Living in Hong Kong

If you are watching local TV channel TVB Pearl, I think you will notice that many commercials there are about watches. Raymond Weil, Omega, Lange & Söhne (which my former PCCW colleague Leo loves to prunounce), Ebel, and more have been proudly displayed to viewers. Even during times when the economy was down, watches and jewelry were always part of the TV show. Many of them have sponsored sitcoms and TV series.

But why do these products continue their promotion even when the economy leans towards depression?

Jewellery and watch shops, along with consumer and electronic outlets, could fare better than most because they have improved their brand-building activity in the city, according to Sherriff Luk Ting-kwong, director of the Asian Centre for Brand Management at Polytechnic University.

Tourists come to Hong Kong buy genuine, if not famous brands instead of those bootleg versions that could end up in the trash bin in the customs department within their country's airports.

It may be costly to do such exercise initially, branding indeed pays off long after we invest on it. To learn more about branding, I recommend my ex-boss site www.buildingbrands.com.