There are many ways to tell a story. As a storyteller, we tell the tales of Hong Kong to travellers through many creative marketing campaigns, from short and sweet micro-films to immersive technologies; we even enlisted the help of our fellow Hongkongers, including critically acclaimed film directors, in the process. Whatever way we adopted, the objective was consistent: to consolidate Hong Kong’s destination brand image and enrich the experience of visitors by encouraging them to discover Hong Kong like a local.
Sham Shui Po – Every Bit Local
- Social media impression of “Sham Shui Po” promotion: 22.4 million
- Reach of “Treasures of the Heart” micro-films: 4.63 million views
- Page views of “Sham Shui Po” dedicated website: 460,000
- Awards and recognition of “Sham Shui Po”: Over 20 international awards from marketing sector and travel industry, including Platinum Award of the “Best of The Best – Use of Media” in MTR advertising The Best of the Best Awards 2018 and Grand Award in the Ad Campaigns category in QUESTAR Awards 2019.
A one-of-a-kind button that keeps memories alive; a white sugar sponge cake that reminds a son of his mother’s love; a camera that makes two hearts grow fonder; and a broken chair that bonds two generations. These are stories from our “Treasures of the Heart” micro-film series, inspired by the people of Sham Shui Po.
In promoting the second district under our Hong Kong Neighbourhoods campaign, we had the pleasure to work with local creative talents director Chan Chi Fat and playwright Candice Chong to produce the micro-film series. Their poignant observation of the human condition gave birth to four heart-warming stories that laid bare the spirit of Sham Shui Po while cleverly highlighting some of the district’s key attractions.
A dedicated page of our website, social media stories and on-the-spot displays were used at the same time to present the unpretentiously local neighbourhood to travellers worldwide.
As a nice touch, we decorated the MTR station, lampposts and power company’s pillar boxes in Sham Shui Po with unique elements that recalled its history – the iconic red, white and blue canvas bag, buttons, zippers, and nostalgic toys, among others. On top of that, we placed over 100 QR codes across the district, which visitors could scan to find interactive maps with recommended itineraries and lesser-known stories behind various attractions.
Hong Kong in the eyes of Hongkongers
- #ReframingHK images collected during the campaign: over 15,000
- Page views of the “Reframing Hong Kong” website: 427,000
- Major awards and recognition of “Reframing Hong Kong”: Grand Award in the Campaigns category in Astrid Awards 2019 ; Silver Award “Brand Experience” in Effie Awards 2019
Who could possibly know Hong Kong better than Hongkongers? During the year, we launched the “Reframing Hong Kong” campaign, inviting the locals to capture Hong Kong in photos and impress travellers with our beautiful city.
Among those supporting our effort was Hong Kong film director Andrew Lau, whose Infernal Affairs catapulted him to international fame when it was turned into a Hollywood remake directed by Martin Scorsese. In an artistic promotional video, Lau showed viewers some of his favourite sights and unique perception of Hong Kong. We also invited him to a media tea gathering which generated extensive coverage for the campaign to encourage Hongkongers to submit snaps of their hometown.
Through #ReframingHK on social media, we collected a large number of creative entries. A public voting was held alongside a judging panel to select 10 winning photos, which were subsequently used in the HKTB’s global promotions and printed on over 100,000 postcards distributed to visitors in the source markets and at major tourist touch points in Hong Kong.
Immersive Time travel and art viewing experiences with latest technology
- Awards and recognition for “Time Travel: Step into Old Hong Kong”: Silver Award, “Corporations: Special Project” in Questar Awards 2019; named one of the seven “Best Tourism Campaigns in 2018” by independent Independent international research institute – econsultancy.com
- Reach of “Hong Kong Arts Month – Art Train” video: 1.8 million views
Adding to the flourish of real-life experiences, we transported visitors to another “universe” with cutting-edge immersive technologies. In collaboration with sky 100 Hong Kong Observation Deck and VR (virtual reality) developer Timelooper, the “VR Time Travel: Step into Old Hong Kong” micro-films were produced to bring to life classic city scenes – Hollywood Road in the 1960s and the neighbourhood around Kai Tak Airport in the 1980s.
We also made use of AR (augmented reality) animations on our first-ever art train. Under the themes, namely neon signs, Cantonese opera, porcelain, street art and portrait art, visitors can enjoy a “live” experience of some of the signature art forms found in Hong Kong. They also got to try on different Cantonese opera makeups with a face-swapping application.
