Hong Kong sets to stage the first ComplexCon in March 2024

Complex is bringing its iconic cultural world fair ComplexCon to Hong Kong in March next year as its first-ever ComplexCon Asia edition, aiming to boost the local economy and reposition the city’s status as a regional cultural hub.

The festival, which has been hosted in Los Angeles, California since 2016, is known for its expert-led curatorial approach, defining the culture of the moment and being the launch pad of what’s coming next across fashion, art, music and technology.

The three-day festival will bring its unique specialty in international pop and urban culture to Hong Kong Arts Month, broadening the city’s line-up of world-class events in March 2024.

Projected to welcome over 30,000 guests from all over Asia and the rest of the world to AsiaWorld Expo, ComplexCon Hong Kong looks to provide an unprecedented experience for global pop culture enthusiasts to participate in this important cultural tentpole moment as part of the international festivities circuit.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, a spokesperson from ComplexCon Hong Kong said from the popularity of action and crime films in the 1970s and 1980s, to the influential impact of pop music idols, and the introduction of Harajuku street fashion culture in the 1990s, Hong Kong has consistently been an Asian trendsetter, that’s why it was chosen to host the pop culture festival.

“Our goal is to create an amazing experience with music, shopping and great food as well as a platform for pop culture enthusiasts to celebrate with their friends and network from around the world once a year in this HK edition of ComplexCon,” the spokesperson added.

In terms of marketing strategies, a content-led marketing strategy will be leveraged, supplemented by OOH, digital, social and influencer marketing. "The key is to let the potential attendees know which artists, creators and founders will be in town and what rare drops they will make available at ComplexCon Hong Kong."

The spokesperson added that ComplexCon Hong Kong is expecting marketers and advertisers to celebrate the return of global urban culture to Hong Kong during Art Month, where the conversations will extend from arts to pop cultures.

“We are eager to see various brands working together during the three-day festival for exclusive drops and marketing campaigns as well as this is the core of the DNA for ComplexCon. Also, major corporate brands across banking, finance, and hospitality have always participated and activated at ComplexCon in the U.S., and we expect the same in the Hong Kong edition,” said the spokesperson.

Supported by the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund (Mega ACE Fund) of the Hong Kong government, the first ComplexCon Hong Kong hopes to leverage the unique geographical location of Hong Kong as an east-meets-west platform for cultural exchange between the Greater Bay Area and the rest of Asia and the world.

Trip.com will be the strategic travel partner for ComplexCon Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Tourism Board is picked as the event’s supporting organisation.

On the other hand, Edelman has been brought on board to oversee strategic communications, with a particular focus on fostering media relations.

A spokesperson of ComplexCon Hong Kong said: “With the global appeal of urban culture, we at ComplexCon have set our eyes on becoming an annual festival that defines where the next things begin for our massive community from around the world.”

“We are excited to bring ComplexCon to Hong Kong, marking a unique milestone in this increasingly expansive scope of the global phenomenon of culture convergence by bringing in top designers, creatives artists and talents to gather at this three-day festival,” the spokesperson added.

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