ADWATCH: HONG KONG - Revitalised ginseng tea brand makes good on its revamp

Pharmaceutical giant Shenzhen Taitai dominated the TV recall chart for November in Hong Kong, as its two sub-brands, Eagle's American Ginseng Tea and Tai Tai Beauty Essence ranked the first and second spot in the chart. The company's marketing manager, Paul Leung, said major investments had been made in revitalising the image of Eagle's American Ginseng Tea, which has been in the market for 30 years, in order to make it more trendy and modern. He said: "When we bought the brand from its (previous owner) three years ago, it was a traditional brand. We started to reposition the brand from an old-fashioned health drink to a modern product, as we would like to better target the mature, working executive." With Christmas and New Year approaching, Leung said that ad budgets for TV would be doubled in order to encourage customers to buy the products as gifts for friends. He said: "We place great importance in our packaging design, as traditionally, Chinese will buy gifts for friends and relatives at festivals. We will double our ad budget on TV. Our TV spots are mainly broadcast during fringe time. Therefore, it is not a surprise that our TV commercials have been selected by TV viewers as the most memorable (as there is less clutter in those time slots)." Leung added that boosting brand awareness in the current market was easier, as people were now more concerned about their health. Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble saw three of its brands in the top 20 recall chart, with Rejoice taking fourth place, skincare range SK-II at number seven and Pantene at number 13.