A 14-metre high clock dominates the front of the National Museum in Tiananmen Square counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the torch is lit to mark the start of the Beijing Olympics.

Although the clock is there to excite passers-by, its true purpose is to confirm Omega’s role as official timekeeper for the Beijing Olympics. Omega is among the 2008 Games’ 48 official sponsors and 16 suppliers, which fought off stiff competition from rivals to win a slice of the lucrative, fast-growing Chinese advertising market. Other sponsors include GE, McDonald’s, Panasonic, Visa, Sam-sung, Kodak and Johnson & Johnson.

The interest from advertisers is no surprise. Last year, China’s GDP grew by about 11 per cent. A rapidly expanding economy and strong consumer demand have resulted in advertising expenditure more than doubling since 2000. An additional boost from the Olympics has made China a very attractive proposition for global advertisers.

Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, is confident that China will next year become the biggest single source of growth for what he called the $1 trillion-a-year (£494 billion) global advertising industry. According to industry research by GroupM — a WPP subsidiary — the current dominance of America as the primary source of advertising spending growth will end in the current year. According to Zenith-Optimedia, the media buying agency, the Beijing Olympics will generate at least $900 million in extra advertising expenditure in China in 2008. The agency expects advertising from the Olympics to contribute $3 billion to the world advertising market.

According to Zenith, the Chinese advertising market increased by 17.8 per cent in 2006 and will continue to expand at double-digit growth rates for the next few years.

Neil Hardwick, the chief planning officer of Global Intelligent Media, a Shanghai-based advertising media con-sultancy, said: “In China, the Olympics is such a big thing — bigger than anything that has happened before. Marketing activity has soared and most companies in China want a piece.

“In the last ten years, China has leap-frogged into the top spot, and the Olympics and the advertising it has attracted is a rubber stamp to confirm its position.”

The excitement, among the public and advertisers, is massive. Coca-Cola, an official sponsor, hosted a party in August to celebrate the year before the Games, which was attended by 500 Chinese VIPS, including some of China’s top sportsmen.

York Huang, the chief executive of Publicis Dialog in China, said: “There is still 11 months to go and the Olympics is starting to dominate China’s major cities. It is everywhere.”

Official sponsors will be able to exploit China’s huge television audiences — with key programmes watched by up to 300 million people.

Given that China is an emerging market, television still dominates, with a 41.8 per cent share of advertising expected in 2008. The internet is only 7.3 per cent of the market, but is expected to grow to 9.1 per cent in 2008.

The increasingly popularity of luxury goods and global brands are giving newspapers and magazines a boost.

Although the Olympic Games are always popular with advertisers, it is no surprise that Beijing has been particularly welcomed by the advertising industry.

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