HSBC

The Client

HSBC’s inaugural 3-day Global Investment Summit (GIS) event in 2024, brought the investment world to Hong Kong. It was the perfect setting to position HSBC as the global connector, a respected force with a finger firmly on the pulse of an ever-evolving economic landscape.

A year later, the spotlight returned to HSBC, this time even brighter. Over three days, more than 3,000+ delegates gathered in Hong Kong for GIS 2025, joined by 70+ expert speakers from across the world of finance, economics, and policy.

Expected

Building upon the outstanding success of the inaugural HSBC Global Investment Summit, we were tasked with looking at the creative evolution for the 2025 event. With a high benchmark already set, and to celebrate the highly significant 160-year HSBC milestone, our aim was to do things even bigger, bolder and better.

4,000 delegates were on an exclusive guest list that included world-class experts, political leaders, institutional investors and top decision-makers. They were invited once more to Hong Kong, to explore a new era of global connectivity across three key topics – new networks of innovation, finance & trade and influence. With this in mind, we wanted to position HSBC as a true super-connector, facilitating businesses and economies to unlock opportunity through networks and new connections.

Delivered

To make our campaign truly resonate, we took a deep dive into audience identity.  Not just who they are, but how and where they engage with the world around them. We analysed everything from media consumption habits to music preferences, enabling us to design a strategic and creative approach that was considered from prime to covert.

This insight shaped everything from channel selection to the development of a bespoke musical composition, crafted to strike an emotional chord and enhance brand recall through a multisensory experience. Every touchpoint was deliberately designed to cut through – not just to be seen or heard, but to be felt.

We also scrutinised other key global events to ensure our campaign stood apart for a summit that was not just another event, but a new era of global connectivity.

Taking GIS 2024 as a platform, we then created a cohesive suite of creative and messaging that included everything from hero films, bespoke music composition and airport takeovers, to bookmarks, digital ads and event branding. In total we delivered 96 films, 58 storyboards, multi-market media, Uber in-app ad integrations, and live event comms — rolled out in 11+ markets. To put the scale of this monumental team effort into some context, it would have taken a single person three years’ solid work to deliver all this!

Exceeded

This year, we wanted to more than inform, we strived to inspire, intrigue and elevate. Capturing the spirit of HSBC Global Investment Summit 2025 as not just a summit but a global nexus of connections powered by HSBC at its core.

We knew reach wasn’t enough – we needed resonance. By targeting institutional clients through a blend of prestige placements and personalised engagement across earned, comms and paid media. The result? HSBC’s most engaged summit to date, with global impact to match.

•  #1 Global event hashtag on LinkedIn – target met and exceeded from last year
• +175% YoY Earned media coverage across 11 markets
• +13% YoY 45 media outlets present
• +73% YoY 156 journalists present
• +51% YoY 3,016 Earned media articles
• +350% YoY 18 Bloomberg on-site interviews

Fancy a peek behind the scenes?

We caught up with Senior Account Director, Cole Procter, fresh from HSBC’s GIS 2025 Summit, to get the inside scoop on the event.