wal-Mart dominates the U.S. retail market. Olympic sponsors know they are staring at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to engage and snare the Chinese market, which counts 1.3 billion residents, more than any country on Earth. Do it right, and the payoff could be massive.

According to Forbes.com, a survey by China's largest market research firm uncovered that more than two thirds of the respondents "consider Olympic sponsorship a stamp of approval with regard to the quality of a company's products." About half planned to buy products made by an Olympics sponsor. Among the 2,000 people surveyed, Coca-Cola stood out as the brand most associated with the Games.

While the investment is huge, rewards for companies targeting a still largely untapped market could be Olympian. One example of the potential payoff: China's sportswear market is expected to nearly double by 2009 from just three years earlier, according to ZOU Marketing in Shanghai.

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