6th HK Digital Advertising Start-ups X Publishing (Writers) Promotion Support Scheme: Digital Advertising Design (for Publishing) Awards Ceremony and Sharing Session by Awardees

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Annual Cross-Industry Event Nurturing Local Digital Advertising Talent

HONG KONG, July 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Organised by Hong Kong Association of Interactive Marketing ("AIM"), with support from the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA, formerly known as "Create Hong Kong") as the lead sponsor, the Hong Kong Digital Advertising Start-ups X Publishing (Writers) Promotion Support Scheme (the "Support Scheme") was first launched in 2018. With robust support from the industries, the Support Scheme has entered its sixth edition, dedicated to nurturing local digital advertising start-ups. By providing funding and training, the Support Scheme assists local digital advertising start-ups in implementing digital advertising campaigns to promote local emerging writers and their designated books, enabling them to gain more practical experience. At the same time, the Support Scheme offers more opportunities for local emerging writers and their publishers to familiarise themselves with digital advertising, with a view to fostering more cross sectoral collaboration between these two sectors and hence development, while promoting reading among the general public.

A total of 11 teams are selected to participate in the 6th edition of the Support Scheme. In recognition of the outstanding digital advertising campaigns created by them, the AIM held the Digital Advertising Design (for Publishing) Awards Ceremony and Sharing Session by Awardees today. The event was honoured to have Mr. Victor Tsang, JP, Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries as the guest-of-honour. He was joined by esteemed guests including Mr. Francis Fong, Founding Chairman of the AIM; Mr. William So, Vice Chairman of Hong Kong Publishing Federation (HKPF); Ms. Candy L. C. Tam, MH, veteran advertising executive and Founder of Growing in Reading (NPO); Mr. Mercer Ng, Vice Chairman of Hong Kong Advertisers Association; and Mr .S. T. Tso, veteran marketing and sales consultant to present the awards to the winning teams.

Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries Mr. Victor Tsang, JP congratulated the awardees on their achievements and the AIM for successfully organising the Support Scheme again. He also thanked the HKPF and Hong Kong Publishing Professionals Society (HKPPS), as well as the jury panel and the professional mentors for their staunch support to the Support Scheme.

Founding Chairman of the AIM Mr. Francis Fong also congratulated all the winning teams and expressed his gratitude to the CCIDA for its continuous sponsorship of the Support Scheme, as well as to the HKPF and the HKPPS for their ongoing support. He stated, "while the Support Scheme has now been held for six editions, each edition has surpassed the previous one in excellence. Participating digital advertising start-ups have consistently collaborated with emerging writers and publishers to develop innovative ideas beyond the realm of books, delivering digital advertising campaigns that are both highly creative and well-executed. As an annual cross-industry event for the digital advertising and publishing sectors, the Support Scheme has significantly fostered cooperation between these two major industries in Hong Kong and their development, with remarkable results. We look forward to the continued advancement of the Support Scheme, nurturing even more talent for Hong Kong's digital advertising and publishing sectors."

The 6^th Support Scheme nurtures 11 teams, each comprising a local digital advertising start-up established within the past five years and one unit of local emerging writer whose first publication was released within the past six years. The digital advertising start-up in each team, receiving a maximum subsidy of HK$240,000, had to create a customised digital advertising campaign to promote its paired emerging writer and the designated book in the approximately three-month support period. Additionally, the Support Scheme provided professional mentorship and training seminars to the participating teams, inspiring their creativity with the ultimate goal to elevate the standard of digital advertising in Hong Kong.

The digital advertising campaigns delivered by the 11 participating teams were highly praised by the jury panel of Digital Advertising Design (for Publishing) Awards. Some of them were even remarked as highly advanced in video production techniques, and able to master the latest digital trends. The new methods and directions experimented by some of the teams to convey the emerging writers' original intentions were also regarded as effective. The jury panel observed the meticulous execution of the digital advertising campaigns, with great attention to details in visual design and content writing, demonstrated the exceptional quality of the participating teams. Additionally, the high level of involvement from the emerging writers in the digital advertising campaigns clearly showcased the results of successful cross-industry collaboration.

The 11 digital advertising campaigns created under this edition's Support Scheme reached over 19 million viewers, with over 1.3 million engagements, and nearly 7.4 million views. These impressive indicators show that these digital advertising campaigns successfully attracted a large number of recipients and spreaded the messages of the designated books to their target audiences in fresh and engaging ways. The campaigns also enabled readers and the online community to interact with the authors in a more meaningful way.

To facilitate more readers to appreciate these 11 digital advertising campaigns, a dedicated booth is set up in this year's Hong Kong Book Fair 2024 on July 17 – 23 to showcase the campaigns and their respective designated books, to reach out to a large number of book lovers for more interaction.

At the Digital Advertising Design (for Publishing) Awards Ceremony, the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards of the Digital Advertising Design (for Publishing) with awardees selected by the professional jury were given out. The "My Favourite Digital Advertising Design (for Publishing) Award", winner of which was voted by the public from June 1 - 26, was also presented on the same occasion.

Below is a brief introduction to the awarded campaigns of the 6th Digital Advertising (for Publishing) Award:

Gold Award:
"Ferguson Reimagined" by THE BARDS LIMITED

The Gold Award went to THE BARDS LIMITED's campaign "Ferguson Reimagined", created for HKEJ Publishing Limited's book "Ferguson Time" written by Wong Yu Ching. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the treble-winning season of the former Manchester United's manager Alex Ferguson. The participating team explored Ferguson's unique management style through a series of light-hearted and engaging interviews with football commentators and animated short films. They also launched innovative WhatsApp stickers and hosted both physical and online sharing sessions featuring the author and football commentators. These initiatives allowed for greater audience's and readers' engagement, facilitating interactive exchanges both online and offline.

Digital Advertising Campaign – "Ferguson Reimagined": https://www.digiad.hk/pf/6/the-bards-limited/

Silver Award:
"Let's Get Together, Search for Hong Kong Forest Fairies!" by Studio120

The Silver Award went to Studio120's campaign "Let's Get Together, Search for Hong Kong Forest Fairies!", created for the publication of "Hong Kong Ecological Encyclopedia: Nature's Four Seasons Day and Night Adventures" edited by Little Woods Nature Education and published by Crystal Window Book. The book which is an encyclopedia combines exquisite illustrations with real photographs and features over 50 precious animal short films and recordings, showcasing the rich diversity of Hong Kong's ecology. The participating team adopted a documentary-style approach to reveal the fascinating production process behind the book, complemented by unboxing videos and mini-games to engage the audience and foster greater interest in Hong Kong's ecological wonders depicted in the book.

Digital Advertising Campaign – "Let's Get Together, Search for Hong Kong Forest Fairies!": https://www.digiad.hk/pf/6/studio120/

Bronze Award:
"Workplace Mentor - Walking Through Every Stage of Your Career" by Flowsophic Limited & "Leave My Sadness to the Movies" by EXTIO

There were two teams receiving Bronze Award. The first one went to Flowsophic Limited's campaign "Workplace Mentor - Walking Through Every Stage of Your Career", created for HKEJ Publishing Limited's book "Silk Money Affairs: Killer Techniques in the Workplace, Weaving a Path to Success" written by Lee Kam Wing Bruno. The book summarises the author's personal journey from grassroots to success, highlighting the mindsets and skills needed at different stages of one's career. The campaign included a series of videos tailored to the author's experiences, featuring interviews with successful professionals and addressing common workplace challenges faced by young people, presenting the positive messages of the book from various perspectives.

Digital Advertising Campaign – "Workplace Mentor - Walking Through Every Stage of Your Career": https://www.digiad.hk/pf/6/flowsophic-limited/

The second Bronze Award went to EXTIO's campaign "Leave My Sadness to the Movies", created for Red Publish's book with the same title written by movie director Teddy Chen. The campaign adopted an introspective theater-style approach, featuring the centerpiece video "Teddy Chen Interviews Teddy Chen". This unique format vividly depicted the movie director's life journey of "acting out the first half of life and filming the second half", significantly deepening audience engagement with both his films and this autobiography.

Digital Advertising Campaign – "Leave My Sadness to the Movies": https://www.digiad.hk/pf/6/extio/

My Favourite Digital Advertising Design (for Publishing) Award:
"Telling Stories to Children" by 212 Studio Limited

The recipient of "My Favourite Digital Advertising Design (for Publishing) Award", as determined by public votes, is 212 Studio Limited's campaign "Telling Stories to Children", created for the publication "Childhood Without Smartphones" by Sun Ya Publications (HK) Limited, illustrated by Leung Ngar Yi. Through a series of short films, the campaign beautifully rekindles moments from a smartphone-free childhood, retrieving nostalgic relics from the depths of memory tunnels. This heartfelt approach deeply resonates with both children and adults alike.

Digital Advertising Campaign – "Telling Stories to Children": https://www.digiad.hk/pf/6/212-studio-limited/

More Images:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1N36N4Ijaoo9ao8-avHgldZ-qzS-9Mmav?usp=drive_link

The above award-winning digital advertising campaigns and other campaigns created by the participating teams under the 6^th Support Scheme can be viewed for free on the Support Scheme's official website and Facebook page.

For more details about the Support Scheme, please visit:
Official website:   www.digiad.hk
Facebook page:   www.facebook.com/AdxPub
YouTube channel:   https://www.youtube.com/@user-wd8zf3xn3y

Organiser: The Hong Kong Association of Interactive Marketing
Lead Sponsor: Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency

Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organisers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.

The 6^th HK Digital Advertising Start-up X Publishing (Writers) Promotion Support Scheme Digital Advertising Design (for Publishing) Award Recipients:

The 11 teams of digital advertising start-ups and emerging writers participating in the 6^th Support Scheme are listed in alphabetical order of the names of the digital advertising start-ups as follows:

SOURCE the HK Digital Advertising Start-ups X Publishing (Writers) Promotion Support Scheme