HK brands trendjack Vivian Kong winning HK's first Olympic gold

Brands in Hong Kong have trendjacked Hong Kong fencer Vivian Kong winning the city’s first Olympic gold at the Paris Olympics games. 

On Sunday, the athlete said it was the “Hong Kong spirit” which assisted her in achieving the ‘mission impossible’, coming back from a six-point deficit to beat her competitor in the women’s épée final. 

Lee congratulated Kong ahead of his six-day ASEAN trip, and said Kong persevered even though she was 1-7 behind, fully demonstrating her incomparable hard work, perseverance and determination.  

“I was touched and inspired because she really made us very proud. Kong, you perfectly displayed the ‘Hong Kong spirit’ of never giving up. You played beautifully. Hongkongers and I both see and feel your heart,” Lee added. 

Kong's Olympic gold medal win has sparked a significant surge in social media mentions. Over the weekend, media intelligence firm CARMA saw over 28,000 mentions, with 42% being positive and 15% being negative. 

Overall, the overwhelming public reaction has been one of celebration and admiration for Kong's remarkable Olympic triumph and her inspiring personal story. Many praised her calmness and determination, which led her to winning Hong Kong's third-ever Olympic gold medal, said CARMA’s HK GM Charles Cheung. 

“Netizens were amazed by the fact that she excels not only as a gold medal-winning fencer, but also in her academic pursuits and mental resilience. Her inspiring story, including her recovery from two torn cruciate ligaments, was also widely discussed on social media,” he added. 

Meanwhile, social monitoring firm Meltwater observed a total of over 15K mentions related to the incident over the past weekend.  

Out of the total number of mentions, which were mostly generated from Hong Kong, 28.4% were positive, 54.2% were neutral and 17.3% were negative. 

Keywords associated with the incident include “Paris Olympics Games”, “gold medal”, “China”, “breaking”, “France”, “Vivian Kong”. 

To capitalise on the sentiments, local brands such as Sushiro Hong Kong, KFC, Deliveroo HK, HK Express, Hong Kong Market have rolled out special campaigns to celebrate the first Olympic gold win for Hong Kong. 

1. AirAsia

Following the public enthusiasm regarding Kong's Olympic gold medal win, AirAsia has capitalised on this celebratory sentiment by offering a 20% discount on all seats and flights.

Valid for travel through the end of 2025, the promotion offers customers a 20% discount on all flights to destinations including Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Penang, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Manila. The booking period for this offer is open now until 4 August 2024.

Additionally, AirAsia has offered a 10% discount on baggage fees. The most affordable Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur tickets will be priced at HK$2, according to its Facebook post.

Terence So, head of marketing, HK and Macau, AirAsia, said: "We are excited to see the enthusiasm of the Hong Kong audience towards this global event, and we share that sentiment as a people-oriented airline. We care about our community and this is just one way we would like to celebrate the excitement with all the fans in Hong Kong. A stunning special offer of fare from HK$2 and 20% discounts on all seats all flights will be provided to all the sport fans from today until 4 August.”

2. Deliveroo Hong Kong

Deliveroo has a platform-wide late-night delivery extension and promotional offering with the voucher code VIVIANKONG upon Vivian’s win. Customers can enjoy a HK$40 discount at any of our restaurants with a minimum spend of HK$100.

Additionally, it partnered with Pici to offer more discount options, which can help increase brand visibility and awareness. These promotional campaigns can also help build customer loyalty by fostering a stronger emotional connection between Deliveroo and its customers in Hong Kong, said Deliveroo's spokesperson when MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out. 

Pici was chosen as it is a well-loved restaurant among Deliveroo's customers, "The restaurant offers a variety of classic Italian and pasta dishes, which are ideal options for sports enthusiasts to enjoy at home while watching the games," said the spokesperson.     

Targeting existing Deliveroo customers and non-Deliveroo customers in Hong Kong, this partnership aims to let customers celebrate the hard-earned triumphs of Hong Kong athletes while cheering for the team at home.

To drive awareness of the campaign, Deliveroo has included celebratory messaging that taps into feelings of pride and happiness. The partnership has been promoted via media engagement and social media.

 3. HK Express 

HK Express has rolled out a special discount on flight tickets to Da Nang to celebrate the first Olympic gold medal win for Hong Kong. The book period ended at midnight on 28 July 2024, while the travel period will be from 3 August until 26 October 2024.  

“UO is celebrating this joyous occasion with everyone by offering HKD1 tickets to Da Nang! Simply enter the promo code HKGGOLD on the HK Express website or app to avail of the offer,” said HK Express in its Facebook post. The post has garnered 414 likes, 150 comments and 23 shares, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw.  

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to HK Express for more information.  

4. Hong Kong Market 

Hong Kong Market’s subsidiary 21 wet markets also offered a HK$5-dollar discount on every purchase of HK$80 at designated butchers.  

To ride on the Olympics frenzy, Hong Kong Market will broadcast the games at designated wet markets. The Tsing Yi Market has also set up a 310-inch giant TV and distributed celebrity watermelon jelly drinks for consumers to cool down and take pictures.  

In addition, Hong Kong Market has prepared eight million points and a limited-edition Olympic cheering bag for the public to redeem. Members of the Hong Kong Market app can have a chance to win prizes by using one point and participating in a special quiz.   

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Hong Kong Market for more information. 

5. KFC 

In celebration of the first Olympic gold for Hong Kong, KFC offered discounts on its egg tarts on Sunday. The limited-time promotion was from Sunday 11am, offering Portuguese tarts at HK$6, available while stock lasts.  

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, a spokesperson from KFC said the round shape of the tarts bears resemblance with the circular shape of the Olympic medals, nicely underpinning the celebratory tone of this campaign.

In addition the tarts offer, the brand wishes to enhance consumers’ viewing experience at home with two new combo meals “Cheer up combo for two” and “cheer up snacks platter”, both available for a limited time until 11 August while stocks last.

The spokesperson said the brand is enhancing its connection with its audience by being part of the city’s celebration of the Hong Kong’s team Olympic wins.

The special promotion has been promoted via social media platforms and in-store point-of-purchase.

“We believe in the power of sport to bring people together and create lasting memories. We are thrilled to celebrate Hong Kong team’s remarkable achievements with our egg tart promotion. We hope our egg tarts will add to the sweetness of these glorious moments. Through the launch of the promotion and products, we would also like to show our support to our Hong Kong athletes for their dedication and triumph at the Paris Olympics Games,” said the spokesperson.

6. OneDegree Hong Kong

OneDegree Hong Kong has shown its support to Hong Kong athletes by blasting a congratulation post upon Kong’s Olympic gold win on Sunday. 

Targeting all walks of consumers, the campaign aims to create a “Resonance effect”, providing Hong Kong people a medium to show their supports to Hong Kong athletes which ultimately connects the brand to the value of majority of the Hong Kong people.

Rooted and founded in Hong Kong, OneDegree deeply resonates with the Hong Kong people on the Olympic wins of Kong, Edgar Cheung and swimmer Siobhan Haughey.

To maximise the joys and create further excitement, this was the first time the brand offered a massive discount of 35% off to all products at the same time. “We don’t just want people to feel joys for the winners but also for every Hong Kong people,” said OneDegree’s spokesperson when MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out.

Emily Chow, deputy chief executive, OneDegree HK, said: "OneDegree supports Team Hong Kong in the Olympics and is thrilled to see the hard work of athletes paid off. The shoot-for-the-moon spirit from all athletes is definitely an encouraging story to everyone of us in Hong Kong who have been working so hard to create different miracles in their own path, we will become more persistent with their successful stories."

7. PARKnSHOP Hong Kong 

PARKnSHOP Hong Kong has shared the joy with Hongkongers upon Vivian Kong’s first Olympic gold win with a “GOLD24” discount code promotion. 

Available on 28 July, the initiative targeted PARKnSHOP's customers and those who purchased upon HK$111 on PARKnSHIP e-shop and use click & collect service could enjoy 11% off by inputting the designed eCoupon code during checkout.

The brand also encouraged netizens to comment under its Facebook post to get a chance to win vouchers for a free 100 PLUS electrolyte drink. The promotional campaign was available on 29 July.  

The move aimed to enhance customer loyalty and boost foot traffic to the brand's physical store by offering a free giveaway product. Implementing a limited quota and time restriction will heighten the excitement of the celebration and encourage visits, said PARKnSHOP's spokesperson when MAKRETING-INTERACTIVE reached out. 

On the other hand, a PARKnSHOP "lucky dip" is also introduced until 15 August to drive up the spending on the selected products and the online-plus-offline purchase. This aims to incentivise customers who spend HK$50 at PARKnSHOP's O+O stores by offering a lucky draw opportunity. Partnering with BYD Auto will help increase participation in the lucky draw and drive-up interest among customers.

8. Sushiro Hong Kong 

To lend its support to Hong Kong athletes at the Paris Olympics Games, Sushiro Hong Kong has rolled out a limited time promotional campaign, adding one more piece of Japanese Pagrus major to the original dish from 1 August to 3 August.

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