Name: Andrew Yeung Ho-cheung Age: 27 Occupation: Senior promotions and advertising officer with Harbour City Young Post: What brought you into the field of event promotion and advertising? Yeung: After graduating from university in 2002, I joined the graduate trainee programme of Wharf (Holdings) Limited. I was rotated across different shopping malls under the group, doing short stints in marketing and advertising departments along the way. In 2004, I was transferred to Harbour City's promotions department, and I have worked there ever since. YP: What are your job duties? Y: We work as a team. We come up with creative ideas to spruce up the Harbour City image. Brand-building matters a lot if we are to stand out from the clusters of shopping malls now crowding the market. In collaboration with our tenants, we roll out special offers, such as concessionary parking fees to attract shoppers to visit our mall. We also hold theme-based promotions to celebrate the big festivals. Liaising with the media and getting publicity and coverage for events is part of my job. YP: Of the many special events you have organised for the mall, what is the most memorable? Y: In 2005, we had a joint promotion with the producers of the hit Hong Kong movie Perhaps Love, to launch our Christmas celebrations. I was in charge of the launch ceremony, which was held in front of the big TV screen. We had massive 3D decorations at the main entrance. The theme was 'Sparkling Love'. We wove a story around it about a child making a wish in front of a crystal ball and seeing his dream come true. We chose purple as the theme colour. The venue looked great, with a huge Christmas tree, a chandelier and crystal balls, all covered in glittering tinsel. YP: What are you are working on now? Y: A project with the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation to celebrate National Day, on October 1. We will put up a huge dragon-shaped bamboo structure in the mall. Children will be invited to put down their thoughts about dragons, or do an illustration, on paper and stick these on to little bamboo mats, and the mats will be tagged on to the big dragon structure. The hundreds of mats will look like the scales on the dragon's skin. The final effect will be that of a giant mosaic in the shape of China's symbolic mythical beast. YP: What is the secret to brand-building in shopping malls? Y: You have to think outside the box. Innovation and creativity are critical to successful promotion and advertising. With so many shopping malls around, and all furiously competing for shoppers' dollars, we have to keep innovating, adding on new, hip elements to make our events stand out. YP: Some people blame the shopping malls for fuelling rampant materialism among our young people. What are your thoughts on this? Y: A shopping mall is a lot more than a place for people to shop. The modern shopping mall is full of surprises. Take Harbour City, for example. We have set aside a corner of the mall for art. So there is an aspect of the mall that is part art gallery. And in the kiddies' section we have an indoor basketball court, where the more athletic shoppers can stop for a spot of exercise after a round of shopping.