HKTB: have you asked your boss yet?

Asking your boss for vacation days is often an intimidating activity.

Hong Kong Tourism Board’s Ask Your Boss campaign turns it around into something fun and playful by asking users to submit creative annual leave applications as if they were applying for holidays at work.

Users with the most creative applications will win a four-day-three-night trip to Hong Kong and the contest is open to residents of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

“It’s a simple yet provocative call to action.  All it takes to win a trip to Hong Kong is to ‘ask the boss’ for leave,” Tina Chao, director of marketing at Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), said.

The hypothetical boss doesn’t have to be your supervisor at work – it could be your spouse or partner or even yourself.  Since the campaign runs on Facebook, Chao says it appeals to people of all ages, whether they work in an office or as a homemaker.

She said, “The contest allows them to express their desire to take time off to their friends or just blow off some steam.”

Percy Kwan, manager of digital marketing at HKTB, says the applications are mainly to be written in the form of emails.

“The judging criteria is that the leave request must be related to Hong Kong, demonstrate the participant’s enthusiasm for visiting the city and be persuasive and compelling,” she said.

Another objective of the Facebook contest is to help drive downloads for HKTB’s My Hong Kong Guide App and the My Time For videos that share information about destinations within Hong Kong.

“In the process of taking part in the contest, users will be asked to choose one of four types of Hong Kong travel experiences illustrated by the videos,” Chao said.

“We encourage participants to download the app once they have submitted their leave.  This will act as a handy reminder for them to start planning for their trip to Hong Kong. One of the key features of the app is the ability to create itineraries and share them publicly to invite friends to join in.”

[Image]: Shutterstock

HKTB: have you asked your boss yet?