Hong Kong’s top digital media – Media Report 2018

(The second part of this year's Media Report is here)Each year Marketing magazine undertakes one of its most significant research projects to discover the media preferences of Hong Kong’s top marketers.The aim of the Media Benchmarking Survey is pretty simple: to understand which media platforms marketers look to for advertising solutions across digital, outdoor, TV, radio and print platforms. We ask respondents to name the magazine, TV station, digital platform or OOH groups they would use to target consumers across key industry verticals from luxury, local business and finance, news and current affairs, property, travel to consumer electronics.Today, we highlight the three top media platforms across digital in each category.How did we achieve this? The media rankings were derived from questions in Marketing Research’s annual Media Spend Benchmarking Survey. Marketing Research employed an online questionnaire and surveyed its database of client advertisers and marketing services agency professionals. All answers given by respondents were considered by Marketing when finalising the rankings.Quality recipients and respondents A total of 675 respondents participated in the Media Spend Benchmarking Survey. Genuine advertising decision-makers and influencers across key agency-using industries were well represented as were agency professionals from various marketing services.Over 86% of client advertiser-side respondents were manager-level decisionmakers and above, with about 8% from the most senior ranks of client advertisers – CEOs, MDs or GMs – and another 22% were VPs or director-level marketers. More than 20% of the respondents from the agency side were CEOs, MDs or GMs, 30% were marketing personnel, while about 30% were sales personnel. The remaining 20% were operations, creative and media personnel. Advertisers from major and local international banks, FMCG companies, property and construction, IT and telecommunication firms, as well as those from travel and tourism companies participated in the survey. Agency professionals across the marketing services spectrum were also well represented.Beauty Website 1. Cosmopolitan Published by SCMP Hearst, Cosmopolitan has been winning plenty of categories throughout the years and it snags top spot this year. Claiming to be the best-selling international magazine in Hong Kong, it covers fashion and beauty, health and well-being, relationships and romance, culture and entertainment.2. Beauty Exchange Beauty Exchange is a beauty portal that provides multiple channels such as online forums, beauty features, blogs and videos to facilitate the exchange of new ideas and market information among its members. 3. She.com Founded in 2000, She.com claims it records more than one million visitors per month. The website says its goal is to build a community targeting young and independent working professionals, not only to  bring readers up-to-date fashion and beauty news, but also provide content that will reach other aspects of people’s lives. Local Business & Finance Website 1. HKET.com Hket.com snags top spot for the fourth consecutive year. The website provides the digital edition of the Hong Kong Economic Times and has an archive of news since 2005. It carries professional analysis on finance and property markets as well as the macro economy, which users can read on devices that include mobile, tablets and desktop. 2. AAStocks.com AAStocks.com remains runner-up of this category. Founded in 2000, the website offers free real-time global financial information and analytical tools, covering Hong Kong  shares, A shares, US shares, forex, funds, ETFs, precious metals and global indexes. The website claims it has more than 3.8 million unique users each month. 3. SCMP The South China Morning Post’s flagship online product scmp.com gives readers free access to news on Hong Kong, China, Asia and the world. Scmp.com features a photo gallery, provides themed photo journalistic essays and real-time news updates. Its infographics are given an interactivity that enables readers and researches to select alternative perspectives on the news. Regional News and Current Affairs 1. SCMP The South China Morning Post’s flagship online product scmp.com gives readers free access to news on Hong Kong, China, Asia and the world. Scmp.com features a photo gallery, provides themed photo journalistic essays and real-time news updates. Its infographics are given an interactivity that enables readers and researches to select alternative perspectives on the news. 2. BBC The BBC claims it is the world’s leading public service broadcaster with a mission to enrich people’s lives with programmes that inform, educate and entertain. As a public service broadcaster funded by the licence fee paid by UK households, the BBC includes nine national TV channels – along with BBC Three, the first TV channel in the world to switch to online in 2016 – plus regional programming, 10 national radio stations, 40 local radio stations and an extensive website. BBC World Service broadcasts to the world on radio, TV and online, providing news and information in 27 languages, along with the international English language TV channel, BBC World News. 3. CNN CNN.com claims it’s the world’s leader in online news and information delivery. Running round the clock from its headquarters in Atlanta, the US and in bureaus worldwide, it features the latest multimedia technologies, from live video-streaming to audio packages to searchable archives of news features and background information. The website is updated continuously throughout the day. Parenting 1. Ohpama Launched in 2015 by Sing Tao News Corporation, Ohpama.com is a portal for education and parenting, providing information about local and overseas education, parenting as well as relevant events and products. Education experts, experienced practitioners, parenting celebrities and popular bloggers also offer insights into parenting. 2. Sassy Mama Established in 2011, Sassy Mama aims to discover the family-friendly side to Hong Kong. The platform offers information about where to eat, shop, play, and more importantly, tips and insights about parenting, family life and health. Local News & Current Affairs 1. Apple Daily Apple Daily holds the champion’s title for the sixth consecutive year. The digital versions of Apple Daily in video and animated formats have been accompanied by a signature style branded as Apple Actionnews. The Chinese news outlet claims it reaches 2,405,172 daily total unique visitors. 2. HK01 HK01 provides personalised and diversified internet services under the digital era. Dedicated to ecoming the pioneer and leader of the Hong Kong internet industry, HK01 provides factual and inspiring content through the application of innovative technology. It claims it conducts the best investigative reporting, international news, financial features and editorials. 3. SCMP The South China Morning Post’s flagship online product scmp.com gives readers free access to news on Hong Kong, China, Asia and the world. Scmp.com features a photo gallery, provides themed photo journalistic essays and real-time news updates. Its infographics are given an interactivity that enables readers and researches to select alternative perspectives on the news. Search Engine 1. Yahoo! Yahoo Hong Kong once again comes out on top in the search category. In September, Yahoo launched Oath Ad platforms, which adds advanced features to drive growth for advertisers and publishers. For marketers, the platform helps brands and agencies focus on what drives their business, including brand building and acquiring new business. 2. Google Taking second spot in the search category for 2018 is Google. The search giant has been actively engaged with local users this year. In August, it held YouTube FanFest at the Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre featuring more than 10 YouTube creators from around the world. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Google recently launched 20years.withgoogle.com, a website dedicated to notable facts from the past 20 years of search trends. 3. Baidu Baidu finishes third in search once again this year. Founded in 2000, Baidu is the fourth largest site in the world. Its deep understanding of Chinese language and culture is central to the company’s leading position in China, and it also has a foothold in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand. It claims it has 260 million monthly active users. Social Media 1. Facebook With two billion monthly active users, Facebook continues to be the social media king. To fight the problem of fake news on the platform, Facebook recently agreed to tackle misleading or illegal content. Facebook has also been targeting broadcasting live sports events. 2. Instagram Facebook-owned social media platform Instagram regained second spot in the category. Instagram launched vertical video application IGTV in June 2018, a new app for watching long-form vertical videos from favourite Instagram creators. A stand-alone IGTV app is available for downloading, while users can also watch from within the Instagram app. 3. YouTube YouTube is back on the list and snags third spot in the social media category. In Hong Kong, there are 700,000 channels on the platform with some 100 of which have more than 100,000 subscribers. The platform also launched a new music streaming platform YouTube Music in May 2018 to strengthen its business. YouTube has more than 1.9 billion users worldwide. Entertainment 1. Apple Daily Apple Daily holds the champion’s title for this category. The digital versions of Apple Daily in video and animated formats have been accompanied by a signature style branded as Apple Actionnews. The Chinese news outlets claims it reaches 2,405,172 daily total unique visitors.  2. 100Most Taking second place is 100Most. It dropped its printed version in July 2018 and went solely online after its 275th issue. The website provides self-curated content about current affairs and online content while it also serves as an ad platform. In April 2018, the group successfully held the 2018 April Talk Show, which was entertainment in nature, featuring a contracted artist and two performances with around 5,000 in attendance. 3. King Jer King Jer is an online platform providing local and international entertainment news. Boasting more than 390,000 followers, its Facebook page is one of the most viewed platforms in Hong Kong. The page also serves as an ad platform for different brands targeting social media-savvy generations. Forum 1. Discuss Discuss has secured first place again this year. Established in 2003, Discuss is one of the most popular discussion forums in Hong Kong. Members of Discuss are mainly adult and working class and are interested in exchanging ideas on the latest news, entertainment, property, finance, cars and marriage. It claims it reaches more than 10 million unique visitors per month. 2. Baby-Kingdom Baby-Kingdom.com was created in May 2002 as an internet-based company serving families with young children. The parenting portal says its target users are aged 25-40, well-educated (matriculated and above), females with one to two children, and a member of a middle class family. It boasts daily page views of 1.3 million. 3. LIHKG One of the local popular online discussion forums, LIHKG claims third spot in this category. Established in 2016, the forum covers topics such as current affairs, IT, sports, travel and entertainment, to name a few. Gaming 1. Unwire.hk Established in 2008, Unwire.hk is a free website providing technology information and analysis, product tests reports and profiles. The website says its target users are aged 20-40 from students to professionals and claims it reaches more than 2.5 million unique visitors per month. Other than the online platform, Unwire.hk also launches offline activities such as networking events and previews. 2. Uwants Founded in 2003, Uwants positions itself as a place where users can share their lives and discuss leisure stuff. Gaming, ACG, love and football are the most popular topics among users. Uwants claims it reaches more than five million unique users per month. 3. e-zone e-zone is a mass market IT weekly magazine that focuses on the latest trends in information and communications technology. Established in 1998, e-zone features the application of PC hardware and software, tablets and smartphones and highlights of digital AV products. It says it has the highest number of readership compared to similar magazines and the highest page views among similar websites. International Travel 1. U Travel U Travel is one of the books of U Magazine, providing latest information and travel reports of destinations across the globe, along with promotions and suggested itineraries. For the past few years, U Magazine has gained recognition in the media industry. It has even achieved various honours for its success. 2. TripAdvisor TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site which enables travellers to unleash the full potential of every trip. The site boasts about 661 million reviews and opinions about approximately 7.7 million accommodations, airlines, experiences and restaurants. It provides travellers with first-hand information and images which helps them curate their trips. TripAdvisor also compares prices from more than 200 hotel booking sites. TripAdvisor-branded sites are available in 49 markets. It claims its websites are home to the world’s largest travel community with 456 million average monthly unique visitors. 3. Weekend Weekly Focused on travel, dining, shopping and leisure, Weekend Weekly is positioned in the Hong Kong lifestyle and travel magazine market. Since its debut in September 1999, the magazine claims it has gained a firm foothold in the market with a group of high-spending readers who place an emphasis on  enjoying a quality life.  Luxury 1. Hong Kong Tatler Hong Kong Tatler has once again taken top spot in the luxury category for the fifth consecutive year. It covers everything from events and the most glamorous people to fine-dining, international fashion and luxury travel. This year, Hong Kong Tatler launched its Generation T List again, which recognises 50 of Hong Kong’s rising talent across different industries. Owned by Edipresse Media, it claims a monthly circulation of 34,985 and a 174,925 readership. 2. Facebook With two billion monthly active users, Facebook continues to be the social media king. It contains a multitude of pages of brands and media, offering a wide range of information about the latest trends in luxury. 3. Prestige Taking bronze this year is Prestige Hong Kong, a mainstay of the luxury sector. With a luxury lifestyle positioning, the title covers a mix of fashion, celebrities, culture, travel, high society and epicurean excellence.  MEN 1. MenClub MenClub makes it to the top spot. It claims it is the most popular online media targeting all gentlemen in Hong Kong. In addition to featuring content such as lifestyle, money and cars, it also puts a considerable focus on women with a forum that only allows people over the age of 18 to view.  2. Esquire SCMP Hearst’s Esquire takes second place in the men’s category. The digital platform covers trendy topics such as style, culture, gear, people and watches. It says it reaches an intelligent and sophisticated audience of men worldwide. EsquireHK.com also runs social media handles on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. 3. Men's uno Men’s uno remains in third spot this year. The digital platform covers trendy topics such as fashion, wine, watches, cars, travel, art, culture and celebrities across Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and Malaysia. The website also features the video channel, men’s uno TV.