Top 5 news stories that drew attention among our HK readers in 2022

This year saw a variety of news in the marketing and advertising scene in Hong Kong. Our readers were treated with stories of brands copping flak, celebrity ambassadors, insights from marketers on tips and tricks, as well as what to look out for in the coming year. 

Let's review the year to see the top five news stories that got our Hong Kong readers talking:

1. BBC and The Guardian Chinese dish recipes showcased with a side of joss paper and funeral envelopes

UK media outlets The Guardian and BBC decided to publish recipes around dishes during Chinese New Year. Unfortunately, the image accompanying the recipes showed joss paper, ancient Chinese coins and an envelope given out at funerals to go with recipes. 

On BBC's website, the finished dish of the recipe was accompanied by a red packet and an envelope given out at funerals, which even contains the name "吉儀" on the surface of the envelope. Traditionally, in Chinese custom, attendees of a funeral will receive the envelope after the ceremony.

2. MINISO apologises for presenting itself as "Japanese designer brand"

Another story that got readers hooked was when global Chinese retailer MINISO apologised for presenting the company as a "Japanese designer brand" in an earlier marketing strategy.

MINISO said from 2015 to 2018, when the company was in the early stages of its globalisation, it recruited Japanese designer Miyake Junya as its chief designer, which then resulted in promoting itself as a "Japanese designer brand". Furthermore, the brand has replaced all Japanese style shopping bags since 2020. It has completed the renovation of 3100 physical stores in China, changing the logo to Chinese from October 2021 until March this year. The brand said that it will complete the process of “de-japanising” its stores and renovation of decoration by March 2023. 

MINISO concluded that it is a Chinese company and will continue to incorporate Chinese culture and trends into its products, in order to encourage consumers spending in China. 

3. Dior unwraps first WhatsApp campaign with brand ambassador Jisoo

Next in the list, Dior Beauty unpacked an industry-first WhatsApp campaign with brand ambassador Jisoo, who is also one of the members of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, to promote its new Dior Addict shine lipstick. The WhatsApp campaign offered its 9.6 million Instagram followers access to four days of exclusive content and conversations with Jisoo.

The French luxury fashion brand is allowing consumers to be part of the experience via its Instagram Story, where Jisoo has offered followers the chance to join her "exclusive WhatsApp group". From there, Dior takes consumers to a dedicated landing page where they can sign up to engage with Jisoo's chatbot over WhatsApp ahead of the lipstick launch. Members choose the type of content they want to receive, from themed videos to exclusive behind the scenes footage of Jisoo’s life as a Dior ambassador.

4. PlayStation SG creates massive car vending machine in US$200k marketing stunt

News of Play Station also got our Hong Kong readers abuzz. Sony Interactive Entertainment transformed Ten Square at Selegie Road into a car vending machine. This is part of its OOH marketing stunt for the global release of its racing game franchise Gran Turismo 7 for PS4 and PS5. Through this, Sony hopes to boost the number of game purchases, as well as its engagement with the PlayStation community.

Sony's spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the monetary value of the campaign is about US$200,000. "The unique building takeover is part of our global marketing effort where the game’s core themes and global direction are adapted to local activation featuring unique landmarks in Singapore, as well as local motorsport personalities," the spokesperson explained.

The campaign, which will run until the end of the month, looks to bring the excitement and enjoyment of the game into the real world, in celebration of the game's release in Southeast Asia. By creating a life-sized vending machine building, PlayStation brings to life the fantasy of choosing your own dream car to drive, which is one of the major features of the Gran Turismo experience, PlayStation's spokesperson said. 

5. KK PLUS' PR statement on toddler bumping into Teletubby garners negative sentiment on social

Finally, rounding off the list is local toy store KK PLUS’ PR statement over an incident where a toddler accidentally crashed into one of its large Teletubby statues at Langham Place. Local social forums Golden and Facebook have been a buzz after the release of the statement.

In the statement, KK PLUS explained the incident of the toddler bumping into its Teletubby statues and clarified that an agreement had been reached between the parents and the store on the compensation. It also clarified the price of the statue sharing that it is over HK$50,000. The company also said it will contact the family over the issue and it has learnt a lesson from the issue on handling such situations. 

However, data from social monitoring firm CARMA showed that the public statement released at about 1am on 24 May led to an increase in mentions where most netizens were critical of the way the statement was written as it wasn’t quite an apology. Many were critical of KK PLUS’ poor PR management as they posted an Instagram story late last night, which Charles Cheung, GM of CARMA Hong Kong, said “unsurprisingly drove up the negative sentiment” over the last 24 hours. The statement saw many condemning the store for putting its products before the safety of consumers, as well as suggesting boycotting KK Plus. 

Related articles:

BBC and The Guardian Chinese dish recipes showcased with a side of joss paper and funeral envelopes
MINISO apologises for presenting itself as 'Japanese designer brand' in early days
Dior unwraps first WhatsApp campaign with brand ambassador Jisoo
PlayStation SG creates massive car vending machine in US$200k marketing stunt
KK PLUS' PR statement on toddler bumping into Teletubby garners negative sentiment on social