Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

Reframing Hong Kong is the first campaign that target locals from Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). The idea of the campaign is to encourage locals to show the world what Hong Kong can truly offer beyond the cliche tourist hot spots and shopping centers. HKTB believes locals know the best of the city. We therefore mobilized locals to reveal a completely different and authentic side of the Hong Kong through their lens. From photo documentation to the final best 10 winner selection, HKTB enlist Hongkongers to experiences, involve and participated in this local project.

Background

Hong Kong – famous for its gourmet food and shopping, has been a popular destination for travellers around the world. With 26 million unique travelers, Hong Kong was the most visited city globally in 2017. Unfortunately, visitors tend to stick to the well-beaten path. After seeing the skyline and sampling Hong Kong’s most well-known restaurants and shopping malls, the majority of visitors don’t see a reason to stay any longer than it takes to tick off the top 10 attractions. We needed to drive awareness and visitation beyond the well-known shopping and eating centers to the less discovered side of a Hong Kong – the local experiences and locations that tourists normally pass, or don’t even know exist in the first place.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Travelers are both willing and keen to go deeper into destinations to find unique and authentic experiences; Their online behavior suggested that travel planning has become largely visual, with people curating their journeys through images and blurbs they find on travel sites and social media rather than spending extensive time reading in-depth reviews. The imagery related to Hong Kong often depicts the cliche sides of the city – skyscrapers, dim sum, shopping. Searching #HongKong on Instagram, however, reveals a completely different side of the city – one documented and curated by those who know the city best – Hong Kong locals. So why not turn to those who live and breathe the city, and ask them to show the world a truly authentic Hong Kong?

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Our target audience are inbound travelers from around the world - both first-timers and repeated visitors. They are a new generation of travelers to whom guidebook destinations are not enough. Surveys show that ‘Seeking Authentic Experiences’ has been ranked #2 as their travel motivation. They enjoy popular tourist spots as much as the unbeaten paths. These are the type of travelers that are willing to pay more for authentic, off-track travel experience as much as large-ticket indulgence in shopping malls. Hence, we turned the 7 million Hongkongers as the city’s photographers as we believed that no one knows the city better than locals. We enlist the locals to re-shoot the city’s imageries in a way that represents what they feel is the most authentic experience, and show the world the true colors of the city via news and tourism related platforms. Ultimately, enriching tourist’s travel experiences in Hong Kong.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

Phase One: Creation We launched a video starring Andrew Lau capturing images he believes are uniquely Hong Kong. The video was distributed in cinemas and social media; worked together with digital banners, social posts and KOL collaborations to invite further participation on the website and Instagram through #ReframingHK Phase Two: Curation We also looked at categorized the images into 10 types of experiences and curated a subset of interested-based contextual digital GDN banners and time-based digital panel display at the high traffic locations (ie. MTR stations), to prompted locals to vote for 10 best imagery from Reframing Hong Kong. Phase Three: Amplification Reframing Hong Kong’s most popular imagery was made publicly available in various formats such as actual postcards, souvenir, online website / office magazines assets etc. Most of all, it has been repurposed to travel itineraries to inspire millenniels and Gen Z audiences from 10 target markets overseas.

List the results (30% of vote)

1. Hong Kong’s locals were eager to reframe the city, submitting over 15,000 images in phase 1 and 5,000+ votes in phase 2. 2. #Reframinghk continues to receive instagram images daily, all of which are being actively curated into even more itineraries to help travelers explore deeper into the city. Thus, enriched Hong Kong photo library with local insights. 3. Travel sites and tourism related organizations have them their official imagery for Hong Kong:- • Earned collaboration with Cathay Pacific Airways – images were featured in global social media network, on its Discovery Magazine in-flight and online version in over 190 destinations, and HK Sevens “Collectaballs” special edition. • Tripadvisor is currently updating its image gallery with photos from the campaign. • The city’s new postcards – distribution networks including 20+ in-town locations and 10 overseas markets. 4. Ultimately enabled our travelers to discover HK like a local.