HK brands that stood out with their lai see. Which one would you use?

Chinese New Year red packets are a great opportunity for brands in Hong Kong to send blessings to customers, and increase their brand awareness - even without large-scale campaigns. While some brands such as HSBC's eWallet PayMe launched a new group Lai See feature for Chinese New Year and rolled out a large-scale campaign to celebrate the new function, others have taken a muted approach creating bespoke Lai See packaging for family members to pass around. 

While such an opportunity is a great one for brands to flex their creativity, it also enables them to increase a touch point with the consumer.  In fact, in some instances, industry players previously told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the issuance of red packets is a battle for brands to get noticed and chosen. At the end of the day, the objective of the brand is to get selected to carry good fortune (and cash), so your brand finds itself directly placed in the hands of one consumer, passed on from another. With each transferal, your brand hopefully benefits from positive associations of wealth and good fortune, said industry players.

Here are some lai see packets in our Hong Kong newsroom that we thought stood out from the sea of red.

Harbour City

In the Year of the Tiger, Harbour City designs the "Fortune Tiger-Cat" lai see, each representing good fortune, relationships, health and family bonds. Andrew Yeung, assistant general manager (promotions and marketing) of Harbour City said, "May our cheerful, vibrant and endearing 'Fortune Tiger-Cats' bring you endless joy, blessings and beaming smiles!"

Mastercard Hong Kong

Mastercard offered up a circular design this year. According to the brand, it hopes to fully capture the joy at the heart of Chinese New Year, so it created the lai see with a vivid and lively design, showcasing the energy of the Year of the Tiger. Also, the circular shape of lai see is aimed at echoing Mastercard's iconic circles that stand for the harmony and global nature of the Mastercard brand, in addition to the cyclical nature of the year itself.

Times Square Hong Kong

Times Square Hong Kong created four types of New Year flowers, including peony, orchid, narcissus and flamingo for the design of its lai see. With the theme of "Blooming Moment", a set of eight lai see along with the lai see bags are designed with three-dimensional gold and silver embroidery, making the pattern of the flowers even more lively. The bright colours make the lai see elegant and fashionable, adding a festive touch to the products.

Watsons Water

Watsons Water has collaborated with celebrity "Master 7" to roll out a Year of the Tiger-themed campaign. Part of the campaign is a set of lai see consisting of three variations with all of them containing different blessings, such as "having the spirit and energy of a tiger", "as dynamic as a tiger", and "wish you every business success".

T Galleria by DFS

Sometimes, less is indeed more. DFS Group's T Galleria by DFS offers a simplified design this year as the lai see only showcases the name of the group and the logo of T Galleria. Customers can obtain the lai see by spending a designated amount of money, and the lai see is part of the redemption campaign rolled out by T Galleria by DFS.

Meanwhile, our newsroom in Singapore also collated some of the red packets created by brands in the red dot. If you're already thinking of some designs for the future, here are some to inspire you.

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#ExplainIt: What do these branded red packet designs mean? [Video]