Beyond 'Hello Hong Kong' campaign's mass ticket giveaway: What more can be done?

The official launch of Hong Kong’s  HK$1bn global promotional campaign has received a fair bit of coverage as it looks to give away 500,000 air tickets to overseas visitors and 80,000 tickets to HongKongers, in an effort to raise the city's international image. The tickets distributed will be available first in Southeast Asia markets including Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia. Northeast Asia and mainland China will come next.

"In the next six to nine months, Hong Kong's tourism industry needs help the most. We can estimate that the campaign will bring over 1.5m tourists, accounting for 10% of passenger flow from March to September," Hong Kong International Airport CEO Fred Lam said. The giveaway is part of the HK$1bn global promotional campaign "Hello Hong Kong". The campaign saw over 6,000 social mentions across print, online, and social media over the past week, with most netizens expressing their interest in travelling to Hong Kong, according to social monitoring firm CARMA.

Don't miss: ‘Hello Hong Kong’ campaign gives away 500,000 air tickets to overseas visitors from March

The strategic move to give away 500,000 free flight tickets has also been lauded by industry professionals. RFI Asia's MD David Ko called the execution an impressive one that undoubtedly would generate a lot of attention and buzz. However, he warned that the “supply must be balanced by demand”.  

Ko’s words were aligned with Hong Kong’s government’s setting up of a task force to promote Hong Kong and tell interesting stories of the city, in a bid to raise the city's international profile and enhance its branding and image.  Furthermore, the latest “Hello Kong Kong” campaign also invited local celebrities to take part including Aaron Kwok, Sammi Cheng, and Kelly Chen, as well as business leaders, foreign artist such as Korean singer Rain and Hong Kong Super Fans, showcasing the city’s array of new experiences and saying hello to tourists and calling on them to come visit. 

Ko said:

Hong Kong needs a charm offensive that tells the world the true story about the city as a desirable tourist destination.

Meanwhile, Desmond Ku, founder and director of The Bridge Agency also questioned the relevancy between the campaign and its target audience. “The direction of the campaign is correct but the execution of it is a bit conservative,” he said. Commenting on the campaign, he added that the strategy adopted is similar to those in the past few years as it incorporated Hong Kong skyline, local culture and historic streets of Hong Kong.

Check out the campaign here:

Apart from elements such as local culture and international status of Hong Kong that have been known for years, it is also crucial for the government to think out of the box and highlight authentic elements of the city, in order to bring more relevancy to overseas visitors, Ku said.  

Can influencer marketing help?

Before any government embarks on promotional efforts, it is important to take a step back and understand how the city or nation is currently perceived. “I think this move is all about addressing any negative perception that may have cropped up in recent years and sharing positive stories about Hong Kong with the world,” said Jacopo Pesavento, CEO at Branding Records.

Staying true to the city's unique identity and making sure that the people who call it home feel proud and connected to it is also key to producing a campaign. 

“For example, is Hong Kong going to be the gateway to China or the financial hub of the future? Will it be leading the way in crypto and other financial innovations?" He questioned.

 “A successful campaign should also include elements like social listening, brand perception, and brand awareness,” he added.

Pesavento also added that influencers can be a big help in sharing these goals with the world,” he added. This in fact is a strategy the Hong Kong government has long employed. Several of the campaigns launched have also invited local celebrities to showcase the city’s array of new experiences. For example, McDonald’s has recently unveiled its first global branding campaign of the year featuring local pop stars MC Cheung, Dear Jane and Panther Chan. The campaign namely “Raise Your Arches” aims to bring together the brand’s essence of sharing delicious feel-good moment with its place in the pop culture.

In fact, in mid last year, Hong Kong lawmaker Priscilla Leung urged for the city’s Education Bureau to set up a team of online influencers to convey the "correct message" about Hong Kong and its ties to the UK. Currently, the use of influencer marketing as a trend is so strong in Hong Kong that a whopping 73% trusted influencers' recommendations or reviews, said a report by VS Media. When it came to the credibility of influencers, the survey also unveiled that 77% of respondents trusted influencers' product and service recommendations than those from celebrities.

Not one to downplay the need for influencers in today’s marketing and advertising community, Ko also said influencers are key if the government wants to reset the narrative and tell Hong Kong’s side of the story.

"We must bring the story to where the audience is. We need to prioritise the low hanging fruit markets, those economies that are neutral to positive for China and Hong Kong in the current mainstream media environment. These would be the short haul markets in Asia, as well as certain parts of continental Europe. All signs point to the HKTB already following this strategy, which is gratifying to see," he added. 

Future-facing areas to work on

At this current moment, industry players agreed that there are many areas that the government could focus on to help Hong Kong reach its full potential.

Branding Records’ Pesavento said it's important to regain the trust of the younger generation, who are the future of the city. “After the social unrest and the pandemic, Hong Kong city may have become a bit inward-looking, but I believe that openness and internationalisation are key to the city's success.”

He also said embracing diversity and global business opportunities such as the green sector could really help Hong Kong stand out. “For example, with its short distances and intelligent parking spaces, Hong Kong has the potential to be the world's first electrified city. Building a brand takes time, but taking the first steps towards success is always exciting,” he added.

Above The Line's founder and director Candy Tong, who said tourism is closely linked to experiencing human culture through communication, creativity, cohesion and so on. She suggested the government should increase the promotion of some new unique attractions, such as Hong Kong Disneyland's Frozen-Themed Land, Ngong Ping 360 and more.

On the other hand, RFI Asia's Ko said Hong Kong needs to reduce the “bureaucratic inertia of its civil service” that is hindering the city from becoming an even more attractive city to visit. "There should be aggressive actions to remove bureaucratic barriers and make more agile decisions whether it’s encouraging more Al fresco dining, more organic emergence of local attractions, or a livelier local art and music scene. It should be a no-brainer to promote innovative events such as the Gay Games that tell the world what a cosmopolitan city HK truly is," Ko said. 

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