Chris Kyme’s Postcard from Hong Kong: And the award goes to… some braver clients
Chris Kyme (pictured above) continues his ‘Postcard from Hong Kong’ series, this time following the recent Hong Kong Kam Fan awards.
So we’ve just had the 2024 Hong Kong Kam Fan awards show as I write, which I couldn’t attend mainly because I confess I am a bit out of the loop these days and only discovered the awards evening date a few days before, plus crucially, it coincided with an appointment to have a manicure. Alas, my loss, but my nails look spiffing.
However, seeing as I have a bound duty (bound by me actually) to write about all things regarding the state of creativity in Hong Kong, and in particular, help support the cause where I can, I couldn’t let the event pass without a bit of a perspective on it.
I know what goes on in the shows. I know what the shows are, when they are (roughly), have been to them, done them, and even in my late stage of career, love to look in and see what’s shining because it makes me feel all warm and cuddly when I see great work, not to mention jealous.
In which case, scrolling through the list of winners from this year’s Hong Kong Kam Fans, I took particular interest in the campaigns awarded for some major clients in various forms shapes and sizes. How good to see work for HSBC, Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Tourist Board, Coca Cola and McDonald’s all getting some accolades from what a respected jury of judges (go to https://aaaa.com.hk/).
I’ve always believed that clients like to see their campaigns awarded as much as the agencies who did them (providing it’s work that the clients actually knew was being done (nudge nudge wink wink if you know what I mean). So I’m genuinely intrigued to know as to whether those clients actually push for better work. Whether they see the value in having campaigns that stand out and get attention.
I recall when researching for the book Made in Hong Kong, about the ‘golden age’ of Hong Kong creativity, one of the interviewees, the legendary Harry Reid who was instrumental in building the Ogilvy network in Asia, told me that in the earlier years of the Hong Kong industry it was actually the clients who pushed for better creativity. They demanded it from their agencies in order to stand out and ensure better share of voice. I’d love to think that this might be the case today.
I was curious then, how some of the clients view the whole event, and how picking up a few gongs is received by them.
Tina Chao, Chief Marketing & Digital Customer Experience Officer of McDonald’s in Hong Kong told me “It’s definitely inspiring as these awards validate the hard work and dedication of our team. Recognition like this boosts the team morale and reinforces the value of perseverance and commitment to brand building, even during challenging times. I see awards as a natural consequence of great creative work. At McDonald’s we fully embrace creative bravery with big and bold executions. Our goal is to create campaigns that touch people’s hearts”
McDonald’s was well rewarded for its ’50 Benches’ outdoor campaign created by DDB. Another major brand name also getting recognition on the night was Cathay Pacific, for several campaigns including the ‘Now that’s what we call a Seven’ film, ‘Rerighting History’ and ‘Cheering Flight’ entries among others, all done by Leo Burnett.
McDonald’s 50 Benches
Cathay Pacific Rerighting History
I asked Edward Bell, General Manager Brand, Insights and Marketing Communications at Cathay Pacific, his thoughts on achieving awards success. “The team take a lot of encouragement from the peer recognition from award shows. While Cathay has produced some great pieces over the years, we have not had much presence at awards historically. While our real goal is the effectiveness of our marketing, creativity remains our number one strategy. I also find that being part of a winning team gives the team’s morale a boost, especially the younger ones who are just starting out. I have gone as far as making winning some major awards part of my KPIs! So, I am really sticking my neck out. Actually, winning awards for our inflight seat design, dining and other aspects of our consumer offerings is something we take seriously. Marketing awards are just one such performance metric in a series.”
Other brands notable for success on the night included HSBC ‘For every legendary one’ (Saatchi & Saatchi), and Coca Cola for its ‘Revival of a Classic’ campaign by Ogilvy, which was also awarded at the Effies. There were others, I’m just noting a few bigger names which stood out, and it’s all in all great to see. I’ve no idea as to whether these campaigns will shine at other competitions outside of Hong Kong but it’s pretty encouraging all the same.
There is real evidence in the idea that better, more outstanding campaigns not just deliver better ROI for clients, but actually cost them when they don’t perform. In a recent podcast episode of Let’s Make This More Interesting, Adam Morgan and Peter Field discussed “the Cost of Dull”, breaking down why dull advertising isn’t just forgettable, but expensive. With brand awareness, trust and ultimately success all on the line.
In order to avoid the dull though, client/agency relationships are key to pursuing above average standards. As Tina Chao expressed. “It is critical and I would argue one of our success factors is having a very strong client agency partnership as we treat our agency as an extended arm of our marketing team. We involve our agency right from the beginning of strategy planning all the way to store level execution.”
Edward Bell echoed this. “Being successful with creativity is about doing new things and taking measured risks. When it comes to buying media, boring is expensive. But this can only possible when there is a degree of trust between the client and agency. And this takes time and care to build.”
Personally I’d love to see the Hong Kong Kam Fans continue to be deemed an important date in the calendar year by clients and agencies alike. Onie Chu and her team put on a great show this year, with the young Hong Kong creative community out in force. Encouraging to see, the younger generation being key to the future of the industry
Onie was very upbeat about that. “The Kam Fan Awards promises to evolve every year. The Kam Fan organising committee comprises not only creatives but also media agency practitioners. Staying as a creativity-driven and agency-centric competition, we have broadened and redefined the competition categories according to industry and market trends.”
And although it’s a Hong Kong 4As event, it was also good to see some of the smaller independent agencies represented. “We increasingly witness the participation of local networks and independent agencies. As a matter of fact, the performance of non-4As agencies has grown stronger and stronger each year.” said Onie.
One interesting and somewhat baffling sidenote about the show this year was the apparent lack of entries of actual posters (although the McDonald’s ’50 Benches’ work is an Outdoor campaign). Here’s what I don’t get. So evidently there’s enough talent beavering away in agencies here, from we see of good work getting awarded. But how is it that 99.9% of all Hong Kong outdoor we see day to day is so abysmal? Drab and predictable. Is it so impossible for agencies to present cracking posters to clients and get them sold in? Call them posters, call them billboards, but outdoor ads are such a great and very visual medium and still very ubiquitous even in this data-driven, programmatic (problematic) digital age. They ain’t going away. We need some sort of outdoor revolution, but I’ll save that for a nice juicy rant some other time.
The benefits of pushing for better creativity, especially in terms of better ROI and effectiveness, speak for themselves. Awards were originally intended as just reward for doing great work, although over the years that has been skewed somewhat with the accolades having become an end unto themselves. Creating work just with that in mind (notice I’m watching my language here) might achieve the glory, but does that help the reputation of the industry, or just the reputation of the glory-seekers creating it?
From a client’s perspective, Edward Bell had the final word on that. “When creativity is brought to bear in a relevant way, it helps create the novelty and the sense of reward for the consumer that grabs attention. And the emotion creates stronger memories making it work better over time. However, in some instances, the creativity becomes its own goal and the effect is lost.”
In the end, all good stuff then. Let’s see how some of the awarded work fares in other shows, no doubt some of the clients will be watching with great interest.