HK brands trendjack Carina Lau’s 'golden lobster' red carpet look

Local brands such as HKTVmall and Hong Kong Market have trendjacked local actress Carina Lau’s outfit at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards, which features a large golden lobster necklace. 

During the awards ceremony on Sunday, Lau wore a large golden lobster necklace over her dark velvet dress from the Schiaparelli Spring 2024 collection. Her outfit has sparked mixed reactions among netizens in Hong Kong.

Lau's Instagram post, where she is seen holding the golden lobster in one hand and her husband Tony Leung's best actor award in the other, has generated over 18k likes and 213 comments. While some netizens said the lobster overshadows the award, some said the lobster looks very heavy.

In response, HKTVmall has created a trendjacking post on its Facebook and Instagram pages to promote lobsters available on its platform.

Featuring a real lobster adorned with a gold chain, the post said that its platform delivers lobsters straight from the wet market. “Not everyone can handle such lively lobsters, so don't just randomly wear them as a necklace. Cook them properly and enjoy them instead!” the post reads.

HKTVmall’s Facebook post has generated over 3.7k likes, 117 comments and 76 shares. Its Instagram post has also generated over 238 likes and 4 comments. 

A spokesperson from HKTVmall told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the trendjacking post is done by its wet market express (街市即日餸) team. "Our team has kept up with the current social event and captured the most discussed subject of the talk to create down-to-earth content, hoping to draw attention and eventually promote its service on social media."

Utilising social effectiveness has been a main strategy for the wet market express to gain public awareness, according to the spokesperson. "The trendjacking posts always come with sudden discounts related to current events, attracting customers to use wet market express, which helps expand our customer base and further build confidence in using our new service," the spokesperson added.

On the other hand, Uni-China Group's subsidiary Hong Kong Market has also put up a trendjacking post on its Facebook page to create a light-hearted connection with Hongkongers and offer an instant lobster discount offer.

The post showcases a seafood stall worker wearing an actual lobster with a red plastic rope, drawing a parallel with Lau's gold chain. “I’m sorry! This lobster is reserved for Mrs. Leung. P.S. When you buy a nice lobster, of course, you would want to show it off and make your neighbour envious,” the post reads. The post has garnered a significant media attention and exposure including East Week, Yahoo food and Cable TV. 

Agnes Lung, executive director and group chief marketing and digital officer, Uni-China Group, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the trendjacking post was inspired by local social media account "King Jer 娛樂台", which jokingly mentioned that Lau had gone to the fresh market before attending the event.

"By featuring a seafood stall worker wearing an actual lobster with a red plastic rope, Hong Kong Market aligns its brand image and values with the friendly and consumer goods industry. The necklace worn by Lau is highly relevant to one of our key products, lobsters," Lung added.

In terms of marketing strategies, Lung said trendjacking is most impactful during the awareness stage of the customer journey. "By publishing appropriate top-of-the-funnel content that aligns with our brand values, we leverage trendjacking to divert traffic and increase attention, ultimately raising the profile and solidifying the brand positioning of Hong Kong Market."

In addition to focusing on upper-funnel awareness, Hong Kong Market has incentivised customers with an instant HK$10 discount on lobsters to drive sales conversion in the lower funnel.

Lung added that the success of trendjacking also relies on timing. "We joined the conversation at the right moment, before noon on the day following the Hong Kong Film Awards, when the topic was still fresh and generating significant interest," she said.

Don't miss: foodpanda reassures support towards HK arts scene after flak over film awards sponsorship

On the other hand, foodpanda Hong Kong has reassured its support towards Hong Kong's arts and culture scene amid conversations around its sponsorship of the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards being an aggressive approach to outshine competitors in the local food delivery market.

While the red carpet session featured hosts conducting interviews with nominees and presenters in front of a foodpanda-branded food truck, Derek Yee, chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards Association, repeatedly raised a foodpanda paper bag, during the live broadcast of the awards.

Media intelligence firm CARMA saw over 202 mentions about foodpanda about the Hong Kong Film Awards across social platforms since the awards, with 17.1% positive sentiments and 5.7% negative sentiments. 

Join us this coming 26 June for Content360 Hong Kong, a one-day-two-streams extravaganza under the theme of "Content that captivates". Get together with our fellow marketers to learn about AI in content creation, integration of content with commerce and cross-border targeting, and find the recipe for success within the content marketing world! 

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