What innovation means in Hong Kong
28th August 2009
Hong Kong can equally be a fast-paced, glitzy, international business hub or a city revered for its traditional temples, festivals and eastern values. But where does creativity and innovation fit into this tension of contrasts?
Winnie So, a Hong Kong resident of 16 years and publisher of the luxury destination address books - Little Cream Book - states, “In the US, creativity and innovation are often associated with breakthrough discoveries. In Hong Kong, creativity and innovation are often found when looking for efficiency: faster, better, cheaper ways of getting things done or made. For example, Hong Kong gave birth to Asia Miles, a much-improved and expansive frequent flyer program that allows frequent flyers to earn and redeem mileage not only on airlines and hotels, but also restaurants and spas and other retail outlets in countries throughout Asia.”
For Sofia Mavros, a consultant with the ideas company Clear Asia, the topics of innovation and creativity take on a different meaning for her in Hong Kong. “I was raised and educated in South Africa, a country where you come into contact with innovation out of necessity on a day-to-day basis. Consider the taxi driver who cannot afford to replace his broken steering wheel. Instead he may weld on a spanner and use this as a steering wheel instead! And it works! People in South Africa often need to ‘innovate’ to survive. But in Hong Kong, innovation is more about the re-invention of what is working and possibly doing it better, or with a twist, that makes it feel more relevant to local consumers.”
She cites the example of Cafe De Coral, the largest publicly listed Chinese fast food restaurant group in the world (with over 330 outlets in the APAC region) and how the brand has maintained its market leadership in the Hong Kong fast food industry by tapping into the need for local favourites, fast. “Hong Kongers rarely cook for themselves and Cafe De Coral has managed to tap into different eating occasions with a breakfast, lunch, tea-time, dinner, light supper, snacks and party menu. The restaurant is self-service - meaning no service fee - and consumers are reassured of fresh, affordable, fast, local meals that are consistent across every outlet. The brand manages to compete with fast food outlets like McDonalds as they deliver to local tastes. Though McDonalds is trying to localise their menu, they don’t serve rice!”
The most oft-cited innovative home-grown brand is G.O.D. (Goods of Desire), a lifestyle retail concept store whose creative, and often tongue-in-cheek, take on local culture has become in So’s words, “an iconic Hong Kong brand.” It’s also why Starbucks in its drive to become more local worked with G.O.D. to create a Hong Kong concept Starbucks coffee shop. Seen as making Chinese products 'cool' G.O.D. offers a broad selection of novel and inventive products that aren’t seen elsewhere, forcing people to think in different ways.
As Alexandra Harney, a consultant at Visibility and author of ‘The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage’ explains, “Every year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the city goes mad for mooncakes, these gummy, sweet pastries that people give to relatives and friends to celebrate the holiday. Typically, they are round and have Chinese characters and designs on them. The owner, Douglas Young, decided to change the design and made G.O.D’s mooncakes into little human behinds, so the mooncakes are ‘mooning’ you. They were hilarious! And some were even a little offensive! But they were nonetheless a true innovation on a traditional product that got people talking.”
As Mavros re-iterates, “Innovation in itself is not always about the ‘new’ but can also be about how creatively you re-invent the old.” In agreement is Melanie Osborne, a digital business consultant for brand communications agency Eight Partnership. “Innovation means doing the same things differently. It’s about having a new take on something, having a different perspective.”
But the main issue Australian born Osborne has in Hong Kong is finding creative talent. “In my line of work, finding good designers with real creative flair often presents a challenge. Now having said that, creativity does exist here, but it tends to be quite underground, exclusive even. For example, art exhibitions sometimes tend not to be well publicised so they feel more select and elite. Exclusivity is so important here.”
But it’s exactly this underground, exclusive ‘from the street’ vibe that works to Hong Kong’s advantage - both for local and foreign brands. Hypebeast.com, a locally based site with daily fashion, design and music news, has become the ‘go to’ update source for thousands across the globe. “It’s one of the biggest sites within its genre in the world, and a leader in releasing information about the newest and coolest gear daily,” says Charlie Tatham, a Hong Kong raised account executive also working at Eight Partnership.
Similarly, Adidas utilised underground creative networks for their global, multi-platform ‘Celebrate Originality’ campaign that marked their 60th birthday. The brand partnered with alivenotdead.com - an online community dedicated to helping artists in Hong Kong - to help them roll out their strategy.
But where do these creative underground networks fit in the future? Harney believes Hong Kong is in the midst of redefining itself as China reclaims its place on the global stage. As she says, “There is a perception that the city has not done a good job in attracting creative industries or artists, and that this is affecting the city’s economic prospects. Hong Kong government officials believe the city needs to ‘get culture’ and become more creative by building giant museums. I’m skeptical of that process, but I do think the city is starting to benefit from the efforts of a younger generation of Hong Kong residents, many educated abroad, who are returning to set up institutions on a smaller scale that are enhancing the city’s cultural life.”
Maybe the Hong Kong population could also take inspiration from London’s residents as Mavros suggests. “London is not afraid. Anything goes. The city is so diverse and so open to the new and bizarre while Hong Kong tends to play things on the safe side. That’s why big brands like Louis Vuitton and Prada do well here. People feel safe in numbers and don’t really want to break any rules!”
Breaking the rules? Sounds like the first step in Innovation 101 to me.