Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is a government-subvented body tasked to promote Hong Kong as a fascinating travel destination worldwide and to enhance the experience of both local residents and overseas visitors. The FriendsWithYou Giant Art Installation Display featuring 12 massive inflatables successfully drew the public and international attention on the West Kowloon Neighbourhood (WKN) of Hong Kong. Besides spreading positive vibe and highlighting the vibrancy in Hong Kong during the pandemic, it also helped amplifying the art and cultural essences of the WKN and encouraging visit to the neighbourhood.

Background

Due to the pandemic, people could not travel freely in the past two years. Yet, HKTB would like to maximise the visibility of Hong Kong and encourage local residents to explore the hidden gems of WKN. HKTB targeted to highlight the art and cultural elements of the WKN by staging a group of giant art installations created by an international pop art artist duo “FriendsWithYou” (FWY), namely Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III. Leveraging on the colourful and cheerful characters by FWY, HKTB also featured the city’s superlatives, especially the ones in the WKN, to draw international attention on Hong Kong by spotlighting them by multimedia promotions. Through generating event awareness of the FriendsWithYou Giant Art Installation Display, HKTB aimed at increasing the footfall of the WKN, promoting the arts and cultural neighbourhood to the world and spreading harmony and joy to the public in these difficult times.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Since the FWY characters symbolised magic, luck and friendship, HKTB presented FWY’s signature work by crossing over with The Hong Kong Space Museum (HKSM), one of the most well-known dome shaped architectures in town, to showcase art in an approachable way. By placing FWY signature smiley face on HKSM, a friendly and welcoming image was created to spread positive vibe in the city. The FWY characters have extended their footprints via a series of flash mob to the superlatives around town, including Star Ferry, Hong Kong’s trams and Avenue of Stars etc. The characters were displayed in the form of 12 giant inflatable art installations at the Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) in WKN with the iconic backdrop of the Victoria Harbour. The photogenic inflatables attracted visitors to the spot and where people took numerous photos and videos capturing their happy moments for sharing via social media.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

The primary target audience was young generations and families interested in photo-taking and actively engage in social media. Public who enjoy visiting art and cultural spots was the secondary target audience. Nonetheless, overseas audiences who are fond of exploring art or Hong Kong’s happenings were targeted as well. HKTB created extensive touch-points to engage the target audiences. The FWY characters visited superlatives in Hong Kong and the videos of flash mob were shared on social media platforms. The characters also pop up in the themed AR App that enabled audience to take photos in WKN at anytime. Furthermore, giant stickers of the characters were immersed into the Avenue of Stars, signage were placed in WKN, Central, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay to increase exposure and invite engagement. Touch-points were enhanced by physically engaging the audience with the smiley face on HKSM and the massive inflatable characters at the Art Park, WKCD.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

FWY’s eye-popping artistic creations were featured to spread harmony and joy. HKTB extended touch points through flash mobs, transformed the HKSM into an art piece and displayed inflatables at the Art Park, WKCD. HKTB closely monitored the pandemic situation and launched the campaign when the condition became more stable to ensure public health. HKTB engaged media and public by media releases, media preview and advertorial articles, Community tours were also arranged to bring art to all walks of life and maximise the reach of the deliverables. HKTB also stirred up the atmosphere in the WKN by AR activation, signage and city ambience stickers. 12 giant inflatable and illuminated art installations were showcased, with the largest art piece – Little Cloud of the size of 15m x 10m. The HKSM exterior was also fully utilised to present the iconic architecture with a brand new face.

List the results (30% of vote)

The FWY display at WKCD presented Hong Kong’s impactful skyline and stunning harbour view with approachable arts and largely increased the site traffic at WKN. Art and cultural events such as Hong Kong WinterFest Christmas Town, which was also staged at the Art Park, was recommended by local media South China Morning Post as the number 1 of top five Hong Kong Christmas displays. Apart from the creative social viral by partners and visitors, 30 posts were released via HKTB social media channels, generating 14.48 million of total reach and 2.65 million of engagement. Massive media coverage has brought about HK$125 millions of local and global publicity value. Riding on the opening of M+ in Nov 2021, the campaign has successfully paved the way to attract public awareness on WKCD, which is now increasingly gaining popularity among art and cultural groups and art lovers.