Tag: Hong Kong

Hong Kong – Southeast Asian women fashion brand Love, Bonito has announced the launch of its new local-centric website, which is accompanied by a month-long social media campaign and most interestingly, a five-week presence along Hong Kong’s well-known trams.

Said campaign, called ‘Travel in Style with Love, Bonito’, is the latest social media campaign of the brand where 500 lucky winners will receive a limited-edition preloaded Love, Bonito branded Octopus card and a Love, Bonito website shopping voucher. Love, Bonito will also be hosting month-long giveaways on its Facebook page.

As for the tram presence, three Love, Bonito branded trams will be travelling around Hong Kong island from today until 29 August. The trams will feature a QR code that Hong Kongers can scan to sign up for the Love, Bonito newsletter and participants can stand a chance to win a limited-edition Love, Bonito branded Octopus card pre-loaded with HK$50 and a HK$50 shopping voucher for the Love, Bonito Hong Kong website. 

Every week starting from the week of 26 July to the week of 29 August, 100 lucky winners will be announced every Wednesday beginning on 4 August to 1 September via email regarding the prizes.

“The new site will mark the introduction of the brand’s new and improved online experience, providing shoppers with a faster and more responsive website. In addition, the new site can also be saved as a mobile home screen application to provide shoppers with more convenient access to the website. We are thrilled to introduce these exciting new features first in Hong Kong and subsequently in other in-market websites in the future,” said Dione Song, CEO at Love, Bonito.

The Hong Kong website will feature all of Love, Bonito’s product lines including work, casual, occasion, The Staples (wardrobe foundations), LYLAS (bridesmaid & party), loungewear, Embrace (maternity), kids, intimates and special collaborations.

Hong Kong – As part of strengthening their presence in Asia-Pacific, streaming service Disney+ from global media enterprise The Walt Disney Company has announced that they will roll out to the markets of South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan in November 2021.

Said announcement was made during the recent calls of the company regarding their Q3 earnings.

In addition to this announcement, Disney+ Japan will also be expanded to feature additional general entertainment content in October 2021.

To date, Disney+’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region includes the markets of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

According to Luke Kang, president at The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific, the response towards Disney+ across the region has exceeded the company’s expectations, as consumers seek diverse entertainment content and are drawn to their portfolio of brands and franchises.

“We are pleased with the subscriber growth and partnerships forged in markets, and look forward to engaging with more consumers across the region – through unparalleled storytelling, creative excellence and cutting-edge content delivery,” Kang said.

Said endeavor by Disney+ best reflects the duties of Kang when he was appointed to the current position last December 2020, including duties of managing Disney’s media networks, direct-to-consumer offerings including Disney+, media distribution and motion picture businesses.

Disney+’s current content portfolio includes a wide selection of films and episodes of content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and Star, as well as including local and regional content in the region. Globally, Disney+ is currently available in 61 countries and 21 languages across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

Hong Kong – Harbour City, the premium shopping center in Hong Kong, has partnered with Disney and Pixar to launch a mega event ‘Pixar Fest’ developed through a new marketing strategy and with a new event format.

‘Pixar Fest’, which will run until 15 August 2021, aims to enhance the consumer experience, create noise, and maximize social shares.

Harbour City is taking the extra mile to introduce something innovative to the audience. Mainly, the mega event has taken full advantage of Harbour City’s layout, installing 12 photo spots at every corner across different zones and levels. For example, the 5.2 meters high Pixar Ball and Lamp has been installed at Ocean Terminal Deck, while enlarged versions of Pixar movie characters have been set up in the atrium.

Apart from taking pictures on-site with the movie characters’ statues, the mall has also leveraged the technology of AR to entice visitors. Harbour City has selected five AR checkpoints in the consideration of mall layout. By downloading the mobile app ‘Harbour Cityzen’ for free, customers can experience ‘AR Fun’ in the onsite installations.

Furthermore, in order to keep the customer-generated content and maximize organic shares, Harbour City has released weekly new surprises to customers, such as limited-edition souvenirs and exclusive products. 

And lastly, Harbour City has created a series of interactive activities, including an online game connecting the real and virtual world across offline and online platforms. The mall has also partnered with booking platform KLOOK for online pre-registration of Pixar’s movies and shorts, to promote the mega event to targeted audiences with its big data.

Hong Kong – HSBC’s mobile payment platform, PayMe, has just launched a new campaign, featuring today’s most popular actor and singer in Hong Kong, Keung To.

The new campaign, which was created in collaboration with creative agency Ogilvy, stems from PayMe’s pride in being the only e-wallet designed specifically for the people of Hong Kong.

Titled, ‘Hong Kong’s Wallet’, the ad centers around a music video showing Keung To in ‘PayMeow cat ears’, singing the catchy PayMe song that highlights the message ‘dine-shop-play anywhere, anytime’, and dancing with PayMeow, the brand’s chubby feline mascot, and his group of dancers.

Furthermore, the campaign includes a series of print and social executions, directing people to ‘PayMeow Spin and Win’ – the in-app game in PayMe that gives users a chance to receive rewards of up to HK$500 in their PayMe wallet and other prizes when they spend HK$100 or more at PayMe for Business merchants. It also includes a PayMeow dance challenge on Instagram with special giveaways signed by Keung To.

Jaslin Goh, HSBC’s head of marketing, CX, and design, said that PayMe has become a part of Hong Konger’s lives, where for instance, they often hear people say ‘pay me lar’ among friends, becoming the country’s wallet. 

“So we asked ourselves who’s best to collaborate with our adorable mascot PayMeow with the magic of bringing people together to enjoy the PayMe cashback promotion?” said Goh.

Meanwhile, Buji Ng, the group creative director at Ogilvy, commented that Keung To is undoubtedly Hong Kong’s favorite singer who is making a strong influence in peoples’ lives.

“Therefore, we paired him up with PayMeow to make a music video debut, creating an unprecedented performance for our audience. More fascinating activities are coming up to engage everyone in town,” said Ng.

HSBC’s PayMe said that the campaign will be running until 30 September 2021.

Hong Kong – Global news company reporting on China and Asia, The South China Morning Post (SCMP), has launched today its new Global Subscription product to provide unparalleled intelligence and insights on China, tailored for enterprises and corporate organizations.

The new Group Subscription packages offer holistic solutions that combine comprehensive news reporting and industry insights, that illuminate global trends as the epicenter of global economic growth continues to shift towards Asia. 

Through SCMP’s new product, group subscribers can access all the latest news coverage on international trade, finance technology, geo-economic policies, as well as the environment, sustainability, and governance trends. Meanwhile, exclusive member benefits will include policy briefings, research and industry reports, access to flagship events and conferences, and invite-only conversations with a community of globally influential senior executives, China experts, and SCMP editors. 

Ang Jin, SCMP’s senior vice president, said that it is increasingly essential to understand nuances in global trends to keep ahead of the competition in a fast-changing environment.

“SCMP’s Group Subscriptions are designed for professionals to make well-informed decisions with customized news and industry intelligence and to help navigate complex economic, business, and political issues. As a product aligned to organizational needs, we believe it is an investment that will see invaluable benefits in return,” said Jin.

Just recently, SCMP has also launched a global brand campaign to communicate its ‘Understand China, Understand the World’ value proposition, demonstrating its mission to lead the global conversation about China. It aims to position itself as an important resource for readers looking to acquire a more complete understanding of global trends.

Hong Kong – With the pandemic situation in Hong Kong now gradually easing up to open to the local and global economy, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong are also slowly opening up, with business confidence rates seeing a steadfast growth among the local SME sector during the third quarter, new data from the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) shows.

According to their latest index alongside Standard Chartered Hong Kong, the SME Overall Index has risen for three consecutive quarters, this time by 4.4 to 46.6, hitting a three-year high since Q3 of 2018.

All five component sub-indices stipulated in the index also rose in Q3, among which the ‘Global Economy’ sub-index recorded the most significant surge again, from 43.6 to 52.8 which made an impressive leap from the low of 7.9 in the same period last year. Together with the ‘Recruitment Sentiment’ sub-index which rose to 50.9, these are the first two sub-indices to surpass the 50 neutral mark in the past two years. Eightof the 11 surveyed industries have recorded two-year highs in their industry indices. 

The sub-indices of ‘Information and Communications’, ‘Real Estate’, and ‘Social and Personal Services’ are the best performing industries, with their respective indices all over 50.

On investment sentiment in the coming quarter, most SMEs are planning to spend more on ‘Information Technology’ and ‘Product & Marketing Promotion’. While 24% of SMEs plan to increase investment in ‘Information Technology’, 20% of local SMEs would like to boost investment in ‘Product & Marketing Promotion’ – both are one-year highs. Meanwhile, 63% of SMEs surveyed expected an upcoming increase of ‘Raw Material Cost’, which is 5% higher than the previous quarter.

For Edmond Lai, chief digital officer at HKPC, the results of the index reflects the stableness of the pandemic situation in Hong Kong during the survey period, and that the SME sector is bound to its ‘steady U-shape rebound with the outlooks of ‘Global Economy’ and ‘Recruitment Sentiment’ being positive’.

He also noted that the survey showed that SMEs are ‘flexing their muscles’ to pick up their business as fast as possible by increasing investment and expanding staff size.

Meanwhile, Kelvin Lau, senior economist for Greater China for global research at Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong, commented that the latest SME Index readings confirm that Hong Kong’s business conditions have not only further improved over the past quarter, but that such positive momentum is also likely to carry over to the start of second half 2021, boding well for more economic recovery ahead. 

He also added that the are seeing confirmation as well of such recovery being broad-based, with all five component sub-indices and eight of the eleven industry sub-indices posting quarter-over-quarter increases. All this, however, is still not enough to push the overall SME Index back above the 50 neutral mark for now, meaning that SMEs are generally still operating below normal levels.

“Looking at the breakdown, the improvement in ‘Global Economy’ sub-index remains the biggest driver of positive sentiment this time, while ‘Recruitment Sentiment’ sub-index also returned above 50 for the first time in two years, boding well for Hong Kong’s unemployment rate to extend its recent nascent downtrend. That said, improving global prospects have not translated into much better confidence among manufacturers, exporters and financial services providers this time; rather, we see prior underperformers such as retailers playing further catchup – probably supported by the continued unwinding of social distancing measures since the first quarter,” Lau explained.

He added, “Our latest survey results also reflect still-high cost pressures, especially those for raw materials; that has in turn pushed prices higher for finished goods and services, confirming that some pass-through of higher costs onto buyers is indeed happening.”

In addition, the survey also explored SME perspectives and planning in response to the economic recovery in 2021. Around 7% of SMEs surveyed said their business fared better than before the pandemic, while 31% of them claimed to be close to returning to the pre-pandemic levels. The business performances of ‘Information and Communications’, ‘Real Estate’ and ‘Financing and Insurance’ industries are the most satisfactory amid the pandemic, with ‘Accommodation and Food Services’ being the most affected – 81% SMEs surveyed reported a setback in business. The most popular actions taken proactively by SMEs to achieve business rebound are ‘Product/Service Improvement’, ‘Market Promotion’, ‘Online Expansion’, ‘Productivity Enhancement’ and ‘Use of Digital Technology’.

Furthermore, the survey found that SMEs are placing high hopes on ‘Global Economic Recovery’, ‘Re-opening of Cross-Boundary Travel with the Mainland’ and ‘Relaxation of Social Distancing Measures; to fully grasp the opportunities from market recovery. Yet they also saw the constraints of a severe worldwide epidemic situation and geopolitical tensions, with 37.3% of SMEs surveyed indicating their intentions to raise prices to cope with inflation and offset cost pressure.

Hong Kong – The global convenience store chain, 7- Eleven, has pledged to donate 1,000 7-SELECT chicken legs for 40 consecutive weeks to be distributed to Hong Kongers in need, marking its important 40th year in the industry.

The new initiative, which is done in partnership with Food Angel – a local NGO, is part of 7-Eleven’s effort to be in the daily lives of Hongkongers. The donations will be delivered to recipients via Food Angel’s Community Centre, Community Food Assistance Service, and Automated Food Dispenser Service – an innovative initiative that allows for the flexible collection of chilled meals.

In addition, Food Angel will distribute the donations across its 180 charity partners. It is expected to help over 10,000 recipients including the elderly, low-income families, and people recovering from mental health problems, as well as cage home residents, and disabled people.

According to 7-Eleven, during the height of the pandemic last year, they have initiated several activities to help those most impacted by the outbreak. They have donated and delivered 70,000 food items to local neighborhoods and launched the ‘Charity Meal Voucher Program’, which raised over 550,000 vouchers to provide hot meals to disadvantaged people and low-income families. 

“Although the pandemic situation in Hong Kong is starting to stabilize this year, we remain committed to showing care and support to the most vulnerable in society,” said 7-Eleven.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – SleekFlow, the Hong Kong start-up that provides an omnichannel social commerce platform to companies, has announced that it will now be expanding its business to SEA markets Malaysia and Singapore. This follows its recent funding that has raised a 7-figure MYR in a Pre-A round investment from Gobi Partners China (Gobi), the investment manager of Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF).

SleekFlow helps companies manage communication channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, as well as Line and Live Chat, among others, through an all-in-one social messaging platform. It helps streamline sales, customer support, and marketing workflows while integrating with over 2000 tools, including e-commerce platforms and payment gateways, to automate the whole customer journey with ease.

According to Henson Tsai, the founder, and CEO of SleekFlow, there are about 8-10 unicorns in Hong Kong but very few selling SaaS products. Tsai said that SleekFlow aims to be a world-renowned Hong Kong SaaS brand which is why it has decided to first expand to Southeast Asia first and “then to the world.”

“SleekFlow is missioned to realize the full potential of social messaging for business all over the world,” said Tsai.

He adds, “First, I would like to express my gratitude towards the Gobi for believing in SleekFlow. Aiming to scale the height in the Southeast Asia Market, we will set up new teams in Malaysia and Singapore, where people rely heavily on WhatsApp.”

According to the platform, it has, within a year helped users across over 20 countries, with annual recurring revenue of 7-digit USD.

Hong Kong – London-headquartered global digital out-of-home (OOH) marketplace, VIOOH, has partnered with outdoor advertising company JCDecaux, to expand to urban Hong Kong via JCDecaux Cityscape – its street furniture and bus shelter programmatic advertising inventory. 

JCDecaux Cityscape in Hong Kong has been operating Bus Shelter Advertising since 1993 and Tramcar Advertising for more than 10 years. With its Audience Intelligence Solution on the media assets, JCDecaux Cityscape is able to reach and interact with a broad group of mobile audiences every day.

Following the partnership, VIOOH would now be covering a quarter of the digital OOH market in Hong Kong across street furniture, trading across both guaranteed and non-guaranteed deals via JCDecaux. 

The affiliated data partners include Audience Management System for Street Furniture developed by JCDecaux, and OOH Planning and Measurement from audience and location intelligence company AdSquare, while integrated DSP partners include ad-tech firms Hivestack and The Trade Desk, as well as media agency Verizon Media.

VIOOH China’s CEO Ben Lin shared that VIOOH is pleased to offer advertisers the opportunity to benefit from more digital inventory at premium locations in Hong Kong.

“Our ambition is to change the conversation about out of home and to help accelerate transformation in outdoor advertising and we hope advertisers and media owners alike will maximize this new opportunity to thrive,” said Lin.

Meanwhile, Yoann El Jaouhari, the managing director of JCDecaux Cityscape, said that with this launch, their clients can enjoy unmatched flexibility, data-driven media planning, optimization, and retargeting capabilities, and data-triggered digital content across multiple prime districts in Hong Kong Island, namely Admiralty, Causeway Bay, and Central, as well as Wan Chai. 

“Our advanced ecosystem of data and digital solutions will help us accompany the brands to leverage the power of digital programmatic OOH, smartly optimize their advertising strategy, and keep improving the return on their ad spend in Hong Kong with JCDecaux,” said El Jaouhari.

According to VIOOH’s recent State of the Nation report, about 84% of Hong Kong advertisers claim they have bought, planned, or placed OOH programmatically in the last 12 months, above social media. Almost 94% expect to increase their investment in programmatic OOH in the next 18 months, indicating that programmatic OOH, considered to offer benefits for both brand-led and performance-led campaigns, is well utilized in the market.

In Hong Kong, programmatic investment in OOH in the last 12 months is the media channel that ranks highest, with 80% on social media, 80% on digital video, and 70% on digital audio following closely behind. About 76% of all Hong Kong media executives either agree or strongly agree that programmatic OOH is a clear part of their programmatic and digital strategy, with a greater number 82% agreeing programmatic OOH provides excellent value for money.

VIOOH said that more digital OOH inventory is due to be announced later this year.

Hong Kong – The pandemic has prompted countries around the world to introduce travel restrictions and containment measures. However, these implementations cannot stop eager travelers to resume planning their travel preparations. 

A new range of credit cards by Standard Chartered, Cathay, and Mastercard has been launched to enable travelers to earn more prestigious privileges and enjoy a higher level of banking and travel experiences offered by the new credit card series.

A multi-platform campaign has been developed by TBWA\Hong Kong in support of the new card series – ‘Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard Credit Cards’.

The theme of the campaign centers around ‘Get Ready for New Heights’, the over one-minute ad features famous South Korean actor Song Joong-Ki, and renowned Hong Kong lyricist Wyman Wong. It captures the actor explaining the card series’ many offers and privileges through various ads, encouraging the lyricist to plan his future banking and travel experiences.

The three new cards in the series are ‘Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard Credit Card’, ‘Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard Credit Card – Priority Banking’, and ‘Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard Credit Card – Priority Private’, which recognize different banking segments. The card series replaces the existing ‘Standard Chartered Asia Miles Mastercard Credit Card’.

Cardholders can still earn Asia Miles directly by using banking services only from Standard Chartered, while Priority Banking and Priority Private cardholders can also enjoy complimentary Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge access, priority check-in and boarding services, or limited Marco Polo Club Silver or Gold membership during the promotional period.

“With the pandemic delaying travel plans and creating a growing sense of wanderlust, the campaign invites people to get a head-start on their travel preparations with an elevated card experience to earn miles faster and more easily than ever,” said Terence Ling, the head of strategy at TBWA\Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, TBWA\Hong Kong’s Managing Director Jan Cho commented that they wanted to tap into the booming popularity of K-dramas, and use the allure of Korea as a travel destination.

“However, due to pandemic travel restrictions, overseas filming was no longer possible, and forced us to quickly adapt to a new way of working. I’m very proud of our team, and the production team in Korea, for working remotely and cohesively to bring this campaign to life,” said Cho.

Developed together with media support by Carat Hong Kong and iProspect Hong Kong, the campaign includes TVC, out-of-home, and print, as well as online, and social media.