Hong Kong, May 12th, 2020

Based in Hong Kong, 4HK is a boutique agency that provides digital marketing services and consultation for its clients. With a proven reputation in the industry, the agency aims to grow together with its clients through data and innovation.

Andrew Lin is the managing director of the agency, which he co-founded with a group of partners. Since then, the agency has only grown, working with a diverse number of clients.

TIA talked to Andrew to discuss his personal journey, the main features of the agency and the changes brought in by the COVID-19 epidemic.

What makes Hong Kong attractive?

Hong Kong is also “Home Kong” for me. There’s a couple of reasons why Hong Kong is such an attractive place to do business.

It’s physically located in the center of Asia and we’re a couple of hours away from all major Asia cities. Hong Kong has strong British influence hence English is used almost every day for business.

Low business tax rates (at 17.5%) and no VAT makes Hong Kong one of the best places to start and run your business. As a gateway or bridge to China, it offers a stepping stone into one of the world’s largest markets.

Before the spread of COVID-19, to which challenges were you struggling and how are you dealing with them now?

As a boutique agency, we’re always engaging and getting feedback from our customers/clients. Prior to the epidemic, we were constantly communicating with our clients face to face or in person. It gives our service a bit of a personalized touch.

As with all businesses, we had to change our way of communication through online channels and our automated reporting systems. It’s difficult for some customers/clients as they’re not used to using these online conferences and meetings.

How’s the team holding together?

During the first outbreak in China which spread to Hong Kong very rapidly, we had to make a quick decision to protect our staff and employees. Working from home wasn’t really a big issue for us, as we’re used to just grabbing our laptops, phone and working on the go. As the condition stabilized in Hong Kong, we suggested taking shifts to work ensuring that there would be someone at the office during office hours.

What makes 4HK stand out from the rest?

4HK is a unique agency because we focus on 4 main pillars (hence 4HK):

Integrity – We believe what we do for our client. Growing their business requires a lot of hard work and building a strong foundation. We pride ourselves in our work and being transparent, everything is built from trust.

Passion – As a digital agency we’re extremely passionate about using creative and unique ways to tell stories. Everyone at the office loves what they’re doing and we’re constantly learning new things.

Innovation – It’s important to stay ahead of the curve and catch unique trends in the digital space . Marketing is such an old concept but executing it perfectly requires us to innovate and take on new approaches.

Collaboration – Working with a lot of SMEs and startups in Hong Kong, we’re proud to have built a strong network of communities helping each other out. One person cannot do everything, but collectively we can achieve a lot more.

Tell us about your personal journey. How did you find yourself as Managing Director at 4HK?

It was always my passion to pursue digital marketing after I graduated. First started out as a digital executive at a local agency where I learnt my trade in performance marketing and creative production.

Together with my coworkers, we started our own boutique agency and got our first project working with Tim Burton. That was the showcase that propelled us on the map and kickstarted my role as marketing director at 4HK.

Can you share some of 4HK’s most recent work that you’re really proud about?

Our Breitling showcase was one of our showcases that we’re most proud of. It’s a O2O campaign that connects online and offline seamlessly. The aim of the campaign was to bring offline traffic to the 4 retail stores across Hong Kong.

We created an online personality test asking simple questions which showcases Breitling’s branded pilots as a personality result. At the end of the game users will be prompt to collect a souvenir from one of the four retail locations where they would fill out a contact form. An automatic email would then be delivered to their email, which the user can then bring to the selected location and redeem the souvenir.

We promoted this campaign with hypebeast, MenClub, mens uno, esquireHK just to raise awareness. The result? We had to pause the campaign after launching the 3rd day, because the retail stores had given out all their souvenirs! At the end, the client restocked and the campaign collected over +1000 leads which could be added to their newsletter and subscription list.

You can try the game here.

What was the toughest challenge you faced when growing a business?

As the managing director, prioritizing the sheer amount of tasks and knowledge transfer were the top challenges during our expansion. As with many boutique agencies, we had to deal with a large amount of requests from various clients so managing which tasks to prioritize was key to developing a successful client relationship.

Another challenge was knowledge transfer and education. Our digital marketing space is constantly changing and being able to keep up to date on products and trends is crucial to add value to our clients. We spend a lot of time and effort with our media partners on training and team building to make sure we go the extra mile when coming up with creative ideas and strategies.

A fundamental aspect of digital agencies nowadays is being innovative. What steps have you put in place to guarantee this happens at the agency?

We partnered with an accelerator program in Hong Kong LimeHK, which help drive a lot of innovative technologies and introduces us to new marketing ideas. Looking at the marketing tech startup scene really helps us automate and streamline processes that were inefficient.

At 4HK we’re constantly looking to improve ourselves, being early adopters on new formats, technology, etc always gives us an advantage compared to other agencies.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received and from who?

Mentors are so important; nobody can say they know everything. One of my earliest mentors gave me the advice “to be like a sponge and absorb all you can, stay curious and humble so your ego doesn’t get the better of you” which is a quote I live by and tell startup entrepreneurs and colleagues.

Three things (or as many as you want) I wish I knew when I left school:

Learn an extra language – you never know when it’ll come in handy and plus it makes you look a lot cooler when you can command another language fluently. Expands your business and personal network and opens up all kinds of opportunities.

Find a mentor – look for a mentor or senior that has been there and done that. They can pass you information that cannot be learnt from books or articles. Investing in yourself adds tremendous value and cannot be taken away.

Save Up – it’s tempting to spend your pay-cheque hanging out with friends and traveling, that’s the life ya? Saving up a portion, or investing in something you’re passionate about (blockchain/bitcoin, properties, stocks, etc). Do not invest in something just because someone is doing so, or you’re just jumping on the bandwagon.

Can you share a fun fact that people would be surprised to learn about you?

Besides co-founding 4HK, I manage and co-founded multiple companies and startups which has opened many doors and opportunities. I am a mentor and startup ecosystem builder here in Hong Kong.

Thanks Andrew!

Learn more about 4HK

Follow Andrew Lin on social media:
LinkedIn

Follow 4HK on social media:
Facebook
LinkedIn

Andrew LinConsultingCoronaviruscultureDigital agencyHong Kongprojects