IF THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB HAD A BRAND PERSONALITY CAN IT BE ENHANCED?

Hans Ebert
Sep 25
5 min read

The Hong Kong Jockey Club might be big and rich and powerful and seemingly bursting at the seams with so much of everything, but it remains something of an enigma to many outside of horse racing and without a clear and strong brand personality.

Being in marketing and advertising most of my life, I understand its product personality, which is to offer the very best in international horse racing starring marquee value names, but what exactly is its BRAND and how do they complement each other?

As a brand, is it likeable, prestigious, and trusted?

Is it also seen by some as a hypocritical brand that’s intimidating and feared because the HKJC is a monopoly, and when the only game of it kind in town, there’s usually a conga line of ghosts in the machine and a past that’s dubious at best.

Where does its unique Charities Trust fit in to all this and is this being marketed to its full potential and to what audience?

Why not leave good enough alone and just go with the flow?

Well, being a Hong Kong Belonger for decades and who went to primary and secondary schools in the city, who married here and had a daughter born here, one reaches a point when that inquisitive mind goes into overdrive.

I have spent many years in journalism, the advertising, marketing and music industries and played a key role in opening up the China market to music through some of the biggest Hong Kong Chinese artists and tours of the country by international artists like the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.

I am an unofficial “stakeholder” in Hong Kong who created the Happy Wednesday brand for the HKJC.

I recently introduced the Club to Simon Fuller’s X1X Entertainment and hope that this partnership soon yields fruit other than somewhat fluffy promotions built around an unknown pop group and an almost invisible “citywide talent search” with auditions held behind closed doors.

I also happen to be writing a book on the city and its relationship with once was the pukka Royal Hong Kong Jockey.

My dear late mother was the private secretary to one of its Chairmen back then- Sir Gordon MacWhinnie.

The Club might disagree with me, but what’s always asked is why HKJC doesn’t attract the very best talent for various positions?

Like many other racing clubs these days, except perhaps for the very quietly run Japan Racing Club, are those hired only good enough to plug in the holes

Or, because of whatever, the Club is forced into rehiring those who know all too well what to expect working for the HKJC because they’ve done the same old dance routines before, have made bigly pigly mistakes but are personal favourites of the old boy still running the show?

The HKJC has always been a racing club that’s been fuelled by politics and a Game Of Thrones type of leadership where power corrupts and there are always those who are ready to meekly agree with everything that comes down the corporate pike because their jobs depend on it.

There’s a hint of Trumpism to all this and though his predecessor might have accepted this, one wonders how this modus operandi works for the current Chief Executive of Hong Kong?

When in advertising, we were asked to look at our three major accounts and see who they would be if actors, a musician or film.

This was to help us create a brand personality for each.

It was helluva interesting and necessary as the results made us realise how bloody late we were in needing to rebrand each account.

All needed rebranding because of how their image had changed so much in the eyes of the customer/consumer- but we had taken for granted that nothing needed changing.

So, after recently spending HK$14 billion to attract what could be termed budget tourism, mainly from Shenzhen in China, and the supposedly million dollar partnership with XIX Entertainment, what and who IS the HKJC as we approach 2026 and gallop into the Lunar New Year of the Horse?

Is the HKJC Cher with another facelift or Aaron Kwok and “The Usual Suspects” or “Forrest Gump”?

Is it Bon Jovi or Mirror?

It’s an interesting exercise- one that might not give anyone the answers needed, but it makes one think.

Is the HKJC young and aspirational or too old to change?

One could ask the same questions about the brand personality of Hong Kong: What is it and should the brand personality of the HKJC be in line with that of the brand personality of Hong Kong?

And if both don’t have one, well how does anyone make anything strategic and relevant happen and how does the brand look to those on the outside looking in and trying to understand how horse racing MIGHT add value to their business?

These are the times, I am always reminded of a conversation I had in London many years ago with Tim Clark, co-founder of IE Management with the very very lovely and the late David Enthoven, who amongst others, managed the career of Robbie Williams.

I was with EMI Music at the time who had done what was called a 360 Degree with the artist.

I think it was a three year deal and any fool could see who would benefit.

I have become quite accustomed to dancing around with pompous fools.

I will always remember Tim Clark, someone I respect enormously, telling me at his offices that EMI could not ENHANCE Robbie’s career.

Of course they couldn’t! They didn’t know marketing, nor promotions and- key- New Thinking.

IE could do all this- and more- themselves after the daft 360 Degree deal had run its course.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/oct/05/arts.artsnews

The word ENHANCE has always lived with me and I still own a marketing company known as We-Enhance and which was inspired by Tim.

I even presented a business plan to the then hierarchy at EMI about having marketing driven new business Enhance business streams that dealt directly with the artists and potential business partners.

I didn’t realise that the next day, there was a purge in leadership and Guy Hands and his Terra Firma private equity terrorists marched in and took over the home of the Beatles.

Radiohead, who was with EMI, releasing its “In Rainbows” album for free was the beginning of the end of us music executives playing at being big swinging dicks when we had no bananas.

It’s a cautionary tale for something like horse racing and the HKJC in a down economy and with the world having far greater things to prioritise.

It’s also seeing who might have the vision to be able to ENHANCE this often intangible pastime.

Then again, why would anyone with the ability to create a paradigm shift even bother?

Money and even big money don’t buy respect nor loyalty. If it does, this loyalty is only around until the money lasts.

Until then, what one buys is false respect in the form of lip service.

Me, I come up blank when thinking of what the brand personalities of the HKJC and Hong Kong are in 2025-2026.

Despite all the various plans bandied about, I personally don’t see the numbers adding up to anything more than sweeping fatuous gestures.

One far more important thing that I keep thinking about and find interesting is what if one of my heroes in the film world- Robert Redford- would have produced and directed a movie about the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

What would it say and who would he have cast?

Christopher Waltz? Kevin Spacey? Jet Li? Lucy Lu? Chow Yun-fat?