- Chief Executive Carrie Lam's administration launched bid in attempt to reassure foreign investors
- Protesters have raised HK$30 million since June and have taken message to worldwide audience
The Hong Kong government has spent HK$7.4 million so far on a global advertising campaign aimed at reassuring foreign investors and visitors the city was still a safe bet despite months of protest chaos, raising questions as to its effectiveness.
Industry experts said the official campaign had lost out to a similar drive by the protesters, who have raised more than HK$30 million since June to run multiple rounds of adverts worldwide, which they said made a greater impact.
A day after the embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced the withdrawal of the extradition bill that plunged the city into its worst political crisis in decades on September 4, the government launched a global advertising campaign describing the financial hub as a safe and welcoming place for business.
Stating they were "determined to achieve a peaceful, rational and reasonable resolution", the government's advert reassured the international community that Hong Kong remained "a safe, open, welcoming and cosmopolitan society and an internationally connected, vibrant and dynamic economy."
In response to the Post's question, the Information Services Department revealed the total advertising cost so far was about HK$7.4 million. The advert has been published in selected major overseas newspapers or magazines namely The Australian Financial Review, Financial Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Kyunghyang Shinmun in South Korea, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Germany, Globe and Mail in Canada, Le Monde in France and Nikkei in Japan, a spokesman said, adding bookings were still being processed.
"The cost for advertising on social media platforms is around HK$80,000 while the cost for digital programmatic buy which is still running is not yet available," the spokesman continued, adding the advert series had been pushed via social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
The government's move mirrored that of protesters, who launched the first two campaigns in early July and raised almost HK$10 million combined. The first saw adverts placed in at least 20 mainstream newspapers in 13 countries during the G20 summit in Osaka.
Activists raised HK$15.4 million (US$1.97 million) online for the third campaign, accusing the police of using "chemical weapons" in August. Their latest campaign, to counter the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, is under way.
One of the adverts, which features an egg being hit by a bullet and is headlined, "Stand with Hong Kong for Freedom" earned a nomination for a Nikkei Advertising Award in Japan.
"The impact of the campaigns launched by the government and protesters seem to be in contrast," said Andy Ho On-tat, a PR consultant, and former information coordinator for former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.
"The campaigns of the activists go beyond paid advertisements, as they earned publicity in media as well on reports of their tactics and creativity."
In contrast, Ho noted some overseas media had reported that the protests showed no sign of abating, despite the government's campaign. "Their reporters are covering protests in Hong Kong, and are well aware that the advert does not match with the reality," he said.
Hong Kong protests become flashpoint in information war between China and US
The protesters went on an escalated rampage across Hong Kong last weekend, which was the 16th straight weekend of protests, as they took over shopping centres, vandalised MTR stations and hurled bricks and petrol bombs at police, with officers returning fire with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The government conceded to protesters' demands to withdraw the extradition bill, but has consistently rejected calls for an independent inquiry into the police's use of force, and reboot of the stalled political reform.
Leo Sin Yat-ming, a marketing professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, raised similar questions on the effectiveness of the campaign.
"If the crisis is over, it is well worth the money to reassure the international community," he said. "But now, with protests still going on, the adverts fail to achieve the purposes and only arouse questions of credibility.
"Advertising is to create expectations, coming with a condition that what you are selling is achievable."
Comparing adverts from both camps, Sin also noted that those from protesters were more creative and attractive to readers.
According to a leaked recording gained by Reuters, Carrie Lam, in an earlier closed-door meeting, said the government had contacted eight public relations firms to try and build the city's image, but all of them declined the contract.
The Information Services Department confirmed to the Post that it carried out a quotation exercise to procure services for external promotion, and the exercise lapsed as no bid was received.
Speaking of the PR strategies for the government, both Ho, Sin and Julian Law Wing-chung, a former political assistant to the former financial chief John Tsang Chun-wah, who is now a PR consultant, shared the opinion the government could not alleviate the crisis using mere PR tactics.
"Any PR campaign could not shift the public attention as what offered by the government fails to solve the root cause," Law said. "The calls for an independent inquiry over the police brutality are still burning."
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