Top 5 HK brands offering impressive experiential marketing experiences - Marketing Interactive

According to Salesforce, experiential marketing enables consumers to not just buy products or services from a brand, but to experience the brand. It can create personalised engagement, a stronger connection between the product and emotion, a positive touchpoint and social shareability. However, amidst the pandemic, brands and marketers have hardly had the chance to have face-to-face experiences with customers. 

A study conducted by Agency EA unveiled that 90% of brand-side marketers continued to stand behind the effectiveness of in-person events as being a vessel to connect and strengthen their organisation's relationships with their customers. Meanwhile, 88% of respondents felt more connected to a brand after an in-person, rather than a virtual event — proving the value of face-to-face experiences.

In light of the importance of experiential marketing, we turned to our Marketing Excellence Awards Hong Kong 2021 results to find out who our judges thought were the five best brands in Hong Kong. We've listed our top 5 winners alphabetically. Our list of agencies below won over our independent panel of high-calibre, client-side marketers not only by displaying the work they have done for clients, but also through their desire to nurture talent and create proprietary products for the execution of world class campaigns.

Alipay Payment Services (HK)

AlipayHK and Sino Group joined forces to launch the "AlipayHK x Sino VouchersLand" campaign in Olympian City mall under the theme of "Endless Vouchers. Enjoyment Everywhere!". The Vouchersland campaign featured six interactive zones covering diversified consumer experiences of lifestyle, catering, retail and other services.

The campaign integrated the mall's interactive technology to introduce the public to AlipayHK's consumer experiences. Spanning across 4,000 square feet in the atrium of Olympian City Phase II, the six zones enabled visitors to experience AlipayHK's consumer services while participating in a wide variety of interactive games to win rewards on top of consumption vouchers. Dedicated staff was stationed onsite to help users register online to receive the electronic consumption vouchers through AlipayHK. According to Alipay, consumer sentiment of the public had dwindled drastically last year and the retail market had been sluggish due to the pandemic, making the business environment extremely difficult. In response to the government's consumption voucher scheme, AlipayHK collaborated with numerous merchants to launch a total of nearly HK$1.7 billion rewards.

The campaign introduced several experiences, including smart retail, online shopping, selfie and live streaming. Additionally, AlipayHK teamed up with TamJai Yunnan Mixian and TamJai SamGor Mixian for the first time to offer interactive experiences. To further engage visitors, dedicated staff were available on-site to help AlipayHK users make registration on their mobile phone for receiving the government's electronic consumption vouchers.

Citywalk

Citywalk's campaign consisted of two phases. The campaign was aimed at offering a fun and educational experience where shoppers could experience upcycled art via a setting comprising 100 handmade exhibits. The exhibits were made out of recycled waste materials. Also, the mall hoped to acquire new members for its loyalty programme and boast tenants' business.

The mall collaborated with local artist Busymama to create photogenic scenery, enabling shoppers to enjoy role play with props such as farm tools. The mall also used the song Old MacDonald Had a Farm to offer a more interesting experience. The mall also offered workshops where shoppers could use recycled materials and eco-friendly paint to create art pieces.

Also, Citywalk arranged a wide array of exclusive workshops, games and mini-drama shows for members of loyalty club S+ REWARDS members, enticing them to stay and shop at the mall. Moreover, photogenic spots were included on-site, enabling visitors to take photos maximising exposure of the campaign on social media.

The campaign did not stop here. The art pieces created by handmade recycled materials were donated to two schools and two charities.

DBS Bank (Hong Kong)

DBS Bank (Hong Kong)'s campaign "DBS Live Fresh: Dancing Light" was aimed at driving awareness and customer engagement, spurring Gen Zs to sign up for its Live Fresh credit card, The bank said the credit card market in the city consisted of a lot of rewards. As other banks emphasised rewards and points, DBS Bank (Hong Kong) took a fresh approach as it hoped to become part of a cultural conversation to truly engage with its target audience and connect with them at an emotional level.

It added that the bank believed that the credit card should work seamlessly in every part of its target audience's experience. So it came up with a first-of-its-kind light dance competition "DBS Dancing Light", providing an online platform to encourage its audience to really "live fresh" and dance to their beat. Dancing was special to our target audience.

To elevate this idea, DBS Bank (Hong Kong) teamed up MIRROR's member Lokman Yeung and renowned local choreographer Alison to create a series of content through its "DBS Dancing Light" dance competition. The campaign contained multiple online touchpoints and content, including Facebook and Instagram posts and videos.

New World Development

The event "Discover the State Theatre in All of Us", curated by Culture for Tomorrow, a non-profit organisation founded by New World Development CEO Adrian Cheng, allowed visitors to rediscover the golden age of the State Theatre in the 1950s. At the beginning of the tour, visitors were asked to go to the box office to "select" their seats. After that, they would receive a vintage movie ticket that marks the start of the journey. 

They were then invited to explore stories of the theatre through various activities. For example, they could learn the history of the State Theatre from the days of the Empire Theatre (璇宮戲院), the original name of the place, where international performances were staged. Exhibits and artefacts showcased the design ideas of the building, as its parabolic exoskeleton truss was a unique design that bore witness to the history of North Point once dubbed "Little Shanghai". Culture for Tomorrow collected memorabilia of the State Theatre since three years ago. Over 100 artefacts were displayed in the event to introduce the cultural landscape of the old days, including movie handbills from the 1950s, old tickets of midnight screenings, tickets of balcony and stall seats, staff uniforms, postcards featuring the King's Road tram station, and an aerial photo of the old North Point.

In addition, visitors could also review the sales brochure of the State Theatre building and the 1970s movie posters painted by the local poster master Yuen Tai-yung. Rare movie posters and excerpts from the late international superstar Bruce Lee's posthumous work Game of Death in 1978 were displayed too.

Ngong Ping 360

The campaign "Ngong Ping 360 x Hang Heung 100 Eggs-plore 360" was aimed at strengthening Ngong Ping 360's brand loyalty and celebrating the 100th anniversary of Hong Kong-based bakery Hang Heung, offering an alternative when Hongkongers could not travel amid the pandemic.

It consisted of two parts, including the "Eggs-plore 360 Campaign" and Hang Heung's exhibition. The campaign offered a treasure hunt which allowed participants to win prizes such as a staycation package and a Nintendo Switch. It also offered photogenic spots with egg-themed displays, such as sweetheart cakes, wedding cakes, an Easter egg wall, an enormous egg tart swing, and a backdrop showcasing local cafes in the 1980s.

Meanwhile, the exhibition showcased the stories and artefacts of old Hong Kong, including tea houses in the 1960s, the Kowloon Walled city, and a red sedan chair. Additionally, visitors could know more about how to make Chinese pastries and the history of the bakery through an exhibition co-curated by local illustrators.

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