WHEN HONG KONG BECOMES HONG GONE

Hans Ebert

3 days ago

5 min read

It’s tough for a hard nosed and longtime advertising and marketing person to be dismissive about most of Hong Kong’s advertising and marketing efforts, but it sure doesn’t look as if David Ogilviy and Bill Bernbach or Don Draper were involved.

Most of the “Love Racing” standard of communications is not only of a certain bog level, it almost always comes across as “creative by committee”- something thrown out there into the online world with nary a thought about the consumer.

This is a wasted opportunity because today’s consumer is waiting for someone to switch on the light, but when those in charge of this job keep walking into the wall socket, there’s something very wrong with the hires and what still calls itself Human Resources.

Back in the day when things weren’t working on the client side, we often made much needed cutbacks until the tide changed or someone had a Eureka moment that saved the day.

As a city, Hong Kong has stalled for years. This appears to be for the simple reason that its marketing efforts are in the hands of the resident Oompah Loompahs and there’s no Willy Wonka around.

This is why, for example, an upmarket bar in a five star hotel known for its champagne runs out of champagne, hummus is taken off the menu and one returns home with a ravenous appetite and a promise to give the joint The Big Kiss Off.

As for the CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club coming out this week and telling the media that there will be an “investigation” into the reasons for the downturn in turnover during the start of the new racing season, well, maybe it’s a combination of economics and priorities.

Your rent or betting on a horse? How many today have millions or even hundreds of thousands to spend showing that one is in the racing caper if one’s surname isn’t Magnier or isn’t one of the chief executives with Yulong or Godolphin?

Horse racing clubs have to face the stark reality and also some home truths by pricking the balloon that, for example, Hong Kong racing is la crème de la crème and the city’s streets are paved with gold. It might have been true, but the late nineties and early 2000s were almost thirty years ago.

Like every other racing jurisdiction, the economic woes of the city have caught up with the gambling driven pastime.

It’s always been known that this day was going to arrive with a thud and basically saying that people aren’t “gambling enough” doesn’t exactly sound very good.

Governments are not all fools and blinded by artificial light. They will be assessing future and current plans for horse racing and discussing when and where to cut their losses.

If the $40+ million CEO of what’s described as a “charitable organisation”, surely there’s an urgent need to show where the charitable side of things appear- and not through “advertorials” and photo opportunities- and fluff.

There’s something very wrong in Hong Kong as a city being seen as a one trick pony.

Let’s not also be seen as the fall guy for quite a few questionable hires and fires and some pretty ambitious ideas that didn’t make the ROI because of a lack of foresight and arrogance mixed with ignorance taking over from the business of strategic thinking.

Despite the fairly recent hiring of Sarena Lin as Chief Transformational who left in less than a year, the HKJC is certainly not what it was.

It appears to have either stalled or has no idea about What’s Next and what transformational process it wants to go through.

Is “Chow Fan” and wok fried marketing for gimmicky oddities like Racing with Football or Racing with Rugby or Pickleball or Tiddlywinks or whatever is working for what must be a mature market? Really? No own goals?

Apart from what’s left of the racing career of the brilliant galloper Ka Ying Rising who means nothing to a mainstream audience, and the mysteries and vagaries of the future of what remains as the Conghua Training Facilities in China, what’s REALLY coming up roses at 1 Sports Road?

For how much longer can those subservient bumble bees be in one’s pocket before they lose their honey appeal?

Hearing about some of the misfires, it appears that the rut has already set in and handpicked hires by the top of the banana tree have been quietly let go.

Hong Kong has been home to some brilliant globally recognised brands, entrepreneurs and talent- Sir Run Run Shaw, graphic designer Henry Steiner, Li Ka-shing, Bruce Lee, Sir David Tang, adman James Wong, great hotels and hoteliers like Felix Bieger…and today?

What we have today is a failure to communicate because of a lack of strong teamwork, politics, possible nepotism and a disparate and tired and dull city that barely has a pulse.

What doesn’t help is a media going to the usual suspects for their thoughts on the present and future of Hong Kong.

What have they to say about meaningless fluff like a Halloween Festival in a dumpster of a rabbit hole like Lan Kwai Fong?

I worked with Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges for over twelve years when creating and managing the Happy Wednesday brand which really was a Disney postcard version to get around the image of promoting wagering to young people.

I look at the way the brand looks today and the crowd it attracts and just shake my head. I shake my head about many things in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club can be this city’s field of dreams because the necessary hardware is already in place.

So what’s wrong and why isn’t this happening?

Winfried is an intelligent and multi dimensional individual who needs a team of doers capable of working independently.

Does he want a submissive group of followers who ask “How high?” when asked to jump because they are usually working in an environment of fear?

The HKJC might not exactly be propped up by a great team of strategists, and neither are those given the responsibility of making Hong Kong a success who don’t seem to understand the need for foreign investors and new game changers.

It’s not about more “mega” Canto Pop concerts by the usual performers for an aging local population.

Where in Hong Kong is what I call The Mamdani Effect?

Zohran Mamdani is a Muslim and the hugely popular 34 year old Mayor of New York City. He thinks, smiles and makes good things happen.

I arrived in Hong Kong from Ceylon when nine years old and was called a “wog” and a “black devil” in Cantonese. I am still an “ethnic minority” in Hong Kong and I’m my own person who has become who I am not through any family links. It’s been bloody hard work and sacrifices.

I have helped Hong Kong launch McDonald’s, and STARTV, and PCCW, created the Happy Wednesday brand, created the term Canto Pop, wrote hits for Jacky Cheung, Sam Hui and the champion Hong Kong galloper Silent Witness, and won Gold at the London Advertising Awards for the Right of Abode campaign.

I have worked with David Bowie, Gorillaz, John and Yoko and have interviewed people like Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Peter Sellers, David Lynch and others. Many others.