Tag: Hong Kong

Hong Kong – Edelman Hong Kong continues to bolster its integrated creative team with the appointment of Andy Chan as design director and Richard Poon as producer and production manager.

Edelman will leverage Chan’s and Poon’s design and production expertise to further enhance the firm’s ability to deliver outstanding work in full-spectrum service.

Chan brings over 10 years of design experience to the agency, having worked in different design-based companies in the past from product design, graphic design, and advertising art directing to in-house branding at Ogilvy UK and HK, DDB and Cathay Pacific.

Meanwhile, Poon comes from an animation and design background and brings over eight years of experience to the firm. He has worked as a producer, mostly in the broadcast industry, across brands such as Disney, FOX, National Geographic, and CASETIFY. 

Both hires will report directly to John Koay, Edelman’s Executive Creative Director for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to welcome Andy and Richard onboard; they are both very experienced talents in their own fields. The expanded Creative and Digital team of 20 at Edelman Hong Kong offer our clients a focus on truly integrated solutions while the industry transforms its expectations around the role and impact of communications,” Koay said.

The new Hong Kong appointments come after Edelman recently appointed Ex-Straits Times Warren Fernandez as its new chief executive officer in Asia-Pacific.

Hong Kong – Programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) adtech Hivestack has launched the first pDOOH campaign for Uber Taxi in Hong Kong through their agency Mediacom Hong Kong. The ‘Go your way, Live your way’ campaign ran from July to September 2022 on multiple channels, including bus shelters and large format digital billboards.

Mediacom Hong Kong has selected Hivestack to deliver on Uber Taxi’s core proposition in empowering target audiences to be in control of the way they travel around the city. According to Hivestack, one of the challenges that come with launching a pDOOH campaign in July and August is the heavy rainfall. It shared that in order to enable the ride-hailing brand to launch its campaign, it had to leverage its advanced weather trigger and Moment Targeting capabilities so that Uber can activate its contextual ads during changing situations. 

Troy Yang, managing director for North Asia at Hivestack, shared that by utilising the agility of the platform, the brand was able to more effectively alter campaign parameters in-flight, plan dayparts, adjust ad spend, and evaluate the campaign effectiveness by understanding the audience concentration rate, performance breakdown by screens/locations and more actionable campaign insights. 

“The campaign ensured Uber Taxi was able to resonate stronger with their target audiences at the right location, with the right ad, at the right time,” said Yang.

Meanwhile, Kenny Ip, head of investment at GroupM, commented that they were excited to partner with Hivestack to deliver their omnichannel marketing campaign via programmatic DOOH for the first time, and as the pioneer of programmatic DOOH, they trusted Hivestack to raise their brand positioning in the market and drive consideration for Uber Taxi. 

“We were delighted with the ease of trading DOOH in this way, in comparison with traditional planning and Hivestack were able to provide the full scope of services for campaign setup, optimisation strategy, weather/moment targeting and post-campaign reporting just like what we are seeing possible on other programmatic media channels. Through programmatic DOOH, we were able to deliver more scale and precision than ever before in this channel,” said Ip.

Hong Kong – Consumer bank DBS in Hong Kong and non-profit organisation GS1 Hong Kong have joined hands to further enhance their innovative SME trade financing solution with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Commercial Data Interchange (CDI) platform. 

The move is part of DBS Hong Kong’s commitment to providing enterprises with tailored, efficient financing services while also supporting the fintech ecosystem development led by the HKMA in Hong Kong.

DBS Hong Kong said that it plans to leverage CDI’s platform capabilities to further enhance its recently launched trade financing solution and accelerate its ecosystem strategy in Hong Kong.

Alex Cheung, managing director and head of Institutional Banking Group of DBS Hong Kong, said that the latest trade financing solution enhancement demonstrates the bank’s strong commitment to developing Hong Kong’s fintech ecosystem. 

“As a leader in SME banking, DBS is proud to be a part of HKMA’s CDI platform. Since launching our innovative digital trade finance solution with GS1 Hong Kong earlier this year, we have successfully provided SMEs with enhanced and simplified access to working capital. DBS Hong Kong is proud to be an early adopter of CDI and we look forward to working on additional use cases that leverage the platform and find new ways to increase access to funding for SMEs,” added Cheung.

In June 2022, DBS Hong Kong and GS1 Hong Kong launched a digital post-shipment trade financing solution powered by alternative data. The solution enables SMEs on GS1 Hong Kong’s ezTRADE platform to utilise their trade data to access trade financing in a digital and straight-through manner.

With the new solution, SMEs can access much-needed working capital with just one click via the bank’s corporate banking platform, DBS IDEAL. This means that SMEs no longer need to manually submit hundreds of invoices and supporting documents, reducing time and effort through the adoption of a more digital and sustainable way of doing business and seeking financing. 

Moreover, the solution redefines the trade financing journey for SMEs with DBS availing financing through a streamlined credit assessment process. Through DBS’ predictive analytics capabilities, invoice data is used to assess the financial health of SMEs, with the amount of financing available to SMEs updated on a dynamic and recurring basis.

Anna Lin, chief executive of GS1 Hong Kong, shared that the collaboration between GS1 Hong Kong and DBS Hong Kong on digital trade financing has borne fruit to many SMEs enjoying trade financing in a much simpler and digitised manner already. 

“With the CDI, I look forward to unleashing the full potential of more alternative data, enhancing SMEs’ access to financial services and nurturing the trade financing ecosystem in Hong Kong,” said Lin.

Meanwhile, Sandy Tan, head of ecosystems for Institutional Banking Group at DBS Bank Hong Kong, noted that their digital solution has redefined the trade financing journey for SMEs on GS1 HK’s ezTRADE platform, and via their collaboration, they have enabled a digital ‘one click’ transaction experience and greatly reduced the time and effort needed to acquire working capital.

“DBS Hong Kong is committed to taking an active role in further developing and growing Hong Kong’s robust fintech ecosystem. Building on the launch of CDI’s capabilities, we expect to bring our solution to the next level in customer experience while providing more offerings to support the business growth of the SME community,” said Tan.

Hong Kong – Global fast food brand KFC has launched a new campaign, encouraging overthinking to think less and indulge more with their signature fried chicken–using a brand-new tech device called the ‘KFC Brainwave Bucket’.

Conceptualised alongside Edelman Hong Kong, the device is a brain-sensing helmet with a built-in headband that analyses people’s brain activity. The data from the helmet is connected to an app which provides real-time biofeedback showing how active the mind is.

The helmet design, and the mind-detecting enclosure, are based on KFC’s iconic bucket. People are invited to sit inside the bucket-inspired structure and wear the helmet on their head, after which they’re encouraged to switch off and think less with the help of some Finger Lickin’ Good chicken.

The campaign is based on recent studies that indicate Hong Kong is one of the most stressful cities in the world and ranks first in the stress index of employees all around East Asia, with a massive 53% of employees feeling pressured and stressed from their day-to-day occupation. However, scientific findings have shown that comfort food relieves the stress response in the brain.

John Koay, regional executive creative director at Edelman, said, “Born from a great truth, we recognise the brand’s ability to provide people in this pressure cooker of a city with a moment of escape – and the Brainwave Bucket is a fun way to prove it. Partnering with KFC always brings so much excitement and innovative opportunity and this campaign is a great demonstration of that.”

Hong Kong – Financial services giant HSBC in Hong Kong has launched ‘DuoVerse’, a new duo music show experience that seeks to take audience interaction to the next level, featuring the first collaboration of two local artists Tyson Yoshi and Serrini.

The first-ever duo real-world and metaverse live music show will be happening on 11 February 2023 at Kowloon Bay International Trade and Exhibition Centre and the HSBC Metaverse Stadium, allowing the audience to feel the powerful performance while enjoying the zero-distance interactions.

Moreover, audiences can switch up their avatar’s outfit whenever they want, and also get a chance to enter the ‘Metaverse best dressed’ competition during the show to win special prizes.

Hong Kong – Global insurance company Manulife has appointed Patrick Graham as its new chief executive officer for Hong Kong and Macau. In his new role, Graham will become a member of Manulife’s Asia Division Executive Committee and Global Leadership Team, and will report directly to Damien Green, president and CEO of Manulife Asia.

Graham will assume his new role on January 1, 2023, subject to regulatory approval. An insurance leader with a track record of delivering results at scale, both regionally and in multiple geographies across Asia, he will bring to Manulife Hong Kong and Macau more than 25 years of leadership experience in the insurance and financial services industry.

He joins Manulife from healthcare and insurance company Cigna, where he covered eight markets including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea and Singapore in various senior leadership positions over the last decade with his most recent role as CEO, Asia Pacific. 

Prior to joining Cigna, Graham spent 14 years at GE Capital, which was then the financial services arm of General Electric. For the past three years, he has also been director and treasurer of the US ASEAN Business Council.

Speaking on the appointment role, Green said, “As the longest continuously operating life insurer in the city, Hong Kong has always been Manulife’s most important market in Asia with huge contributions to the Group over the past 125 years. The appointment of Graham really highlights our commitment to Hong Kong and our ambitions in this region.” 

He added, “With his outstanding leadership calibre and track record of delivering excellent results, Graham will lead our Manulife Hong Kong and Macau team to take our business to new heights and serve the health, protection, retirement and financial needs of the one in every three Hongkongers who are our customers. I am excited that he is joining our winning team.”

Following the new appointment, Pankaj Banerjee, who since late May has held dual roles as interim CEO for Manulife International Limited and chief distribution officer for Manulife Asia, will revert full time as chief distribution officer at Manulife Asia in January 2023.

“Thanks to Pankaj’s stewardship of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau’s business which demonstrated further resilience in the past few months. His contribution to growing our business from strength to strength is immense. I look forward to having him back to his regional role to drive the expansion of our multi distribution channels across Asia,” Green commented.

Hong Kong – Media and marketing communications agency PHD has appointed Antony Yiu as its new chief executive officer in Hong Kong, effective immediately. He will lead PHD’s vision, development, operations and talent growth in his new role.

In addition, he will also be responsible for driving digital transformation, addressing data privacy issues and maximising the use of AdTech and MarTech across clients’ businesses. 

With over 20 years of in-depth experience in digital and performance media across the US and APAC, he joins PHD Hong Kong from DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, where he was most recently the senior vice president of digital acquisitions and martech.

He has also a vast background in working with B2B and B2C clients on consumer marketing across various industries, including finance and travel. His experience expands across multifaceted aspects of media, building brands from the ground up and launching new start-up products.

Speaking of his new role, Yiu said, “I am excited to join the PHD family and bring my experience to transform PHD into a next-generation agency. The mission is to lead PHD as an innovative, agile, and result-driven agency, uniting our talents at all levels to deliver thought leadership and award-winning work.” 

He added, “My focus is on driving innovation and business transformation with our clients. Now is the time for PHD to be courageous, be different, and leave our mark in the agency-client ecosystem.”

Meanwhile, James Hawkins, CEO at PHD APAC, commented, “Antony makes the leap over from client to agency, bringing a strong character, a fresh perspective and a bold ambition that will inspire our people and enable growth for our clients. With his diverse skillsets, we are eager to see what the next chapter brings for the Hong Kong office with Antony at the helm.”

Hong Kong – Digital media measurement company DoubleVerify has teamed up with agency Havas Media in Hong Kong to be its preferred partner on offering pre-bid brand suitability, fraud, contextual activation and viewability solutions.

The partnership comes months after DoubleVerify’s partnership with Havas Media in Australia.

To support the activation of DV solutions and enable understanding on verification and relevant market trends across the agency, the digital teams at Havas Media Group Hong Kong are currently enrolled in DV University (DVU) with the aim of achieving agency-wide certification by end 2022. 

DVU is a self-guided online training and certification platform which includes standard onboarding training of the DV advertiser suite. This will empower the teams in Havas Media Group to leverage DV’s actionable insights to effectively achieve their digital campaign objectives. 

Jeremy Chang, enterprise sales director at DoubleVerify, said, “We are thrilled to be the exclusive programmatic verification partner for Havas Media Group in Hong Kong. Through this partnership, we are helping Havas Media Group’s clients drive quality and performance in the post-cookie era, without sacrificing consumer privacy, by aligning advertising with high quality, relevant content.”

Meanwhile, Louis Ng, head of programmatic at Havas Media Group Hong Kong, commented, “To invest in the most meaningful media, we should think about how we set a high standard for ensuring media quality within the complex digital environment. Our partnership with DoubleVerify allows our clients to further protect their investments and actively drive media quality and effectiveness by tapping into DoubleVerify’s expertise in programmatic solutions.”

Hong Kong – As part of observing the ‘920 National Dental Care Day’, one of P&G’s toothpaste brands Crest has launched a week-long campaign to further promote a healthy dental care lifestyle, and advocating the belief that daily dental protection is the key to healthier teeth.

Crest has launched a brand platform called ‘Great Crest Protection, Greater Smiles’ for the campaign, alongside a campaign film, which strategically depicts three families of different backgrounds and ages to show how Crest is the enabler of their healthy yet ordinary day-to-day lives.

The film features a young family of three, a couple, and a family of three generations, each bringing to life the belief that we are all born with beautiful smiles, but the confidence to smile needs to be encouraged.

In addition, through a series of activations, the brand partnered with Local Chinese channel CCTV and hosted an open class on public awareness of oral health. The film was also distributed on digital platforms such as Weibo and TikTok. As a result, the campaign transformed the public’s attitude towards dental care to prevention rather than solution, whilst also reshaping Crest’s brand image to ‘all-around oral protection’. 

Joe Yue, creative partner at GREY Hong Kong, said, “I love Crest’s new brand proposition. The brand draws insights from real-life matters and illustrates the relationship between being born with smiles and being encouraged to smile. Crest also provides the right emotional value for its target consumer group. Because of better dental protection, we can have the confidence to smile, breaking through traditional barriers through strong brand empathy.”

Meanwhile, Shannon Li, vice president of oral health for Greater China at P&G China, commented, “Consumers’ oral health awareness and practices are improving. This year, Crest is furthering this movement by introducing a new line of products for dental care with the aim of bringing more protection and more smiles.”

Hong Kong – As audio-driven platforms are growing exponentially all over the world, and Hong Kongers have shown a ‘listen-first’ behaviour even with video platforms like Youtube, livi Paylater, a Hong Kong-based BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) service under virtual bank livi Bank, has partnered with dentsu’s digital-first end-to-end media agency iProspect to launch the industry’s first audio ads on Youtube, in an aim to grow with their audiences.

According to consumer insights conducted by Google, 63% of consumers spend the most time listening to music digitally on Youtube, and 81% of the measured campaigns have proven to lift brand awareness when launched in Youtube Music. Youtube thus reacted swiftly to support users who are opting for audio-based experiences, including music lineups expansion for audio and podcast targeting, amongst others. In response, instead of investing solely in the mass video, livi Paylater has refined its marketing strategy to launch four sets of audio. 

Moreover, the voiceover is conducted by Jay Fung, Hong Kong’s popular singer, who has given the audios a great deal of relevancy and familiarity for his listeners. With this, the results include accumulating 130% total impressions on top of standard video buy, about 82% completion rate of audio ads and created an ad-recall for audiences, and over 100% relative search lift on the ‘livi bank’ search term.

Eric Lin, CMO of livi Bank, shared that livi Paylater enables a smarter way of spending that allows customers to have greater control of their spending and create the financial flexibility to help them to live life to the full.

“Whether it is for those just released trainers, furniture for a first flat, a gift for a loved one, the phone upgrade, a rent deposit or the course fees for advancement, they can all benefit from livi Paylater. As an innovative brand, we are always looking for new ways to engage our customers and create meaningful relationships with them,” said Lin.

Meanwhile, Kitty Kwan, associate planning director of dentsu international Hong Kong, commented that this is definitely an insight-driven media breakthrough and they’re glad that it brings incremental reach on top of the standard video buys.

“Leveraging the growth of audio platforms, we believe audio ads are one of the great potential formats to reach out proactively to our target audiences under a fragmented media landscape. Based on the audiences’ insight report powered by dentsu’s proprietary tool, the target audiences of livi PayLater are fashionistas, digital savvy and pursuing quality of life, hence we transformed this insight into 4 sets of audios, including Luxury, Gadget, Home-moving and Travel, with merchant offer support in a personalised approach,” said Kwan.