When 'still working' isn’t enough: The next media challenge for HK’s heritage brands

Hong Kong’s heritage consumer brands continue to invest with confidence in advertising and marketing.

According to data from admanGo’s Q2 2026 analysis, local advertising expenditure increased 5% year-on-year, driven by a 19% rise in banking and investment services ad spend, alongside a 12% increase in pharmaceuticals and healthcare spending. Within the latter, the “Chinese Pharm” category stood out, leading the charge at 72% growth. 

Interestingly, much of this investment continues to flow toward traditional media channels. Magazine advertising, for instance, recorded the strongest growth across all media types at 22% year-on-year. For many of Hong Kong’s most trusted heritage brands, the established marketing playbook of high-visibility offline mass media and community-driven word-of-mouth may continue to generate results. 

And when a strategy continues to deliver commercial success, a “why change?” mindset naturally follows. If traditional channels are still driving sales, sustaining awareness and reinforcing trust, there may appear to be little urgency to rethink established marketing approaches or accelerate the shift toward digital marketing. 

Yet this is precisely where relying too heavily on what still works today may come at a cost. The challenge is not that traditional media has stopped working. It is that consumer attention has changed. 

And while many heritage brands are already experimenting with digital channels, the pace of transformation is often slower than the pace of change in consumer behaviour. 

As consumers of all ages continue to evolve their media consumption behaviours across channels and touchpoints, many brands risk overlooking a simple reality: “still working” does not necessarily mean “working best.” 

The real question is not whether heritage brands should abandon traditional media, but whether they are capturing the full value of the audiences they have spent decades earning. As consumer journeys become increasingly fragmented, the opportunity lies in combining the trust-building power of traditional media with the precision, accountability and connectivity of modern digital channels. 

When consumer speed outpaces brand speed 

Many heritage brands are already experimenting with digital channels. The tension lies in the speed of adoption: in many cases, marketing transformation may be  moving more slowly than consumer behaviour itself. 

And this shift in consumer behaviour isn’t limited to Gen Z. According to dentsu Hong Kong’s recent Silver is the New Gold report, the city’s silver generation is already a highly affluent, digitally connected segment using digital platforms for lifestyle discovery. Consumer attention across all demographics is increasingly spread across the open internet, connected TV (CTV), music streaming platforms, and premium media sites. 

The reality is that media fragmentation isn’t the problem; fragmented marketing is. When heritage brands remain overly reliant on siloed, mass-reach channels, they risk missing crucial connections with digital-first audiences.   

Modern consumers expect personalised, culturally resonant touchpoints. Salesforce data indicates that 91% of consumers are more likely to repurchase from brands offering a consistent, cross-channel digital experience. When traditional awareness campaigns are isolated from digital discovery, brands miss the opportunity to engage the next generation of consumers. 

Convergence, not competition 

The path forward for legacy brands is not an “offline versus online” binary. These companies have earned their reputations through careful stewardship – and they are understandably cautious about placing that hard-earned brand equity in digital environments where brand safety and content quality may be less predictable. 

The core imperative is simple: don’t replace what has worked; connect it with what comes next. 

The opportunity lies in connecting the massive reach and deep trust built through traditional media with today’s digital ecosystems. This demands a cohesive, full-funnel approach where broad offline awareness can be seamlessly complemented by a smart digital strategy. 

The open internet as the missing link 

To safely navigate this transition, brands can use technology that bridges the gap without compromising their heritage. This is where AI-driven programmatic advertising can become an important enabler. 

Platforms such as The Trade Desk’s Kokai, for example, help advertisers optimise omnichannel campaigns across highly vetted, premium, and transparent publishers. Rather than navigating the “wild west” of unvetted user-generated content, programmatic technology can help brands make more informed decisions about where their ads appear, while enabling more precise audience targeting and measurement across the consumer journey. 

Carrying legacy into the future 

Hong Kong’s heritage brands are more than just businesses; they are cultural pillars. To carry their legacy into the next century, their media strategies may need to evolve to match modern content consumption habits. 

By embracing an agile, data-backed full-funnel strategy across the open internet, heritage brands can bring the equity they have built over decades into the diverse digital environments where modern consumers discover and engage with content. 

Ultimately, connecting the old with the new may help the brands’ hard-earned trust to continue resonating, support sustainable growth and build enduring relationships with the next generation of consumers. 

This article was written by Stella Leung, SVP, North Asia, The Trade Desk.