Brand collaborations in Hong Kong

I started to think about brand collaborations in Hong Kong. On of the more unusual aspects of marketing in Hong Kong is the amount of co-marketing brand collaboration deals done and the unusual nature of these tie-ups. For instance last year I saw high-end Japanese streetwear brand Neighborhood have it’s brand on Coke Zero cans and worked on a ‘midnight rider’ influence programme.
Coke Zero x Neighborhood limited edition cans
This was used by Coke Zero to promote nighttime cycling. (It would be cooler and Hong Kong looks spectacular at night.) It also fits in with Neighborhood having been influenced by motorcycle culture. The programme was more Schwinn meets Easy Rider than Rapha style pelotons.
Untitled
Meanwhile McDonalds is usually better known for tie-ins with Sanrio character franchises. However, now it is running a promotion with Chinese personal care brand Walsh. Think of Walsh as similar to Cussons in the UK. With certain breakfast dishes, consumers get a bottle of body wash free. Beyond encouraging product trial I don’t get the brand collaborations like this which seem to happen regularly in Hong Kong.

Here is the TV advert being run to support the promotion. And no, I can’t really make that much sense of the synergies either, but it seems to work. More on marketing here.