HONG KONG, - (NewMediaWire) - March 14, 2024 - (ACN Newswire - The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) held the parallel MarketingPulse and eTailingPulse conferences at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) today. Themed Envision the Next Level, the conferences featured over 30 sessions, InnoTalks and digital marketing and e-tailing workshops, attracting more than 1600 industry professionals from 20 countries and regions.

In her welcoming remarks, HKTDC Executive Director Margaret Fong said: “The marketing and e-tailing industries are in constant search of innovative strategies that can reinforce those treasured connections between brands and their consumer base. And that is what MarketingPulse and eTailingPulse are about. This two-in-one event brings together the most creative minds from around the world to exchange insights on the latest trends and opportunities in marketing and e-tailing and to facilitate collaboration.”

Some 80 speakers from across the globe addressed topics ranging from AI marketing, purpose marketing, national trends and K-Pop for marketing. On targeting age groups, speakers discussed tactics and strategies for the Gen Alpha and silver markets. Other speakers discussed sustainability, sensory marketing, genderless marketing and brand storytelling.

AI and other technologies change marketing world

Having radically changed the world, artificial intelligence is playing a growing role in marketing. AI Futurist Zack Kass, former Head of Go To Market at OpenAI, analysed AI trends in marketing, said AI adoption was creating more powerful, efficient agents in the industry. “It’s no longer when you should adopt, but what you should adopt,” Mr Kass said, emphasising the urgency. On the public concerns that AI agents would replace human beings, Mr Kass said: “We get to decide what is the line between human and machine and we want to be very clear about it.” He urged his audience to “embrace the change with optimism”.  

Karen Cheng, the Head of Social at 9GAG, discussed the transformative impact of memes on brand engagement and content creation in the Web3 era. She said that using memes involved a long-term strategy which impacted business, and pointed out that technology impacted all ages groups. She said: “Business should constantly create value for these holders and influence people to create a community.”

National trends define direction

The national trends discussion combined Chinese elements with contemporary cultural trends. Yinan Wang, Director of the Digital and Information Management Centre and iMoutai Department, Kweichow Moutai, described how the brand innovatively brought the national beverage Moutai to the younger generation. He said the firm established a Maoxiaoling brand of liquor infused chocolates with a trendy image to target customers aged 25 to 50. Mr Wang said: “Youth easily change their tastes, the focus is how to keep them with you, this is the challenge.”

Purpose marketing success story

Purpose marketing has received significant attention. Ibby Abutarboush, former Brand Defining & Purpose Marketing Director of Nike, emphasised the importance of brand-building and consumer experiences, saying: “It is very important to understand your consumer and your community. Change is ever constant, and our community is becoming more global than ever.” On the experience of Nike brand building, he believed the power of sport was underpinned by the power of people. He emphasised the importance of staying committed and working with the right partners.

Overseas marketing experts presented their ideas, including Jungsuk Jay Lee, recent Chief Ecosystem Officer of NAVER Z Corp (ZEPETO); Dani Mariano, President of Razorfish; Simon Barnett, Director of Brand Partnerships & Advertising of Moonbug Entertainment, which distributes IP rights for children’s entertainment brands Blippi and Cocomelon; Giovanni Musillo, Managing Director (Hong Kong and Macao) of OnTheList; Patrick Garvey, Founding Partner of WE ARE Pi, a renowned advertising agency in the Netherlands; Yoji Minakuchi, Fellow & Chief Design Officer of Suntory Holdings from Japan; Johanna Monange, Founder and CEO of Maison 21G, a perfume brand from France; Julie Nestor, Executive Vice President, Head of Marketing and Communications of Asia Pacific for Mastercard; and Bradley Horowitz, CEO of MALIN+GOETZ, a skincare brand from New York.

Participants exchange insights, seize opportunities

At the conferences, 40 marketing services and e-commerce solutions suppliers presented diverse and quality marketing services to attendees from Hong Kong and overseas. At the event to find service providers, Trai Sasatavadhana, Business Development Director from Ananda Development Public Company Limited, Thailand, welcomed the exhibition. He said: “The event exceeded my expectations, and I can really feel that the city is ready to restart. There were a lot of interesting solutions, great speakers and topics discussed.”

More than 150 business matching sessions helped brand and marketing company representatives work together. At the end of the event, a performance by singers JW and DJ King helped attendees unwind, connect and broaden their networks.

Supports from industry facilitate interaction

MarketingPulse and eTailingPulse were supported by a number of organisations and industry associations, including the Hong Kong Federation of E-Commerce, Hong Kong Federation of Live Commerce, Hong Kong Public Relations Professionals’ Association, Hang Seng Bank, EternityX and the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong, and IAB Hong Kong powered by HKDMA.

Video on-demand pass available until 13 April

Industry professionals will be able to access the online MarketingPulse & eTailingPulse platform from tomorrow, 14 March, until 13 April, offering a chance to take advantage of the many features of the platform and revisit the events online.

MarketingPulse website: https://marketingpulse.hktdc.com/conference/mp/en
eTailingPulse website: https://etailingpulse.hktdc.com/conference/etp/en

Photo download: https://bit.ly/43enXZE