Tag: Hong Kong

Hong Kong – As part of the bank’s commitment to being a leading wealth manager institution in Asia, financial institution HSBC has collaborated with public relations firm MSL Hong Kong, and Victor Wong, a multi-media and NFT artist, to create a digital art piece experience that will welcome visitors to the new HSBC Wealth Centre in Hong Kong’s K11 Atelier.

The digital art experience responds to the changes in the Hang San Index, the free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted stock market index in Hong Kong. Said art piece turns real-time movements of the Index into dynamic art. 

Peaks, valleys, slopes, and inclines shift according to the volatility of the market. The design of the art piece is also inspired by traditional Chinese landscape paintings, but with a modern twist. Motifs within the artwork are inspired by original HSBC banknotes, including the tram, bank, and birds.

Every day when the market opens, ‘Art of Progress’ is recreated from scratch using the Hang Seng Index’s open-source market data. The artist’s proprietary algorithms then trigger updates throughout the day so that ‘Art of Progress’ is never the same from minute to minute, or from day to day.

Overall, the art piece combines technology, big data, and new media art forms to tell HSBC’s new chapter in its wealth growth story.

“The Hang Seng Index is the financial pulse of Hong Kong, while art has always been a passion for High-Net-Worth Individuals. We had the idea of combining the two to create a uniquely calming brand experience – an antidote to Hong Kong’s hustle and bustle,” explains Flora Tsui, creative director at MSL Hong Kong.

Hong Kong – Advertising and marketing agency Grey in Hong Kong has announced four new promotions across their local team namely (from left to right) Desmond Li as regional business partner, Duffy Lau as general manager, Winky To as regional business partner, and Owen Smith as chief strategy officer.

In his new elevated role, Li will continue to grow and expand Grey HK’s travel and hospitality sector across the APAC and Greater China regions. He joined the agency in 2017 as a senior account director working with the P&G Downy and Whisper team, and later transitioned to lead both the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Marriott International accounts of the agency. 

Meanwhile, Lau joined Grey in 2014 as an associate account director and has worked closely with multiple client brands and played an instrumental role in leading the business’ growth, especially in China.

“Duffy is a game-changer with entrepreneurial leadership skills and a vision for business growth both for our clients and for our studio. I have great confidence that along with our strong management team, we will reach even greater heights,” said Adam O’Conor, CEO at Grey Group Hong Kong and chief client officer at Grey Group AMEA.

Speaking about his appointment, Lau stated, “I am happy to take on this new challenge, especially at a place I call home (Grey HK). I truly believe in change and whenever there is a challenge, there is a new opportunity for us to grow better and stronger. Together with Adam and our leadership team, I am confident we can leverage on our talent and capabilities and take the studio to the next level.”

To joined GREY Shanghai in 2014 as business director working on the Volvo and HSBC accounts, before moving to Grey Hong Kong as business partner, leading the HSBC team. She has been credited with deepening the agency’s relationship from B2B to now include branding, insurance, and asset management.

Meanwhile, Smith joined Grey in 2017 as head of strategy and has since built up a team that has consistently driven famously effective work, brought thought leadership to Grey clients and raised the profile and the value of the group’s strategic capabilities. With his breadth of local and global responsibilities, he has provided valuable strategic contributions helping to fuel growth for Grey HK’s key clients such as HSBC, HKTB and P&G across the region.

“There is nothing more satisfying than promoting talent from within to key leadership roles. Personal growth should be as much a focus for an agency as commercial growth, and these four promotions underscore that loyalty, curiosity and a passion for our clients will always be the key to success for people of Grey,” O’Conor added.

Hong Kong – PluginHive, the e-commerce shipping solutions company based in India, has partnered with carrier service provider Hong Kong Post, to boost e-commerce merchants in Hong Kong. This move comes after its recently signed agreement with FedEx, to launch a new campaign across the APAC and MEA regions.

The recent partnerships aim to provide e-commerce merchants with automated shipping solutions for free when using e-commerce platforms Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. It also comes with added benefits for the Hong Kong-based small e-commerce merchants, as the partnership offers up to a 75% discount on the shipping cost on successful signup with FedEx.

Ahammed Mirdas, PluginHive’s CEO and founder, believes that Hong Kong is a budding market for e-commerce in 2021, and this integration is aimed to boost the small and medium e-commerce business across the country by bringing together reliable shipping services from Hong Kong Post, with the reach and quality of service that FedEx provides in more than 220 countries across the globe. 

“PluginHive is excited to be the catalyst in driving this partnership and believes e-commerce merchants will take advantage of it in the upcoming weeks,” said Mirdas.

In addition, PluginHive has ensured a streamlined carrier account sign-up process that involves a single click account registration and a smooth merchant onboarding, with the help of dedicated shipping experts that will be available 24/7 via multiple channels.

Singapore – Global communications firm Edelman has announced a new lineup of digital hires as part of strengthening its digital offering in the Asia-Pacific region.This includes expanding the firm’s existing offerings in content creation and production, as well as adding talent in the areas of social commerce, paid and performance marketing, martech, AI, VR and 3D capabilities, among others. 

In South Asia, Saurabh Kulkarni has been appointed as the head of Edelman Studios in India, where he is tasked with building a regional hub for content creation. He will partner with India’s managing director for digital, Kunal Arora, on leveraging AI to create data-centric content production capabilities that will serve the region.

At Edelman China, in addition to Justin Teo joining the firm in August as the new chief digital officer, Yuliani Setiadi has come onboard as head of digital for Hong Kong and Taiwan. With Setiadi’s extensive experience in building shoppable e-commerce experiences across different touchpoints, she will aid in establishing Hong Kong as a B2C regional hub.

In Korea, the firm welcomed Rebekah Lee as its new head of digital earlier this year, bringing rich experience in data-driven performance marketing and web analytics that complements Edelman’s digital newsroom capability in the Korean market.

Jonathan Wong and Henry Taylor also joined the teams in Malaysia and Australia respectively this October to serve as head of digital in those markets. Wong brings extensive technical and automation experience, as well as a proven track record for e-commerce and digital transformation, while Taylor is skilled in content, SEO, newsroom and platform growth strategies, given his background as a data journalist.

To manage the growing team’s operations across the region, Debra Ng returned to Edelman this year to take on the role of regional digital operations manager. She is tasked with delivering digital upskilling and competency development programs for clients.

“Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve seen our clients take significant steps to accelerate their digital capabilities, knowledge and skills. With these hires, we are doubling down on specialisms across the region to match the evolving needs of our clients, helping them create more compelling content, facilitate digital transformation, and leverage the growth of e-commerce and digital storytelling,” comments Stephen Kehoe, Edelman’s CEO for APAC.

He added, “Each of these hires brings a deep specialism to the firm, allowing our clients to benefit from the industry’s most advanced and comprehensive practices, irrespective of which market they are in. By removing the silos of markets and specialisms, we are building a more client- and solution-centric operating model, setting ourselves and our clients up for success in a post-pandemic world.”

Hong Kong – Adintime, a self-service ad buying marketplace originating from France, has expanded its presence to the Hong Kong market, wherein its platform will be both available in English and Chinese.

The platform’s main purpose is to help companies advertise in Hong Kong through a simplified process of purchasing advertising media space in the city by both local and international advertisers.

All the advertisers have to do is choose the media which they wish to communicate with and fill in a quote request form. The quote request is sent directly to the media or Adintime’s expert media team, who will respond and provide a quote with the rates and specifics of the advertising space in question. With a simple interface, the platform aims to streamline and ease the process of purchasing advertising space.

“Hong Kong’s advertising market and media buying habits are changing very fast. Adintime is the perfect answer to that change and our team here is very excited to start this journey in such a promising market that is Hong Kong”, says Erick Gommeaux, CEO of Adintime.

Adintime was founded in France in 2015 by Gommeaux, previously media director of EFFICIO Group, an international advertising agency.

Adintime’s service has been designed to simplify and optimize the purchase of advertising space on traditional media such as press, OOH posters, TV, display or social networks for all advertisers, and more particularly for those who do not have a media agency.

According to Adintime, the platform benefits advertisers in a way that allows them to have easier access to a wide range of advertising possibilities and benefit from optimized pricing conditions. Meanwhile, the benefit for media companies is that it allows them to acquire new advertisers, hence grow their sales, and to increase exposure to their advertising offers thanks to the referencing on a platform dedicated to media buying.

Hong Kong – Global advertising company Taboola has been tapped by social messaging app LINE to bolster personalization for LINE Today Hong Kong, the news and content curation hub within the app. 

LINE Today Hong Kong will bolster content recommendations by leveraging several Taboola innovations, including Taboola Feed, a seamlessly integrated feed that provides readers with personalized content for a more engaging experience, across the LINE Today Hong Kong home page and all of its articles.

“Our goal has always been to bring people around the world closer to each other, to information, and to services. News readership plays an important part towards that goal, as it encourages people to read more about issues that surround them. Taboola’s team, technology and its expertise in recommendations made it the best choice for powering recommendations for our users in Hong Kong,” said Hyunbin Kang, SVP at LINE Plus Corporation.

To date, the LINE messaging app reaches more than 188 million global monthly active users and provides a wide range of services to its users. LINE Today serves as a news and content hub within the LINE app, which connects users with leading destinations for mobile news and content consumption in several countries.

“LINE has built an incredible mobile-first brand that places communication, content, and entertainment at the forefront. Their massive reach particularly in the APAC region, coupled with our ability to recommend content ensures that people will receive quality news on their devices,” said Adam Singolda, CEO and founder at Taboola. 

He added, “We’re excited to bring discovery and recommendations to LINE Today Hong Kong, operated by one of the world’s most popular messaging apps, and unlock new ways for LINE Today Hong Kong to monetize.”

Hong Kong – In celebration of International Day of the Girl, commemorated every 11 October to promote the rights of girls, Kotex, the feminine hygiene brand, has launched a new campaign in APAC that aims to amplify girls’ voices, fight period stigma within society, and spark conversation on building girls’ bright future through education.

Titled ‘#GirlUnrestricted’, the campaign includes a region-wide video that encourages girls to embrace their uniqueness and experience girlhood on their own terms followed by local market activations. In Hong Kong, Kotex has also launched a dedicated website for puberty education. With informative and light-hearted videos, it aims to break the period stigma and to reassure girls of their possibilities.

Stella Chun, Kimberly-Clark’s general manager for Hong Kong, believes that a girlhood unrestricted is a girlhood full of possibilities and envision a more forgiving world where girls can live every adventure, and this is in line with Kotex’s purpose to remove barriers to girls’ progress.

Remarking on the East Asia market specifically, Chun said, “Girls in Hong Kong feel they do not have access to information about their bodies and health. Through our puberty education website and education programs, we aim to enhance access to information about female health for girls and improve key outcomes in the areas of education and health and wellness.”

Based on research conducted by Kotex, Gen Z teen girls in APAC are growing up under unprecedented pressure. It highlights that the classic struggles of puberty are amplified today against a backdrop of issues that range from climate change to cyber-bullying and unrealistic societal expectations.

Hong Kong – Creative and CRM agency Wunderman Thompson in Hong Kong has announced Maggie Wong as its new CEO. Wong is formerly the managing director of Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett Hong Kong.

The move comes after former managing director Matthew Parry makes the move to Australia, joining Wunderman Thompson Sydney to assume the same MD role. 

Wong brings with her more than 17 years of experience. She has worked with established international brands across various industries, including Expedia, Lexus, and Pizza Hut, as well as HKT, and Standard Chartered.

Aside from her previous role in Publicis, Wong has also worked as the managing partner at marketing communications agency The Gate, and the business director at architectural design firm Alan Chan Design Co.

Commenting on her appointment, Wong said, “Wunderman Thompson HK has established an excellent base with a diverse blend of talents and capabilities to turbocharge the next chapter of growth. I’m hugely excited to be joining the wonderful team and by the prospect of what we can achieve together.”

Meanwhile, Ewen Sturgeon, Wunderman Thompson International’s CEO, shared they are very excited to see Wong join them and bring her own brand of leadership, as she has the right focus on creativity, data, and experience to continue growing the Hong Kong office.

“Matt leaves to Maggie a strong and successful agency, with a great team and clients. And I’m thrilled that Matt continues to grow his career in the Wunderman Thompson network,” said Sturgeon.

Hong Kong – Following the company’s recent expansion to Australia, global audience and local intelligence company Adsquare has announced that it will now be expanding its presence to Hong Kong. Along with the endeavor, the company has also appointed Melvin Wong to be the company’s sales director for North Asia.

Through his new role, he will lead top-line growth across all company solutions, with direct oversight of the company’s sales and client relationships in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

Furthermore, he will foster existing relationships and will identify new accounts with a potentially significant impact on Adsquare´s long-term success.

Prior to his recent position, he has worked with global media platform Teads where he demonstrated a progressive 6-year-growth, starting as business developer in New York City to finally become Teads´s first sales manager in Hong Kong. Prior to that, Melvin acted as business developer at programmatic platform Triplelift.

“I’m thrilled and grateful to join the Adsquare team in APAC. Adsquare’s technology, capabilities, and data integrity are second to none, enabling key insights for advertisers and brands to drive effective and successful campaigns. I look forward to helping Adsquare further drive their footprint in North Asia,” Wong said regarding his appointment.

He will be reporting to Nicolas Méar, general manager for APAC at Adsquare.

“To support our expansion in APAC and bring a tighter focus on customer relationships in North Asia, we needed an expert with the knowledge and the confidence to help Adsquare remain competitive and grow even further. Melvin will be a key asset to help clients maximize their ROI via our data-driven solutions for targeting, measurement and OOH planning and activation,” Méar stated.

Adsquare’s Hong Kong office marks the company’s tenth office, alongside in Berlin, Düsseldorf, London, Madrid, Milan, New York, Paris, Singapore, and Sydney.

Hong Kong – HDcourse, the SEO optimization services and training provider, has launched free online SEO courses to help SMEs increase their organic SEO traffic.

HDcourse offers courses that cover SEO, WordPress, email marketing, and digital marketing. It supports short video teaching and is suitable for people who are studying on mobile phones and busy with work.

HDcourse shared a case study where one of its students from Malaysia had only 53,500 impressions and 1,240 clicks on Google, and following its classes, said impressions have grown to 583,000 and clicks to 15,000.

HDcourse said that through the free SEO teaching courses, anyone can have a jumpstart, promoting its classes to have 10 integrated factors that can improve the SEO of the clients and obtain organic traffic.

One of the factors is ‘Search Intention’, that helps businesses to know consumers’ intentions behind inputting certain keywords. Second is ‘Index’, which is having the search engine index the content of the customer’s website one by one. Next is ‘Backlinks’, which mainly refers to how many other people’s website links point to the customer’s website.

Meanwhile, ‘User Experience’ is the time the user stays on the website, and ‘Uniqueness of Content’ is the deep and rich content, allowing content optimization. ‘E.A.T.’ or ‘Expertise, Authority and Trustworthy’ is also a factor to improve SEO, which is enabling experts to write content to increase authority and professionalism, while ‘Freshness of Content’ is writing up-to-date news.

Furthermore, the ‘Click-Through Rate’ is adding numbers or attractive words to the title, which will help the search engine, while ‘Website Speed’ is the time to load the website should be within 2-4 seconds. And lastly, ‘Responsive Design’, which allows users to easily browse the same website regardless of the computer, tablet, or mobile phone.