More HK brands invest in content creators: A threat to local ad agencies?

In today’s competitive marketing landscape, we often see brands partnering with agencies that offer integrated approaches to help them achieve their objectives more effectively, especially when marketing budgets are tight.  

However, in recent years, there has also been a growing trend of clients in Asia actively looking to collaborate with YouTube channels or content creators which offer specialised solutions to help them market better to the right audience and to create personalised brand campaigns.  

For example, Hong Kong-based YouTube channel 100Most has introduced a members-only channel, campaign production solution and celebrity endorsement, to help brands market themselves to the right target audience. TamJai SamGor also partnered with YouTube channel Pomato to promote its product “黑白辛椒式-煳椒肉骨湯米線” last October.

Apart from YouTube channels, ad spending on branded content on local YouTubers has also become prominent within the industry. According to the YouTube Brand Content Adspend Report by admanGo, influencer Emi Wong has emerged as the top YouTuber in terms of branded content ad spend from January to June 2023, followed by Lizzy Daily and Kiki & May.   

Industry players MARKETING-INTERACTIVE spoke to also agreed the trend is gaining momentum. Vin Ng, director, Spread-it, said according to the agency’s internal data, the local beauty industry has witnessed a significant surge in budget allocation for collaborations with YouTubers when compared to 2022. 

“This trend can be attributed to the industry's recognition that video formats excel in effectively showcasing their products, prompting them to increasingly opt for YouTubers when implementing influencer marketing strategies. Notably, brands have increased their budgets for YouTubers and YouTube channels by approximately 30-40% in 2023,” he added. 

Mark Tay, head of content, APAC, TEAM LEWIS said it’s good to see YouTube channels expanding their scope and offering services that cover more than just content production, as it gives brands a chance to build a wider campaign centred around their video content.  

Reasons behind the shift 

The rise in popularity of YouTube platforms among clients, be it partnering with YouTube channels or YouTubers, is perhaps due to the change in consumers’ video viewing behaviour. According to Omnicom Media Group’s “Hong Kong Video Content Viewing Landscape report”, YouTube is one of the top penetrated platforms across ages.  

Its latest findings also revealed that YouTube ranked as the top penetrated video platform, with 74% of respondents watching any YouTube video content in the past seven days.  The percentage (83%) is even higher for younger (aged 18-34) and middle-aged groups (aged35-44), and even for the mature group (aged 45-59), 60% of them have watched YouTube content in the past 7 days. 

Nicole Cheng, director of insights, Omnicom Media Group said this shows that YouTube is not only popular among young people, but it is also well-received among the more mature group. 

“Even in the post-COVID period, we see no significant drop in YouTube’s viewing time; it proves that watching YouTube videos has become habitual. With the high penetration and time spent across age groups, YouTube has become one of the most important platforms for advertisers to connect with potential customers,” she added. 

Apart from the change in consumer behaviour, the shift of more clients partnering with YouTube channels can be attributed to the rise in influencer marketing, the popularity of YouTube as a content platform, and the ability of YouTubers to connect with specific target audiences effectively, according to Carmen Wu, head of Havas Market, Havas Media Hong Kong. 

When it comes to measuring the effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) of campaigns executed through YouTubers, Havas’ Wu said it's crucial to strike a balance between leveraging the influence and reach of YouTubers while ensuring strategic alignment with broader marketing objectives. 

Will this lower the competitiveness of ad agencies? 

Despite many clients actively looking to collaborate with YouTube channels or YouTubers for social media and content creation, advertisers still have concerns if content creators should hold a sole role in their marketing campaigns.  

As such, Natalie Yu, content and communication director, Omnicom Media, said clients are looking to synergise and balance traditional media and content, instead of shifting their focus or budgets from ad agencies. 

For the Hong Kong market, most of the clients are still hesitant to invest in content creators exclusively because there are other factors to consider, such as the potential reach of individuals and background checks on each influencer, as they tend to have niche audiences which might not be suited for all advertisers, Yu added. 

This reflects that YouTube channels and ad agencies target different audience segments. Therefore, the role they play is fundamentally different and not mutually exclusive.  

Caterina Camerata, strategy director, Publics Media Hong Kong, said the role of agencies is to give a full recommendation that can enable clients to elevate their brands, meet different KPIs.  

“In order to do this, we need to be up to speed on the different solutions that continuously emerge in the market and recommend the most suitable for each different campaign. The marketing solutions provided by Youtubers are usually just one of the possible tactics, and as agencies we also sometimes recommend our clients to leverage these solutions,” she added. 

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