Today, Beijing is waking up to its first day of what people like to call the “Post-Games hangover.”

Seven years of energy was poured into the last three weeks and now the Olympics have left town.

As the citizens of Beijing wonder what the Games left behind, one of the hidden legacies could be a more fertile sports sponsorship landscape.

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When the Games were awarded to China seven years ago, sports sponsorship was hardly on the Chinese radar. Marlboro, Pepsi and Siemens had all taken a chance titling the China Football Association’s SuperLeague; Lacoste and Mercedes backed the China Open tennis tournament in 2004; and Volkswagen presented the World Table Tennis Championships.

But the sophistication of those sponsorships was minimal.

The Olympics changed that by setting in motion one of the most ambitious sponsorship campaigns to date. Everyone from Budweiser and Volkswagen to state-owned entities bought in and the event became such a national rallying cry that those who effectively marketed their sponsorship benefited.

One of the takeaways from the Beijing Olympics will be the value protecting intellectual property rights like the Olympic logo can deliver in the marketplace. Ambush marketing was strictly prevented and sponsors experienced one of the cleanest Olympics ever. Even the logos on American Standard toilets — a non-Olympic sponsor — were covered in duct tape.

Whether or not the government extends similar IP protections to other sports leagues and sports sponsorships is hard to say. For those leaving Beijing, there’s optimism that the market may be primed for opportunity.

Anheuser-Busch global media and sports marketing head Tony Ponturo called the country’s sports sponsorship landscape a “blank page.” He expects sports sponsorship to work there just like it does in the U.S. because it “is the thing that transcends across regions, age groups, male and female, language barriers and nations.”

The question becomes, What can attract the similar national interest to the
Olympics?

Ponturo’s bet? Basketball.