The ZenithOptimedia study revealed that respondents having an interest in jewellery and luxury goods recalled retail and food and drinks ads the best. Similarly, those interested in banking would more likely remember seeing mobile phone or movie ads.
However, this recall tendency does not occur with all categories as there is a high correlation between category interest and recall in mobile phone, computer and retail advertising.
Jane Koitka, Zenith director of strategic resources, said there was nothing unusual in mobile phone ads being the most recalled because "in Hong Kong, people are always looking for the latest and trendiest models and these phones are almost part of their bodies".
However, she said it was more difficult to explain why they were more likely to remember movie ads when they were interested in checking out banking products and services.
"It could be that due to category clutter combined with the fact that ads within a certain category might look similar to each other.
"It could also come down to the level of engagement a person has with a category and so we see mobile phones, retail and food and drink coming out as the best recalled," she said.
She added that the results could be used by marketers to boost their offering in the marketplace.
"If I were a bank and I knew that people were more likely to recall movie ads when looking at my ad, I might consider adding a celebrity to my campaign," Koitka said.
The study also found that while big ads such as a double page spread aids ad recall they won't necessarily aid the brand recall process.
"In some categories, small ads do better. It all comes down to the creative approach and we also found that visuals and headlines, and not the text, are all important in aiding brand recall," she said.
There was also a strong correlation between categories and newspapers, which reflects the brand positioning of the publications.
The luxury and jewellery categories, for instance, work better in the South China Morning Post.
There was also a strong correlation between automotive and toiletries with Apple Daily, and food and drink, retail and toiletries with Oriental Daily News.
Koitka said that Zenith might undertake a similar study next year because the way people think changes over time.
"It hasn't always been the case that mobile phones are uppermost on people's minds. Fashion trends change so it might be worthwhile to undertake further studies to track the changes," she said.
The research was conducted by Synovate, with 1,200 people taking part in face-to-face interviews.