HK Express devises hands-on challenge for free air tickets

The OOH gimmick is part of a rebranding campaign masterminded by local independent agency Secret Tour HK.

Joseph Hon, account manager with the agency, told Campaign Asia-Pacific that the client hopes the rebranding campaign will energize its image. And rather than focusing on an aggressive price war with its competitors, HK Express wanted to use a more emotional approach, he said.

The campaign reflects insights about the endurance and stamina of Hong Kong people. Hon referenced a 2012 Price and Earnings Report by UBS, which stated that Hong Kong people rank fifth in the world in terms of working overtime. He added that it's also not unusual to see people waiting for four hours outside a famous ramen restaurant. The news provides numerous other examples, like waiting for universal suffrage and another new free-to-air TV channel, he joked.

The contest starts 28 March and runs through 17 April, from 10 am to 2 am each day in a bus shelter on Parklane Avenue in the city's Tsim Sha Tsui district.

The installation will feature three touchscreens, each listing a different destination and the flying time to that destination. If someone can keep their hand on the touchscreen for the four hours it takes to fly to Tokyo, for example, they will earn a free ticket to Tokyo.

The agency will drive buzz for the contest through a YouTube video. The rebranding campaign also includes three print ads that feature real people rather than models, Hon said.

For example, one ad features an agency employee, Jennifer Yip, and her family (although the ad does not mention her employer). The copy focuses on her father, who encouraged her to travel to broaden her horizons but didn’t do so himself, preferring to save the money for his daughter.

In another part of the campaign, the agency invited Indie boy band 新青年理髮廳 ('New Youth Barbershop', pictured here) to lend its fun and geeky image to a video that will launch in April to promote a new route to Fukuoka.

HK Express flies to 10 destinations in Asia and is trying to encourage Hong Kong people to take more weekend getaways.