YouTube Works Awards Celebrate Creativity, Innovation and Inclusivity

HSBC, Caf� de Coral and Otsuka Pharmaceutical (H.K.) Ltd. recognised for producing Hong Kong’s most effective marketing campaigns on the platform in 2022

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 8 December 2022 – YouTube Hong Kong announced today the 2022 winners of the YouTube Works Awards, which celebrate and champion the brilliant minds producing the most innovative and effective campaigns on the platform in the past year. HSBC, Café de Coral, and Otsuka Pharmaceutical (H.K.) Ltd. were recognised across six categories that showcased the best use of YouTube to drive awareness, decision making, and demonstrable business results.

The second annual YouTube Works Awards in Hong Kong, and the first to be held as an in-person event, brought together over 180 advertisers, thought leaders and YouTube creators to celebrate industry excellence and share market insights. In partnership with Kantar and supporting organizations including Digital Marketing Community, iabHK, and The Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong, 32 judges from diverse backgrounds reviewed over 50 submissions to select this year’s winners across six categories, including a new category that best demonstrates inclusivity in marketing.

Michael Yue, General Manager, Sales & Operations at Google Hong Kong said, “YouTube in Hong Kong continues to go from strength to strength. Not only does it rank first among video platforms for content that is personal and relevant^[1], but 77% of local viewers say advertising in YouTube videos makes them more aware of new brands and products^[2]. This means YouTube gives brands and businesses the opportunity to be where it matters — on the biggest stage for the world’s most creative stories — creating authentic brand content, engaging with their target audience, and measuring the results that matter most.”

“We are thrilled to be able to come together in person to celebrate HSBC, Café de Coral, and Otsuka Pharmaceutical (H.K.) Ltd., each of whom have created compelling and successful campaigns that harness the deep connection that audiences have built with YouTube, its content and its creators. Their personalized approach to storytelling combined with YouTube’s multi-device, multi-marketing objectives, and multi-form video solutions platform demonstrates the power of reaching an active, engaged audience to drive awareness and inspire action. We commend this year’s winners for their creativity, innovation, inclusivity, and strategic collaborations, and congratulate them on the meaningful results their campaigns were able to deliver.”

2022 YouTube Works Awards winners in Hong Kong

HSBC [Two winning campaign names: #ThisIsMyFamily and HSBC Buy Now Pay Later]

#ThisIsMyFamily – HSBC Premier

Recognizing the rise of a new generation of affluent customers with different and changing wealth needs, HSBC turned to YouTube to refresh and redefine its Premier brand. The campaign broke away from the bank’s traditional image to depict the unique stories of three atypical families, including a dual-career family, LGBT couple and astronaut family, whose varying wealth needs were supported by HSBC Premier. The thematic videos, starring actors Tommy Chu and Ronald Cheng, and actresses Eliza Sam and Asha Cuthbert, delivered over 3.9 million completed video views on YouTube in total, increased awareness of HSBC Premier’s features by more than 72%, and boosted brand preference by 73%^[3] which is much higher than the HSBC average. Its full-funnel strategy with smart use of extended product videos and YouTube’s targeting and data analytics solutions helped drive audiences to the decision-making stage, increasing HSBC’s market penetration.

The campaign won the Grand Prix award as well as the Better Together award. On top of that, the campaign made HSBC the first bank in the Hong Kong financial industry to feature an LGBT couple, earning it the inaugural All In award and a 71% increase in public perception of Premier as “advocating diversity and inclusion”^[4].

HSBC Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)

In its other award-winning campaign, HSBC aimed to solidify its industry-leading position as Hong Kong’s go-to payment solution provider through a four-part mini-series primarily targeting young and mature millennials. “HSBC BNPL Academy” was designed to remind viewers how, when, and where to use the right HSBC payment products while reinforcing HSBC as the top payment solution choice. Leveraging the mass appeal of artist Jan Lamb and Kayan9896 to portray real-life scenarios that resonate, as well as popular KOLs and user-generated content in a full-funnel strategy that tapped into YouTube’s robust targeting options, the campaign amassed views of more than 10 million and drove business momentum with a tremendous increase in BNPL product applications and double-digit growth in approved amount. It also delivered increased engagement, with up to 60% of the audience feeling more positive towards HSBC BNPL products.

“The team understood YouTube capabilities very well and took advantage of them to deliver great results in terms of ads recall and reach, ultimately driving traffic back to the application. Creative was planned with YouTube in mind, combining a fresh mix of KOL and various lifestyle scenarios into bite-size mobile-friendly videos to precisely target a wide range of audience,” said Paul Yuen, a YouTube Works Awards judge and Marketing Director at Mentholatum (Asia Pacific) Limited.

“The awards, granted to HSBC Premier’s #ThisIsMyFamily campaign and HSBC’s 2022 Buy Now Pay Later campaign, validate the importance of using daily life stories of Hongkongers, especially the middle class, to connect with customers and introduce our services and propositions that serve their needs. HSBC is pleased to work with YouTube as the most dominant social media platform to enhance our audience reach and build our brand as one of the leading banks in Hong Kong,” said Brian Hui, Head of Customer Propositions and Marketing, Wealth and Personal Banking, Hong Kong, HSBC.

Café de Coral [Campaign name: A Taste of Togetherness]

Spurred by a mission to boost sales, revitalize its brand, and reconnect with consumers, especially the younger segment, Café de Coral harnessed YouTube’s mass reach and targeting capabilities to deliver a message of inclusivity, togetherness, and happiness. A play on the fast-food brand’s Chinese name meaning “happy together”, “A Taste of Togetherness” comprised three stories of authentic and identifiable moments of togetherness — family love, dating, and friendships — designed to resonate with Hong Kong viewers. The year’s Best Brand Campaign delivered on several fronts, with nearly 14 million impressions and a higher-than-average view through rate of 50% as well as a 22% increase in purchase intent for the 18-year-old+ segment^[5].

“‘A Taste of Togetherness’ really encapsulates Café de Coral’s brand values and our promise not only to our customers but also our staff. We were thrilled to be able to share with YouTube viewers a sense of optimism and togetherness, and to fulfill our objective of reconnecting with a younger clientele in Hong Kong,” said William Tsing, Marketing Director at Café de Coral.

“The creative captured the emotion and sentiment of Hong Kong in the post-Covid situation and the product was seamlessly woven into the storyline. YouTube was supportive as a mass platform for the campaign to drive awareness and connect with the younger generation,” said Tom Kao, a YouTube Works Awards judge and CEO at Publicis Group HK.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical (H.K.) Ltd. [Campaign name: Keep Watering – Pocari Sweat ion water (Try Once – 7 Days Challenge to Regain Physical & Mental Balance)]

Seeking to raise awareness for its Pocari Sweat ion water (IW), especially among white-collar workers, Otsuka Pharmaceutical (H.K.) Ltd. tapped popular YouTube creator Mill MILK for a lighthearted branded reality story. The winning entry for Best Collaboration: Brand & Creator capitalized on the fact that the target audience enjoys watching YouTube in their leisure time and successfully delivered the key message that IW helps people achieve balance in their lives. The strategic and creative collaboration garnered 800,000+ views, 10,000+ likes, and a 50% view through rate from skippable YouTube ads.

“This is a meaningful project carried out during the 3rd year of ion water’s launch in Hong Kong, and we are pleased that the campaign has received sound recognition from the YouTube Works Awards. Knowing that down-to-earth KOLs are highly favored by the young, we leveraged the fanbase of Mill MILK to successfully deliver the brand concept that through effective rehydration, ion water restores your body fluid to the most optimal condition and gives you a relaxing and soothing sensation that heals your mind in a lively and light-hearted way,” said Koji Ueda, Managing Director of Otsuka Pharmaceutical (H.K.) Ltd.

“The choice to collaborate with up-and-coming YouTube creator Mill MILK for content curation was clever and set it apart from traditional Pocari thematic videos. In general, collaborating with creators is a good audience segmentation tool for brands and saves time on research for the target audience,” said Paul Yuen, a YouTube Works Awards judge and Marketing Director at Mentholatum (Asia Pacific) Limited.

The event, which took place at PMQ in Central, also featured performances by Hong Kong singers Joyce Cheng and Jay Fung. Find out more about the YouTube Works Awards.

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