Erica Kerner, Director of Beijing 2008 Olympic Program for adidas China tells us about the company's sponsorship of the Olympic games and its brand strategy of being China's leading sportswear company with over 4,000 retail stores in China by 2008.

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Award winning filmmaker Siok Siok Tan talks to us about the inspiration behind Boomtown Beijing , her latest documentary on the Beijing Olympics.

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About Erica kerner

Erica Kerner is Director of adidas’ Beijing 2008 Olympics Program. In this role, she is responsible for all aspects of adidas’ Beijing Olympic marketing, sponsorship, licensing and business development activities. Erica works directly with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ensure that the 2008 Games are a success, both for adidas and for China and its athletes.

In a country where the Olympics represents a historic milestone, Erica has played an integral role in building the adidas brand into one of the most recognized partners of China’s upcoming games. Starting with the successful negotiation and signing of both the Olympic sponsorship and licensing agreements, Erica has established strong consumer awareness and appreciation of the adidas Olympic sponsorship.

Her outstanding success in promoting adidas won her global praise, culminating in her commendation by AdvertisingAge Global as a “Woman to Watch” in 2006. Erica and her team were also the recipients of the CCTV sports marketing achievement award for the “Best Campaign to Launch the Olympic Partnership.”

Prior to joining adidas, Erica worked as Director of Marketing and Communications for Special Olympics East Asia. In this role she helped develop their China marketing, branding and communications strategies in the fastest growing market for Special Olympics participation in the world. Erica started her marketing and advertising career in 1989 at Bates Advertising in Taiwan working on multinational clients.

Erica has been involved in marketing in Greater China for more than fifteen years, including over eight years in sports apparel marketing. She has lived and worked in Taipei, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and now Beijing.

A native of Armonk, New York, Erica is an avid scuba diver and a former USA nationally ranked tennis player. She graduated cum laude from Tufts University with a degree in international relations.

Below are excerpts of Christine Lu's video interview with Erica Kerner: