bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Chris Davis

Certificate of merit and citation for innovation

Regent Lane

Echoing the adage that necessity is the mother of all invention, Regent Lane's marketing campaign for the animated movie McDull, Hong Kong One Egg Tart was shaped around an extremely tight budget.

'At the time of the film's release we had so little money  for marketing that we decided to look at other options such as forming strategic partnerships with our various business partners,' says Toby Chan, Regent Lane marketing director. The marketing budget was less than  $1 million.

The film,  whose central character is McDull, an affable Hong Kong resident, who, along with his family, struggles to cope with life's challenges, has received a number of awards.

It grossed more than   $15 million at  the box office when it was released during the 2001 Christmas season and was winner of the Crystal For Best Feature at the 2003 Grand Prix Annecy held in France, and winner of the Best Animation Award at the 39th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.

Mr Chan says Regent entered into joint promotions and co-partnership agreements with One2Free, Kodak, SOGO, 7-Eleven, McDonald's and a number of chain stores to promote and retail McDull merchandise.

'These types of partnerships are helping to take the McDull concept from a niche market and expose it to a wider audience. Our goal is to build brand awareness with the aim of creating an Asian trade name that has the same impact as Disney characters or Sesame Street,' Mr Chan says.

McDull, Hong Kong One Egg Tart was produced entirely in Hong Kong by Regent Lane, a marketing company that employs about 30 staff and produces and distributes about 400 items, including stationery, comics, soft toys, CDs, VCDs and audio products. The company also founded and operates Yellowbus, a children's interactive  entertainment website.

Since the movie's release, sales of McDull merchandise has increased by 40 per cent.

Mr Chan says the movie concept was developed during the  height of the Asian economic crisis, when many ordinary Hong Kong people were suffering.  'Obviously, we wanted to produce a movie that was successful but we also wanted to cheer people up.'

Mr Chan says that for most small businesses, effective marketing is a make-or-break necessity.  'You have  to let people know about the wonderful things your business can provide  them, which means  your business must first provide those wonderful things that people are willing to pay for,' he says.

Regent is proud that a small Hong Kong organisation with little resources other than a good marketing plan can enter the HKMA/TVB awards and gain public and professional recognition  by winning a Certificate of Merit and Citation For Innovation.

'We hope our success will act as encouragement to other companies and inspire them to develop innovative marketing plans.'



Partnerships key to McDull success