Background
The Hong Kong 4As was established in 1957, at a time when the local advertising industry was in its infancy, and in need of a local professional body to be established to set and maintain business ethics, enforce an advertising standards code, and act as an arbiter between the agencies. Today, we have around 23 members, most of whom are major advertising and media agencies sharing common objectives. • To maintain and protect best practices in our industry • To promote and inspire creative excellence • To create fair and level playing field for all The Hong Kong 4As is run by an Executive Committee, supported by Sub-Committees. Committee members, elected from the senior management of member agencies, deal with issues concerning the future of the advertising industry and the business of member agencies. As the industry continues to evolve and become even more complex, our role is more important than ever. We act as a forum for local advertising and media agencies to discuss ideas and exchange views, organise training programmes and other member activities, and, always looking ahead, pave the way forward for tomorrow’s generation. Last but not least are our award competitions, recognising and honouring great work. Designed to continually raise the bar, and promote creative excellence. Our industry is very different today than in 1957. Our principles and our objectives, remain the same.
Mission
We have a responsibility to the Hong Kong advertising industry, and to the general public, to establish and maintain a high standard of advertising behaviour and ensure that all advertisements are legal, clean, honest and truthful. There are three aspects to this:
Standards
To promote the highest standards of business ethics among our members in their dealings with the public, their clients and among themselves. To encourage the association of advertising agencies and their commitment to ensuring the specialised knowledge and experience essential to provide efficient service, and professional and financial standards to their clients. To afford means of arbitration on or for the settlement of disputes or questions between advertising agencies or between such agencies and third parties.
Mutual Help
To create and maintain a forum for the better exchange of views and communication between advertising agencies and others engaged in the advertising industry. To use the forum to advise and provide information and assistance to Members on the better management and planning of their businesses. To ascertain and to watch over legislation affecting advertising agencies. To represent the views of Members of the Association and of advertising agencies and on their behalf to enter into discussions and negotiations and to conclude agreements. To facilitate conferences, meetings and exhibitions for the discussion of professional affairs, interests and duties in the advertising industry.
Promotion
To represent and promote to all sections of the public, commerce and government the role of advertising as an essential social and economic requirement in a free enterprise society. To promote a better understanding of advertising and its role in society and to present on behalf of the industry explanation or answer to criticism of the industry to government bodies, consumer associations − other such bodies.
Chairman’s Message
Welcome to the Hong Kong 4As.
Our creative industry has navigated a period of profound change and remarkable resilience in the past year. We first faced the daunting challenge of a slow return to normalcy, followed by a string of economic boosters with incredible opportunities emerging, but not without their hurdles. More recently, we had to negotiate new challenges that ranged from the rise of AI to the reduction in spending to the change in the younger generation’s career outlook. Navigating this evolving landscape is anything but easy. Yet our community has shown extraordinary strength and innovation throughout. I am pleased to share some of the key achievements and milestones we have reached together last year and the first half of 2024: With the aim of ensuring sustainable growth, we expanded our association into a more diverse membership base. In 2023, we welcomed four new affiliate members, including Edelman, OPUS, Real Media and SDMC. Many new members offer additional Greater Bay Area coverage that helps strengthen our base. We celebrated tremendous success at the latest editions of the Kam Fan and Effie Awards. This time, we resumed full-scale, in-person judging for the Kam Fan Awards and held insightful panel discussions at MarketingPulse, with key judges gracing the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Effie Awards saw an increase in the number of entries and it received huge fanfare from both marketing clients and advertising agencies, continuing to set global standards in the award category. Through the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, which gathers the brightest minds in the advertising world, we extended our partnership with the government and offered the CreateHK sponsorship. Recently, we sent a stellar team of creatives that included an independent agency that won the Grand Kam Fan Award. We also sponsored top-performing students to attend Roger Hatchuel Academy for two consecutive years and, for the first time, we invited the Client of the Year Award winner to the festival, significantly growing our network and connections. But we are hardly stopping at that the Lions. In August 2023, a full Hong Kong delegation was sent to Mad Stars in Busan, Korea. Great strides have been made by our media agency members in the past 12 months in addressing key industry concerns. For instance, following Nielsen's departure, media agencies collectively selected and appointed NIQ to establish the New Media and Product Consumption Study. We look forward to seeing the results, which I am sure will offer important insights for our future work and long-term strategy. These exceptional results would not have been achievable without our people, who are the most important assets to any creative industry. As a collective, we have continued to nurture future talent and create a supportive platform for growth. Over the past year, we strengthened relationships with universities and tertiary institutions. At Hang Seng University, we provided a number of internships for budding talents, and at HK Design Institute, we hosted interactive Ad Tuesday talks and activities to engage and inspire young minds. At Hong Kong Baptist University, we supported initiatives like The Young Agency and the HKBU Externship programme, which saw robust participation from our member agencies. At the heart of our work is the desire to build a vibrant advertising community that offers a unique voice across sectors. HK4As remain part of the Advisory Committee on Graduate Employment (ACGE), the employment board committee of Hong Kong Baptist University, and the Media and Communications Training Board (MCTB) of the Vocational Training Council (VTC), where we help formulate long-term strategies on the important topics of recruitment and retention, and attracting young professionals. We reconnected with the University of Hong Kong and we will participate in its Career Fair in September 2024. We also represent our industry in the HKTDC Design, Marketing and Licensing Services Advisory Committee, and remain an important part of the VoxComm network, the global voice championing the value that agencies bring to their clients. Moving forward, we see changes looming at an unprecedented pace for our industry, bringing both challenges and opportunities. However, our combined efforts and shared vision will lead us to even greater heights. I must also take the opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of our members, for we could not have achieved any of our work, past or future, without your continued support, trust and contribution. HK4As will continue to play a pivotal role in all areas of Hong Kong’s advertising and creative industry. Through trendsetting platforms, collaboration with stakeholders, our member agencies and work with educational institutions, we shall continue to build a strong foundation for collaboration and innovation. Let's continue to come together to seize new opportunities, nurture future talents, and build a thriving and sustainable future for our industry.
Alexis Chiu
Chairman 2024
Executive Committee
Chairman
Alexis Chiu
Group Managing Director
Saatchi & Saatchi Hong Kong
Vice Chairman
Yvonne Lau
Managing Director
Zenith Hong Kong
Committee Member
Duffy Lau
Managing Director
Grey Hong Kong
Committee Member
Maggie Wong
Chief Executive Officer
VML
Committee Member
Samuel Ho
General Manager
PHD Hong Kong
2024
Secretariat
Onie Chu
Executive Director
Appointed by the Executive Committee, the Executive Director, in charge of the HK4As Secretariat, is responsible to conduct the business in accordance with the constitution and Members‘ interest.
