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AOTY HK series: Specialist Agency of the Year

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For the entirety of June, Marketing will be putting the spotlight on each of the category winners at the Agency of the Year Awards 2017 Hong Kong. A new category - including an overview of the winning agencies - will be featured every day, going from A-Z.Gold: McCann HealthOwned by: McCann WorldgroupHeaded by: Connie Lo, managing directorGold winner in the Specialist Agency of the Year category, McCann is also a finalist in the brand consultancy category.From revamping the Hong Kong Integrated Oncology Centre’s digital strategic platform to branding and defining services for Pfizer’s regional pharma initiative, McCann Health built its business by pursuing an idea-centric culture this year.Since re-entering Hong Kong in 2013, the agency has had a client retention rate of more than 90%, with key relationships averaging more than five years.It also captured regional business for Pfizer and Amgen, while maintaining long-term partnerships with international clients such as GlaxoSmithKline, MSD, CSL Behring and Takeda.The agency snatched three Gold Lions at Cannes, which was the first healthcare Gold Lion in the Greater China region.To nurture a culture of ideas, the agency also invested time and effort in extensive team-building exercises to familiarise its teams with one another and break down boundaries.It appointed its first country level talent director for McCann Health in Asia who developed a comprehensive talent strategy to understand the critical roles, hires and high potential staff in the network.The agency had three key hires last year, with Connie Lo as managing director of McCann Health Hong Kong and the PRD office; Pierre Loo as executive creative director; and Cynthia Wong as talent director for Greater China.Silver and Local Hero: Mention PR ConsultantsOwned by: IndependentHeaded by: Mianco Wong, founder and managing directorMention PR Consultants takes the silver spot in the Specialist Agency of the Year.Established in 2010, the public relations and marketing communications agency positioned itself as the major arts and culture PR specialist in town, and aims to popularise and bring arts and culture to the masses.One of the agency’s key clients is the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA), which tasked Mention with monitoring publicperception of the effectiveness of WKCDA, as well as branding and formulating media strategies for the brand.Other clients include government departments such as the Leisure and Cultural Services Department arts organisations such as PMQ, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, China Guardian Auctions, Hong Kong Design Centre and Poly Auction, as well as corporate such as Citywalk, K11, Disney Pixar and D • Park, to name a few.Last year, the agency put extra effort into its staff development by arranging various experts for staff training. For example, social media experts to introduce the most up-to-date social media promotion techniques and strategies, and professors in language studies to train up their copywriting skills.Mention was rewarded with a staff turnover rate of zero in 2016.Bronze: Yello MarketingOwned by: IndependentHeaded by: Tina Wong, directorSpecialist agency for sports events Yello Marketing was crowned bronze for the first time in the specialist agency category.Founded in 2008, Yello is a PR agency specialising in sports events management and the management of athletes and coaches.Its projects include the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay, Nike Women’s 10k, Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open and more. Since 2014, the agency has been Nike’s extended arm in events such as the Nike Women 10K and Nike Training Club Tour for event management, customer outreach, carnival and village design, race route experience design and operation.In the past two years, it was appointed for the Women Tennis Association’s Hong Kong Tennis Open, providing services such as advertising, digital solutions, community engagement, sponsor activation and publicity.In 2015, Yello expanded the business into Singapore and Shanghai. Last year, the headcount was increased from 10 to 15.Finalist: A.LOUD Asia CommunicationsOwned by: IndependentHeaded by: Adrian Lau, chief consultantNew on the list, A.LOUD Asia Communications breaks into a finalist position in the Specialist Agency of the Year category.The agency has grown from a small group deciding to pitch for the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) to a locally-based boutique agency of 15 team members. Its clients include names such as the German National TourismOrganization, JNTO and Samsonite, all of which gives it a solid reputation in marketing communications, PR and advertising in the travel industry. Not content to stick to the travel industry, the agency added Zuji and Denza to its already impressive portfolio, as well as FWD and the Hong Kong Integrated Oncology Centre.To achieve its goals, A.LOUD frequently leverages integrated campaigns and KOL engagement, especially for its travel brands.It has established a social influence network which includes key figures such as travel blogger Chris Leung and writer James Hong to enhance brand exposure and engagement.With offices in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai, the agency hopes to utilise the creative talent of the Hong Kong team to capitalize on the huge brand potential in Mainland China.Finalist: PRIZMOwned by: IndependentHeaded by: Jeffrey Hau, co-founder and directorA silver winner in the Independent Agency of the Year, PRIZM also took bronze for Social Media Agency of the Year.PRIZM provides a full suite of digital marketing services that helps its clients to lift brand awareness, increase engagement with consumers and boost sales.Among its clients are L’Occitane, Watsons Water, Pacific Coffee, Ngong Ping 360, China Mobile Hong Kong and Chow Sang Sang. To arouse awareness of the use of the rPET bottle for a sustainable environment, Watsons Water launched a series of social media campaigns with the assistance of PRIZM last year, including “Find your previous life” and the “Flip bottle challenge”.Both campaigns focused on humorous and creative content, using influencers collaboration and Facebook games to boost engagement and the public’s attention. As a result, it achieved over 1,600,000 video views and 80,000 game participants. Since starting in 2011, its client relationships have always been long-term and sustainable – all its clients have been with the agency for more than three years on average.It also has a working partnership with over 100 local bloggers, YouTubers and illustrators for different collaborations.With a total number of 140 staff, it has opened a new 12,000 square foot office with a recreation corner and free snacks and drinks supply.

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