HAS THE HONG KONG TOURISM BOARD FINALLY WOKEN UP TO REALITY?
- 8 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Though good to read about its “strategic shift aimed at diversifying visitor demographics”, one wonders why it took the Hong Kong Tourism Board this long to realise that budget tour groups, mainly from China, and without the financial means for even an overnight stay, bring nothing to the city except for the now tedious narrative hammered out by the local media that there’s been a “surge in tourism”?
Tourism without spending power is Oliver Twisted and worth diddly squat.
It looks like the penny might have dropped with a thud and talk of this “surge” been purged by a sudden attack of common sense coming into play this week and the Tourism Board announcing that a change in its marketing strategy will focus on a “global campaign” to attract high end visitors from the region- the region?- and further afield while never forgetting the China market.
But, felllas, “the region”, especially Vietnam and Sri Lanka, are doing a damn fine job of attracting new and high spending tourists from Hong Kong who see the value in investing in these two countries and with the latter having some of the best beaches and corral islands in the world, incredibly beautiful wildlife, excellent and inexpensive cuisine etc etc.
Perhaps the most important point to take into consideration about tourism is that during the post pandemic malaise the world is still going through, travel and tourist destinations to visit have changed drastically along with even having a solid reason TO travel.
At least one major international music company for whose regional office I was a senior executive conducted an extensive study on the above subject well over a year ago, and it’s something that offers up much food for thought.
As taught when in advertising and marketing, it’s about Listening To The Customer and always learning to read the tea leaves so that what’s created compliments the product personality and are relevant to the times. And these are times fraught with uncertainty and anxiety.
The world has changed forever, and with a somewhat whacky former television reality star being “warlord” in chief of the White House, here’s someone who could be described as being “enigmatically unhinged”, yet, at the same time, makes sense in areas that have been allowed to go walkies for much too long.
The “warlord” has tried to tackle these problems through bully boy tactics that bring to mind the character Biff from the “Back To The Future” franchise while surrounded by a team of bumbling sycophants that often resembles the Monty Python Flying Circus including Manuel and Basil Fawlty.
What about Hong Kong, however, and as I have been asking for over two years, what is the city’s brand personality today and how will any of this be marketed and communicated?
Having seen previous campaigns to reboot the image of Hong Kong in the name of tourism such as the singing and dancing “Hello Hong Kong” and “Thank You Hong Kong” starring two Canto Pop artists, one must question the wisdom and success of these plus the initiative known as “Night Vibes”.
Weren’t these campaigns more for the aging local market already here?
Why would an overseas audience be interested in Kelly Chen and the ubiquitous Aaron Kwok prancing around a jolly and “ho hoi sum” Hong Kong when they were at the peak of their powers in the nineties?
Shouldn’t there be some sort of “independent advisory board” so that the whole dim sum basket doesn’t become one of those vapid committees comprising differing and dithering fluffy ideas that fail before anything has even started?
Having been in Hong Kong for well over five decades, and when in advertising worked with the Government Information Services on the very successful “Pitching In” Keep Hong Kong Clean campaign plus the launch of McDonald’s, STARTV and the Happy Wednesday brand for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, would it not be more productive for the government or the tourism board to work with a third party on an agreed strategy and with the latter party coming up with the creative product?
This is what made the Happy Wednesday brand the success it was during its first 6-7 years: The CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club wanted to see more young people at the races and came directly to me to see if I might be interested in trying to make this happen.
I was interested and created a “field of dreams” for the Club with NO CORPORATE MEDDLING and which was endorsed by TripAdvisor for tourists to Hong Kong as a Must See experience, which it was with themed nights, revamped venues, good ‘live’ music and became a game changer in the horse racing world.
When taking a much needed hiatus from the rigours of working with the Club, and last year introducing longtime friend and globally influential and successful entertainment guru Simon Fuller to the CEO of the HKJC, other than having his multi cultural pop group Now United perform during the week of the International Races, much more could have happened.
None of this ever had a chance when different armies led by some ninnies advanced from all directions and created something described by many associated with the project as “shambolic” and a “fizzler”. I saw what was not happening and bailed before becoming a bit player in something that wasn’t for me.
Giddyup only became giddy and rudderless when the Simon Fuller brand could have and should have been used far better to contribute much to attract international tourism and strategic business partners to Hong Kong.
What Hong Kong cannot afford to do again and again is trumpet announcements about changes and then replicate what has come before which only shows up gremlins at work.
The talent in the Hong Kong advertising industry that gave the world award winning international and local work has either retired or are not motivated to work under bureaucratic constraints and “creative by committee”.
Any self respecting experienced advertising and marketing professional wishes to produce work that will stand out from the rest, whereas if we’re honest with ourselves, good, young creative talent is an endangered species in Hong Kong.
Maybe I am travelling with the wrong circus, but, boy, I am struggling to see much commitment to creativity or many in the city showing any initiative to work as an effective team.
Maybe they have never had mentors to offer them direction and depend too much on Wikipedia wisdom,,algorithms, NGOs that are wobbly and useless “networking”?
Instead of chutzpah, I see timid order takers looking for their pay cheques and without the ability to recognise what work is good and what is puerile and not knowing how to make what’s needed happen.
As taught by Keith Reinhard, my mentor in advertising, unless a visionary AI artist like Kelly Boesch, neither the technique nor the technology is the idea.
The creative product and messaging and the medium for the message is about breaking the pattern, he reminded us. It’s not about settling for the obvious and the oblivious and the superficial and resorting to another ubiquitous celebrity endorsement campaign to keep the client happy. But what about the customer?
Speaking about the art of Kelly Boesch, and which might not be everyone’s cuppa tea, it shows how technology can be part of The Idea and the need for mind shifts as we hurtle towards the days of future passed.
If Hong Kong is to target a more high end group of international travellers, the brand personality of the city must be one that is attractive, aspirational, inspirational and not throwing cheap wontons against the wall and seeing what sticks and serving this mishmash to the world in a begging bowl.
And on this subject, how many effective world class advertising and marketing campaigns has Hong Kong produced in the past five years? One? Three? Don’t remember? And if the latter, this says it all and how so much money has gone down the drain.
One almost final thing…
Mentioned in the article about a shift in strategy to attract the more high end travellers was having a Halloween Month in Hong Kong.
When there’s a war going on in the Middle East and the world is practically grounded and travel schedules are pretty much in disarray, the Hong Kong Tourism has come up with something to “celebrate” Halloween? Surely this only adds to the spookiness going on around us?
Shouldn’t Hong Kong be creating and marketing Hope, Happiness and Positivity and setting an example for others to see and follow?
This is what I have been doing for almost two years on my own dime and in my own time, owning all Rights and not needing favours.
if I fail, I fail. If I win, as global citizens, we all win.
Everything will become clearer at an informal get together of good vibes for good friends and to bid a fond adieu to this city that’s been my home for so long.
This will be on April 21 at the Poolside of the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.
ABOUT HANS EBERT
When he arrived by ship from what was then known as Ceylon to the British colony of Hong Kong, the Dutch Burgher- it’s a long story-thought he had arrived in Melbourne because that’s what his parents had told him- it’s an even longer story- until he saw all the rickshaws, women wearing cheongsams with slits up to their arse, and was given a pair of chopsticks during his first lunch in the city.
He had never eaten dim sum, but then again, no one told him that as a fledgling journalist, he would meet and interview everyone from Peter Sellers, Roman Polanski and George Harrison to Billy Joel, Norah Jones, Gorillaz, David Bowie and Quincy Jones, create the Happy Wednesday brand for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, win the Gold Award at the London Advertising Awards for his “Right Of Abode campaign, coin the term “Canto Pop” when writing for the American trade publication Billboard, and when in advertising not only helped launch McDonald’s in Hong Kong and work on the business as Director of Creative Services for over two decades, and was very much involved in the launch of STARTV, MTV Asia and PCCW.
He has written hits for some of the biggest names in Chinese popular music and wooed and married the model who was the Wrangler Girl.
These days, he is rewriting his journography and working on introducing the world to his imaginary friend Muzi and their search for everything that leads to positivity by leaving the dullards behind to pursue nutworking.
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