The time at Hong Kong went by very fast and the next and final stop of our Dragon 100 trip was China.
We visited two completely different cities in China: Qian hai and Xi’an. Qian hai is a very modern city close to Hong Kong and the main industry of this city is its harbour industry. On the other hand, Xi’an, one of the oldest cities in China, has rich and culturally significant history.
Terracotta Army inside the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum, 3rd century BC
One of the world heritage
Being lucky enough to say I have already visited Hong Kong twice before, I like to think I know exactly what to expect no matter what I may face in the bustling city. Whether it is the never-ending wave of people and cars, yelling and beeping at each other or the amazing lights, food and culture. I thought I had seen everything Hong Kong had to offer.
To be honest, my personal opinion of the big advertising agencies hasn’t been very good in the past. I’ve always had this impression that they bring in employees with a ‘churn and burn’ mentality and that there’s no real loyalty or empathy for staff. I guess this is based off my own individual experience working in two agencies with teams of 10 people or less. I’ve always been in small, family type offices where everyone’s mates with everyone and we all know each other personally. So coming into the DDB Hong Kong office today, I was looking forward to seeing their workplace culture and the dynamics of the big agency environment.
DDB x QUT
Returning back to our old friend, Hotel Jen, for an industry visit was a great way to finish the Hong Kong leg of our QUT advertising and public relations study tour. Marisa Aranha, Vice President Sales and Marketing for Hotel Jen, provided a detailed insight into the creative branding of Hotel Jen (a rebrand for many of the Traders hotels) in 2014, and the subsequent launch of the new brand into the global market.
After experiencing #thatjenfeeling during the beginning days of our study tour, we were able to view the key objectives set out for Hotel Jen’s brand through our own experience. The objectives of the brand were met, and exceeded all our expectations spectacularly.
I thought I knew a bit about media agencies, having interned for several weeks at Starcom Brisbane. I had even done a mini-internship with Mediacom in Sydney. But visiting GroupM Hong Kong was an entirely different ADventure.
The front office at GroupM is just as captivating as their award winning campaigns
The income discrepancy in Hong Kong is truly astounding
“The only source of knowledge is experience.”
– Albert Einstein
The pinnacle event of each year’s University Scholars Leadership Symposium is the “Learning Journey” – a variety of hands on, real-world experiences designed to broaden each delegates perspectives on global humanitarian affairs.
I was fortunate enough to represent Australia, QUT and myself during an amazing whirlwind week in Hong Kong for Humanitarian Affair’s 6th University Scholars Leadership Symposium, which was co-organised with Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).
Whilst not my first time in Hong Kong, the opportunities afforded to me during the week made it a totally new experience, punctuated by truly inspirational speakers, great friends and eye-opening experiences. Read more
The dynamic Hong Kong Island skyline
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill
When the QUT Business School offered me the chance to visit one of the world’s most famous cities and hang out with student leaders from all over the world, I thought to myself: “God I have a hard life.”
The Hong Kong Island skyline
Along with industry visits and workshops, our two week Hong Kong advertising and public relations study tour had time to explore Hong Kong. And I still find myself amazed by the extraordinary diversity that Hong Kong has to offer. Within minutes you can go from wandering along the cluttered, neon-clad alleyways of central Hong Kong, to sitting on the coarse sand of an undeveloped island beach. We endeavored to discover as many of these hidden gems as we possibly could, with the following three standing out as “must do” experiences when you’re in Hong Kong.
For our last industry trip on the 2015 Hong Kong tour we visited QUT graduate Dean Vowles, the latest featured face in QUT’s ‘Graduate Success’ campaign. Dean works at DigitasLBi (DLBi) in Hong Kong, a digital agency with many highbrow clients including Disney and Cathay Pacific. Dean and the team at DLBi were kind enough to educate us on the function of a digital agency and their unique roles. Here are a few of our highlights:
