The Gate Hong Kong hires two 4A veterans to jazz up creative output

Tom Kao, who was appointed head of the Gate Asia five months ago, told Campaign Asia-Pacific that The Gate Hong Kong has not been very creatively driven in the past, as it has focused on the business side, with creative as a subsidiary.

"With my experience in running 4A agencies, I hope to enrich our company’s image and enhance its creative quality," he said. "Hence bringing in two energetic, young creative talents with proven track records. They have worked together for a long time and have built up a strong chemistry and rapport."

Wong and Choy were creative partners in a number of agencies, including at Leo Burnett and JWT Hong Kong, and have worked on accounts such as Heng Sang Bank, IKEA and Fancl. While at JWT in 2002, the duo won the Kam Fan award for their work on Kit Kat.

They will report to Seanna Liu, The Gate's Hong Kong MD, who also joined the agency this summer.

Kao said the agency hoped to expand its strong financial-based clientele into other business categories and consolidate and expand its relationships with current clients. The Gate's clients include State Street Global Advisors, HSBC, Bank of China, Merrill Lynch, and Bocom International.

The agency recently scooped a new account for Bank of China (Hong Kong)’s private banking, with the aim of refreshing the overall branding, while adding a more elegant tone to better communicate with its high-net-worth customers.

The Gate Hong Kong is part of The Gate Worldwide, with offices in London, New York, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. They are the advertising arm of MSQ Partners, a London based communications group, consisting of complementary but autonomous creative agencies in advertising, public relations, digital and design. MSQ Partners is 100 per cent owned by its staff and managers.