HK govt outlines the HK$44.6m paid to PR firm for delayed 'Relaunch Hong Kong' publicity plan

The Hong Kong government awarded an agency a one-year contract last year to help rebrand Hong Kong, costing taxpayers a total of about HK$44.6 million as the Home Affairs Bureau revealed. In a Legislative Council meeting on 18 August, lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suek-yee asked about the details of the one-year public relations contract valued at about HK$49 million (US$6,289,215) awarded to global strategy and communications consultancy firm Consulum for providing services under "Relaunch Hong Kong" plan.

According to the contract, Consulum was initially required to develop a theme for the communications strategy as well, as a marketing and advertising plan to highlight Hong Kong's economic recovery and help rebuild confidence in Hong Kong as a place to invest, do business, work and live. Ip asked for details regarding the communications strategy and marketing plan developed by the agency. She also asked if performance indicators for the various tasks under the theme were put in place, if the indicators have been met; a breakdown of the estimated expenditure on the various tasks under the theme; and whether the Government has plans to award new contracts for the follow-up plans for the theme.

Replying to her questions, Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, secretary for Home Affairs, said the Information Services Department (ISD) of the Hong Kong government awarded the contract to Consulum through an open tender in June 2020, with the contract expiring on 30 July.  Tsui said the total value of the one-year contract was about HK$49.9 million (US$6.4 million). However, as there was a change in the promotion strategy and implementation timeline during the contract period, the contractor was no longer required to monitor and conduct an impact assessment of the campaign. This resulted in a saving of about HK$5.7 million (US$730,000). Tsui added that due to commercially-sensitive price information, the Hong Kong government could not provide a breakdown of individual items. Meanwhile, the ISD has no plans at this stage to engage new public relations consultancy services.

During the contract period, Consulum was said to have conducted local and international baseline research to help the Hong Kong government better understand perceptions about Hong Kong in key markets. The research found varying degrees of receptiveness to positive messages about Hong Kong in selected target markets. Market responses were favourable towards "Brand Hong Kong" attributes such as cosmopolitan, diverse, dynamic and connected. The research showed that Hong Kong had unique advantages over other competing cities in Asia. For example, Hong Kong was the only Asian city that possessed three important attributes, namely, access to markets in Mainland China and Asia; provision of a sophisticated and secure pro-business platform; and a cosmopolitan lifestyle.

Consulum tested the publicity messages and confirmed that they would help improve perceptions of Hong Kong among audiences. For instance, the tested core message was: "Hong Kong is the only city in the world that offers a secure, dynamic environment for business, an exciting, cosmopolitan lifestyle and direct access to the Mainland market". This was supported by four supporting messages, namely: "Hong Kong is a safe, growing market with considerable potential"; "Hong Kong is the ideal springboard to the Mainland and Asian markets"; "Hong Kong has a reputation for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit"; and "Hong Kong's cosmopolitan character and cultural richness makes it a great place to live in".

When it came to the delivery of services, Tsui said that Consulum completed all services on schedule based on the requirements, such as devising the overall strategy, publicity plans, a messaging book, media list in target markets, a crisis management plan, a marketing and media buying plan and creative designs.

As for implementation, Tsui said due to uncertainties caused by COVID-19, the government would take a phased approach for the rollout of the publicity plans.

He explained that the government will adopt the advertising and publicity messages to launch a business confidence campaign overseas later this year "to reinforce Hong Kong's image as the best place in Asia to live, work and invest in, and pave the way for the "Relaunch Hong Kong" campaign tentatively scheduled for next year."

Tsui concluded, "The actual implementation timeline, scope and scale of the 'Relaunch Hong Kong' campaign will largely hinge on the global COVID-19 development and the recovery of business activities."

In a previous report from MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Consulum’s Hong Kong office was established on 15 May 2020, two weeks after the global PR tender was made public. ISD said in the same statement it had received seven bids in total, without revealing how many of them met the relevant criteria.

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