US Beverage Giants Seeking the Olympic Spotlight

All eyes are on China for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the US beverage giants are jumping at the chance to be in the spotlight.

Bud Reigns in China

“The Super Bowl is the biggest single day investment for us…but the Olympics, which is over two weeks, is our largest single event investment.  We have multiple units, it’s across the whole NBC family of networks, and you’re getting double-digit ratings, and in this day of digital growth and all this proliferation, to get double-digit ratings is very, very good.”

Tony Ponturo, Anheuser-Busch VP of Global Media & Sports Marketing

Coke Making the China Connection

“Obviously we’re working heavily and aggressively on television (advertising) here in China, but also we set up…throughout the country ‘experience centers’ where consumers can go…We need to get them to sample the product, and then we need them to get to understand how they drink Coca-Cola, what it’s all about...and do you drink it with meals, do you drink it for refreshment in the afternoon, do you drink it in the morning.  Everyone will establish their own habit and routine around it, but that’s important to establish that and to teach them…not only to teach them to drink Coke but then inspire them to love Coke.”

Joe Tripodi, Coca-Cola Chief Marketing Officer

China Gets Its Starbucks Fix

The Starbucks craze has hit China, and CNBC's Carl Quintanilla visits a Starbucks store in Beijing to get a closer look.

For additional Olympics coverage, visit CNBC's Business of the Beijing Olympics page.

© 2008 CNBC.com