A CLOSER LOOK AT HK ADLAND’S CURRENT CHALLENGES

Dear reader,

As we welcome the arrival of June, we are also celebrating the resumption of our regular physical events. It feels so unreal to finally be able to attend events and network with our fellow marketers in person. As someone who loves to socialise and meet new people across the industry, it has been a rewarding experience for me personally.

One of our biggest events in June was the Agency of the Year Awards 2023, where we packed over 350 agency leads and marketers into the Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan Ballroom. It was a great opportunity for agencies to showcase their brilliant accomplishments and share their work with some of the greatest marketing minds around the globe.

Despite seeing some brilliant work by female marketers at Agency of the Year Awards 2023, we still felt it was an opportune time to shed light on the ongoing challenges of achieving gender diversity in the ad land creative industry.

Despite some progress in recent years, there is still a significant disparity in the representation of women in executive creative roles. We explore the reasons behind this and highlight some of the initiatives being taken to address it (page 6).

At the same time, we also take a closer look at the trend of quiet hiring in agencies, where companies attempt to increase their productivity by getting current employees to take on roles outside their job description in order to avoid hiring more people. We examine the advantages and drawbacks of this approach and provide tips for agencies looking to implement it – check out the article on page 12.

Another area that has been exciting to watch is the emergence of unmanned stores adopted by retail brands across the globe. From Amazon Fresh in the US to HKTV’s subsidiary brand Shoalter Automation’s first fully automated store, these stores are using cutting-edge technology to create a frictionless shopping experience for customers.

With so many ongoing discussions within the marketing industry about this new trend, we had to explore why retail brands love unmanned stores so much. (Page 34)

Last, but not least, we have also highlighted some of the key wins from MARKies Awards 2023, and celebrated the achievements of the marketing community and agency minds behind some of the great campaigns over the past 12 months.

As always, our team has worked hard to bring you a magazine that is informative, engaging, and thought-provoking. We hope you enjoy the edition as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.

Happy reading!

Karen Wong Deputy Editor, North Asia

What’s on?

Marketing Events Awards Hong Kong

What: An annual celebration designed to recognise excellence in event marketing across the North Asia region.

Where: Hotel ICON

When: 20 July

Digital Marketing Asia Hong Kong

What: A conference that aims to reflect upon the profound evolution of the digital landscape, and how it has influenced –and will continue to influence – business decisions, marketing strategies and consumer behaviour.

When: October