Spending on advertising in Hong Kong reached a record high over the past two months, boosted by increased marketing campaigns for cosmetics and electronics brands popular with mainland shoppers.
Media-monitoring firm admanGo yesterday reported combined advertising expenditure in January and last month rose 12 per cent to HK$5.5 billion from last year.
The firm earlier estimated that advertising campaigns during the Lunar New Year break from January 16 to February 5 climbed 12 per cent from the previous year to HK$1.86 billion, also a record high.
'Mainland travellers are well known for being willing and able to spend on luxury products, which has influenced how retailers spend on advertising,' admanGo sales and marketing director Jennifer Ma said.
About 90 per cent of advertisers' campaigns in the past two months went to television, newspapers, magazines and outdoor media.
Data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board show total visitor arrivals from the mainland in January and February grew 20 per cent from a year ago to 5.4 million, accounting for the bulk of the city's total 7.5 million visitors during that period. The board estimates that average per capita spending of mainland tourists staying overnight in the city reached HK$8,220 last year.