For more than 20 years, Michael Payne played a key role in the global marketing strategy of the Olympic movement. He served as its marketing director for more than a decade before stepping down after the Athens Games in 2004 to join Formula One. He now runs his own consulting firm.

While he was in Beijing, the author of “Olympic Turnaround” sat down with SportsBusiness Journal staff writer Tripp Mickle.

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What would you say will be the legacy of these Games?
Payne: I don’t think there will ever have been an Olympic Games with the impact that these Games will have on this country and the way this country can be presented to the world. I think it will be very positive. The truth is, you won’t really be able to judge the full impact for a decade and understand it’s symbolic importance.

What about the legacy for the Olympic movement?
Payne: If you come back again, the legacy for the Olympic movement is the role it played in catapulting China onto the world stage and the role it played in helping the world to learn a lot more about China.

From a sponsor standpoint, there’s no question that showcasing here was taken to a whole new level. The investments in the past pale in comparison to what’s been done here.

What about the potential for Olympic fatigue after these Games?
Payne: The noise level on these Games was always going to be higher because it’s China and it is their coming-out party. It’s reflective I think in the opening ceremony audiences. They were much higher than people expected because of people’s fascination with China. When London throws the big event, it is something they’re quite good at — the royal wedding and all of that. London will keep it right up there.

What does this Games do for the TOP program long term?
Payne: You can only answer that question once you debrief the sponsors after the Games and look at the business impact. There’s no question that here in China it’s been able to move the bar considerably. To what extent some of the problems with the (torch) relay and some of that interfered with international programs is unknown. We’ve been down that road before with the Salt Lake scandal and crisis. Counting down to Sydney, we had a lot of issues undermining the marketing programs, but the marketing programs came through it.

Also, you’ve got an attendance of the world’s business leaders here who are seeing the Olympics up close in a way they’ve never seen before. That’s probably a great platform to preach the gospel and get more people aware of the opportunity.

How do you describe the health of the U.S. Olympic movement?
Payne: You can take the temperature with the TV ratings and how that stands. Peter Ueberroth, were it not for him, we might not be sitting around this table. … Getting the Games and hosting the Games is an important boost to marketing efforts, and one can see in the foreseeable future the Games going back to the States, whether that’s in 2016 or some other time.

Does it need to go back in 2016?
Payne: Worldwide? No. You compare these Games to Athens or Sydney. Both of those Games are great Games and people look back now and realize they were incredible for sport. In the countdown, people questioned the noise level. Sydney there wasn’t enough, and in Athens it was all about whether or not the buildings would be finished.

What do these Games mean for TV rights in the U.S. going forward?
Payne: If the ratings are going against the industry trend, are stronger than anything anybody was expecting, this is a very good reminder that the Olympics are one of the only things left guaranteed to pull in the big number.

How would you grade the licensing and merchandising done around these Games?
Payne: In the scheme of things, it’s a small revenue contribution to the bottom line, but they’ve driven the licensing hard. You can see the success in the queues of people queuing up. The replica torch has never been done before. It’s a great hit. The question comes back to the IOC, which is: How do they convert that into an international licensing program to create more marketing noise on the street. The World Cup has been very successful in that.