Under the sponsorship of the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (Organisation Support Programme), the BDC is implementing the "Assisting Hong Kong Brands to Explore Northeast China Market through Organizing ‘Harbin Hong Kong Brand Festival’ Serial Activities” Project, with the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong acting as the Collaborating Organization and the CMA Exhibition Services Limited acting as Implementation Agent. This 12-month Project commenced on 17th February 2014.
With a considerable economic stature accounting for nearly one-tenth of the nation’s GDP, population and areas, Northeast China nevertheless remains a “virgin soil” where Hong Kong companies’ presence is relatively limited. For Hong Kong brands looking to further developing domestic sales, Northeast China has suggested itself not only as a “land of opportunities” with great growth potential, but also as the gateway par excellence to the greater Northeast Asia Economic Circle as well as a strategic foothold to tap into the vast markets in Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States and even the Central and Eastern Europe.
To facilitate Hong Kong brands’ recent moves to expand their business frontier nationwide, notably extending from South China to the North and riding on the bustling border trade between China and its neighbouring countries, this Project stages a large-scale brand promotional campaign supplemented by a bevy of brand research and training programs in the Harbin City, the primary politico-economic epicentre of Northeast region. Under the banner of “Harbin Hong Kong Brand Festival” (the Festival), it aims to promote the collective image of Hong Kong brands through an experience-focused approach and help Hong Kong enterprises to better understand the market environment and to explore business opportunities in the Northeast China particularly Harbin.
The Project features a series of diversified activities that tie in with the current needs of Hong Kong enterprises, including setting up a product gallery at the “2014 Hong Kong Trendy Products Expo, Harbin” (the Expo) to showcase the latest development of Hong Kong brands, centring on a specially-designed thematic zone that highlights the heritage and evolution of Hong Kong’s brand culture; rolling out a series of stage performances and programmes for promoting Hong Kong brands and representative products and services; hosting a networking meeting to facilitate the business matching between Hong Kong brand operators and Mainland distributors and other potential business partners; organizing a study tour to investigate the retail market and distribution channels in Harbin; conducting a questionnaire survey on local consumers notably visitors to the Expo, with an eye to understanding their brand preferences and consumption behaviours; and lining up publicity activities in Hong Kong including a experience sharing seminar with emphasis on the strategies and practices of Hong Kong brands in exploring Mainland market.
Project Deliverables
A well-decorated gallery namely “‘Lovely．Loving Hong Kong’ Brand Frontline” (「喜．愛香港」品牌站) to be set up at the “2014 Hong Kong Trendy Products Expo, Harbin” (the Expo) to display the representative products and/or information panels of selected Hong Kong brands. The gallery will serve as a window to demonstrate the stylish, charming and superior image of Hong Kong brands.
A specially-designed thematic zone namely “Love．Loving Hong Kong’ Wedding Brand Ring” (「囍．愛香港」婚嫁品牌圈) to be established at the centre of the Gallery to present the success story of selected representative brands engaged in wedding-related products and services, epitomizing the heritage and evolution of Hong Kong’s brand culture.
A business networking meeting to be held in Harbin in September, 2014, whereby Hong Kong brand operators could meet and explore cooperation with Mainland distributors, service providers and other potential business partners, especially those from Northeast China region.
A one-day business study tour in Harbin to be organized, during which Hong Kong brand operators would pay a visit to an enterprise/organization with rich experience in domestic sales and observe 2 representative shopping malls, so as to have better understanding of local business environment and distribution channels, and to shed light on the strategies for market entry and brand promotion.
A questionnaire survey conducted mainly at the Expo to gather views of local consumers, in particular their consumption preferences and perception of Hong Kong brands, with an eye to collecting first-hand information for Hong Kong companies’ reference.
A series of stage performances and thematic programmes with focus on selected manufacturing industries to be lined up at the Expo venue, scattering over the exhibition period, in an attempt to demonstrate the diversity, viability and lifestyle-orientation of Hong Kong brands.
A publicity and advertising campaign to be mounted by phases via the media of Hong Kong and Harbin as well as at the Expo, in tandem with the activities of the Festival.
A 2-hour concluding seminar will be hosted in Hong Kong to announce the findings of the consumer study on Northeast China consumers and business visit at Harbin, which would also serve as a forum for professionals and representatives from local companies to share experience and exchange views in regard to domestic sales.
A set of promotional materials, e.g. leaflets, brochures of the gallery exhibitors and souvenirs for visitors, will be produced and distributed during the exhibition.
Regular updates about the serial activities of the Project to be broadcasted through the websites of the Organizer and the Expo.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this webpage (or by members of the Project team) do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Trade and Industry Department or the Vetting Committee for the SME Development Fund and the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (Organisation Support Programme).
