Bill Belew has raised 2 bi-cultural kids, now 34 and 30. And he and his wife are now parenting a 3rd, Mia, who is 8.

Sports

Lenovo spent $50 million to become the first Top Olympic Partner from China in 2004.

The PC maker also sponsors football superstar Ronaldinho Gaucho and the NBA.

These sponsorships are part of Lenovo’s strategy to become a global player.

The company’s VP of global Olympic marketing outlined five steps in the firm’s marketing push.

1. Align sports marketing with the company’s strategic demand. Olympic sponsorship was considered a golden opportunity

2. Build an emotional tie with customers. Lenovo has visited 1,000 countries and towns, with over 1 million participants trying to impress upon its buyers that it is global, innovative and makes high-performance products.

3. Believe in the power of partnerships. The NBA, thanks to Yao Ming, is the most popular sport in China.

4. Be quick to learn and innovative in execution. Lenovo ‘went to school’ to learn from IOC marketing experts, Samsung Electronics and Visa.

5. Find a consultant that is not necessarily big, but highly committed. Prescient Marketing, established in 2003 in Beijing, won the job….with TOP experience since 1991.

I know who Lenovo is now. I didn’t know about a year ago. And I am particularly on the slow side when it comes to knowing new products.

Lenovo must be doing something right.

What do you think?

Talk to Bill and others about their experiences raising bi-cultural Japanese-American kids.