HSBC Bank on Ride Shotgun for World-Class Creative
Posted by: Ellen Jackson - 09.05.24
When HSBC asked us to launch their first ever Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong we were more than up for the challenge. We created a concept for the prestigious three-day event, then rolled it out across creative assets from teaser, to launch, to post-event. This spanned everything from the physical venue, to a hero launch film, to social assets and everything in between. Best of all, we were invited along to see it all in action.
Over three days, the summit hosted over 2500 delegates. It gave industry experts, investors, and influential decision-makers a unique platform to come together and discuss the topics and trends shaping the global economy.
There were over 70 keynote speakers from the worlds of finance, business, academia, and government. And we were more than a bit excited to see our creative vision as the backdrop to speakers like Bill Gates, Michelle Yeoh and Gordon Brown.
As soon as the team had shaken off the jet lag, we just had to ask how it went. So we sat down with Senior Account Manager, Nicole Rushworth to get the lowdown on her summit experience.
Q: “你好, Nicole” (Hello Nicole), good to have you back. Before we dive in, could you tell people what you do at Ride Shotgun?
A: I’m part of the wonderful Client Services team in the Sheffield office – I’m a Senior Account Manager primarily on the HSBC account. A typical day is filled with client meetings, briefing, overseeing and nurturing projects to ensure that they run smoothly from start to finish. I get under the skin of the briefs to understand the strategic thinking that helps craft creative propositions and challenge the team to make sure the client objective is met. I basically talk and waffle to a lot of people!
Q: What was your first impression of the HSBC Global Investment Summit?
A: Absolutely floored by the scale and prestige of the event space itself and seeing our work literally in every corner of the venue. It created a great swell of pride for the entire team. It was very humbling. It seems silly to say, but it’s very easy to forget the scale and presence our creative can end up at from initial creative chats in our Sheffield office.
Q: How was our creative concept integrated into the venue?
A: Our initial brief was to create a “red thread” for the event, in the form of a graphic HSBC hex. Something that could flex and be transferable across multiple creative touch points. Our work really tapped into connectivity and networks through nodes and connecting lines.
It had to span everything from huge welcome backdrops as you entered the space, right down to the coffee cups and button stickers in the lifts. We also had a huge 42-meter screen in the main ballroom space that was calling out for something big and exciting. The client and our team agreed an event-opening film would be great to get the crowd going right from day one.
We wanted to make it feel immersive and really excite the audience, while also showcasing our graphic hex and tying all event creative together. And so our hero film was born, which then informed the majority of social ads, digital display banners, building wraps, OOH, airport display screens… the list goes on. All from one graphic hex.
Q: Were there any ‘wow’ moments?
A: Landing in Hong Kong and seeing our creative on every screen in baggage claim made everything very real. And there was definitely an audible ‘wow’ moment when we saw the hero film on the big screen for the first time during tests before the event. Not even just from me, from everyone else in the room too!
Q: What was the entertainment like?
A: HSBC were incredibly hospitable and invited me to one of their drinks receptions on day two of the event, complete with neon hex! They were bang on with their branding at this event and had hex shaped trays with hex shaped desserts too.
Q: What did you do in your downtime?
A: It was a pretty busy four days in Hong Kong, but I landed on Sunday morning and went straight to the park overlooking Victoria Harbour after the hotel check in. Then I had to quickly head over to the event space for a recce. Evenings were my chance to see the city and eat as much incredible food as possible. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much dim sum, but I absolutely loved it. I got to jump on the star ferry (which is only 50p!) over the harbour to see the Hong Kong skyline at night, and I headed over to the Nan Lian gardens in the heart of the city too.
Q: Sum up the experience in just three words
Proud. Inspiring. Stuffed – from all the dim sum.
Q: Let’s see some pictures then?
If you want to learn more about the inaugural event, check it out here.
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