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Highly people-centric, PR is a powerful storytelling tool. In 2014/15, we made use of this tool to showcase some of the core experiences Hong Kong offers through real people, and maximised the reach of their Hong Kong stories through the media.
What better way is there to hold consumers’ attention than telling stories of famous people? In 2014/15, we invited personalities from around the world to share their insights on Hong Kong. In addition to capturing their trips to the city in videos, we arranged for the media to follow them, and in some cases, generated spin-off initiatives, like publications and press events to maximise publicity.
Instagrammer Murad Osmann has over 2.6 million followers from all over the
world. His photos showing his gorgeous girlfriend (more specifically, her back)
and beautiful scenery are perfect for showcasing a destination. Better still, his
photos are often carried by the international press, meaning an extensive reach.
In 2014, we invited the couple to take some stunning photos of Hong Kong,
which ended up going viral through reposting by followers and both local and
overseas media, including Huffington Post, CNN and the Daily Mail. Throughout
the campaign period, the pictures generated 1.6 million likes and over 20,000
comments. Total publicity value exceeded HK$4 million.
Riding on their photo shoot, we created an endorsement video, in which the couple recommend Hong Kong as a romantic city. The video was played in travel agencies in Russia to entice their queuing customers, as well as in travel marts and the HKTB’s presentations. Average views per month in 2014 were as high as 5.7 million. Tactical promotions were also rolled out in Russia to convert desire into actual travel.
The aim of PR is to generate news, which makes the media its closest partner; it then wants the news to spread far and wide,
which is why choosing the right media channels is important.
We maximise the reach of our Hong Kong news by working with strategic media partners: first, newswires such as Reuters and
AFP, and still image and video provider Getty Images, all of whose materials are used by other news organisations; and second,
global and regional TV networks, whose reach is extensive. One major TV co-op we entered into in 2014 was the “My Taste of
Hong Kong” programme, produced with Discovery Networks’ TLC Asia. In addition, we generated publicity value of HK$231
million and HK$360 million with the New Year Countdown and Chinese New Year Parade, respectively, through the effective use
of newswires.
