Heartwarming or humourous: Roundup of Mother’s Day campaigns from brands in HK

This year's Mother's Day saw restaurants and florists flocked with families as it was the first special day for mothers after normalcy resumed in Hong Kong following the pandemic. Be it treating your mum a wonderful meal or taking her to a memorable place, it is that time of the year when families reunite and when children dedicate their love and appreciation to the mothers.

In celebration of the special day, brands in Hong Kong have also paid tributes to mothers all around the world with their heartwarming campaign ideas. From IKEA HK to Pizza Hut HK, brands have shown their appreciation digitally for mothers around the world on social media.

Let’s take a look at some of the latest brand campaigns in Hong Kong MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has rounded up this Mother's Day.

1. BCT

Bank Consortium Trust Company (BCT) has launched a Mother's Day social media campaign on Facebook and Instagram to inspire people to better manage their pensions and funds by reminding them of their mothers' love and care.

To develop the campaign, BCT conducted a small survey among their marketing department and agency to identify the most popular "lies"  told by mothers. These lies include "I have enough money; don't worry," "I'm not hungry, have some more," "The doctor assured me it's just a minor issue, there's no need to worry," "Just came across your neighbourhood , I brought up a bowl of soup for you," and  "I actually prefer the fish head, you enjoy the tender body".

The campaign's strategy is centered around leveraging local insights to engage audiences during Mother's Day. BCT aims to create a connection with their audience by highlighting the familiar "lies" that mothers often tell their children in order to make them worry less and provide the best for them.

"Our purpose at BCT is to create long-term value for our people, our customers, and our society, empowered by agility, technology, and  partnerships. The concept of family is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture. This Mother's Day, we want to remind our customers of the importance of managing their pensions effectively, so they can provide the best care and support for their families and alleviate their worries," said Jimsun Lui, first vice president, marketing & corporate communications, BCT Group.

By showcasing these relatable and heartwarming experiences, BCT hopes to remind its audience that in order to make their mothers worry less and tell fewer "lies," they should take good care of themselves and  their families by managing their pensions diligently with BCT.

2. foodpanda HK 

foodpanda Hong Kong has partnered with Tam Jai Sam Gor to launch a limited-edition rice noodle that is made of restorative ingredients to offer mothers a warm and nourishing Mother’s Day.

Available from 19 May, the limited-edition product is made of ingredients such as sliced whelk and fungus. foodpanda HK said on its Facebook post that mothers work extremely hard every day to take care of the family's daily life and food. Children should take the opportunity to show love to their mothers by treating them a meal on Mother's Day. 

3. HSBC

To celebrate Mother’s Day and show appreciation to all working mothers, HSBC has turned to children and ask them to draw what they think their mothers do at HSBC.

As children are always curious about what adults do by asking questions such as "Why do mothers go to work?" "What is it like to go to work?" "What is mother's workplace like?". Riding on this insight, HSBC has launched “Mothers in Children’s Eyes” campaign and has invited children of HSBC colleagues to imagine what they think their mothers do at HSBC. It aims to bring HSBC’s staff even closer to their families, bring out the human side of the bank, and also provide a platform to unleash children's imagination about their moms and HSBC.

HSBC selected 10 winning entries and published the drawings on HSBC HK's Facebook, Instagram and WeChat; mini-gallery at HSBC main building and selected branches. Moreover, the drawings are shown in HSBC’s internal e-news, internal social channel, staff meetings. 

Some children said although their mothers are always busy at work and have plentt of meetings, they will still ask them to play tenderly. Meanwhile, some drew their mothers that look like an octopus, who work in the bank busyily and do housework when they are at home. 

“Being a working mom means that you are amazing twice: once for being a great mom, and once for pursuing your passions and career. Through this Mother’s Day activation, we celebrate this special occasion with our staff and their families, and more importantly show our gratitude to all working moms. We appreciate our colleagues’ participation that brings heart-felt warmth on this special day of the year,” said Brian Hui, head of customer propositions and marketing, wealth and personal banking of HSBC Hong Kong.

4. Ikea HK

Ikea Hong Kong has invited all mothers to come to IKEA stores this Mother's Day to have lay back and relax on its mattresses, as an act of appreciation to mothers’ hard work and love.

Ikea HK said on its Mother's Day social campaign that mothers were encouraged to take a five-minute break before heading home to care for their children, sweep the floor, cook, wash the dishes, do laundry, and listen to their husband "speaking nonsense". Meanwhile, it has featured some of its products that are suitable for rest and relax such as couches, sofa beds and pillows. The brand has urged sons and daughters to buy something to honour their mothers and celebrate Mother's Day.

The post has garnered 1.1k likes and 78 shares, with many netizens praising the creativity of the brand while some said they would bring their mothers to come relax at Ikea's stores. 

5. Pizza Hut HK 

Pizza Hut Hong Kong has made a special social campaign this Mother's Day to remind everyone to appreciate single dads and LGBT parents apart from mums, regardless of the gender. The brand has also launched a heart-shaped pizza, allowing customers to bring their loved ones to enjoy and celebrate love through consuming the pizza. 

Furthermore, Pizza Hut HK has listed out 10 catchphrases that mothers often say to their children, such as telling their children to drink soup, wear more clothes, sleep earlier and saying that their children are best at answering back when being scolded. Pizza Hut said the messages behind those catchphrases present mothers' love and caring to their children.

6. Sushiro HK

Sushiro Hong Kong has launched a creative Mother's Day social campaign on Instagram and Facebook to illustrate mother's love in a humourous way. The social campaign features a mother saying "it's better to give birth to a piece of Char Siu than you" when scolding his son. Then her son brings her to Sushiro to get a taste of its newly launched roasted Japanese pork sushi with fried ginger. The mother then praised how delicious the food tasted and said "Char Siu is really better than you". 

The campaign has garnered over 1k likes on Instagram and over 490 likes on Instagram.

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