Ocean Park, the true Hong Konger’s theme park, has just taken more initiatives to embraces digital and interactive marketing to promote their recently open Amazing Asian Animals. They revamped their website, created an online platform in tvb.com and setup their official Facebook page.

Revamped Ocean Park Web Site

▲ Ocean Park’s Revamped Website of Amazing Asian Animals

Ocean Park revamped thier website and launched it at the end of May. The website looks much refreshing and likely targets to youngsters. Heavy flash animation are used and Facebook fan page is also introduced for the first time.

Interactive Campaing on TVB.com

▲ Ocean Park’s Interactive Campaing on TVB.com’s MyTV

▲ Ocean Park’s Q&A in the Interactive Campaign

Ocean Park partners with TVB.com to launch an interactive campaign as well. They put a few videos about the new Amazing Asian Animals on MyTV to introduce their new residents like giant panda, red panda, Chinese giant salamander. After viewing those clips, users can try the Q&A and get a chance to win tickets to Ocean Park.

Ocean Park’s Facebook Fan Page

▲ Ocean Park’s offical Facebook Fan Page

The theme park try-out social media as well to promote themselves among the younger generation. It launches their offical Facebook fan page recently and posted some events, photos, etc. to engaged its fans. However, it’s seems the other user-created fan page are much more engaging with Ocean Park’s funny ads.

After all, I am happy to see Ocean Park has visioned that interactive marketing is the key factor of success advertising campaign. I wish they will promote this true theme park of Hong Kong succesfully to the world through the new media.

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Bing! Microsoft just released their revamped Live Search engine and name it Bing. Make sure you have selected “United States” as country and not “Hong Kong SAR”, otherwise, you will just get a Bing Beta rather than a Preview version of Bing.

Google-like Search Result Page

▲ Bing Search Result of “Hong Kong”

▲ Bing Map Search Result of “Hong Kong”

▲ Bing Images Search Result of “Hong Kong”

In sense of user-interface, I can’t really spot any major difference. The look-and-feel of the search result page is even very similar to Google, except Bing has some photo clip art under its logo and a search keyword sidebar are insert on the left.

The sidebar should take a credit, it does list out keyword-related information, e.g. additional keywords, related search phrases and result display options. However, as a decision engine, Bing’s results during I try-out disappointed me as it is not as intelligent as i expected, and it doesn’t differentiate itself from a general search engine to become a real tool to help people to make decisions.

Shopping and Video Search Results Look Better

▲ Bing Shopping Search Result of “Mobile Phone”

▲ Bing Video Search Result of “Britain’s Got Talent”

Bing’s Shopping Search with users & expert reviews, and other product options are great to ease user to compare different product, but i doubt if we will have this features in Hong Kong. And it’s Video Search result listing are awesome too, as we can play the videos within the search result page, of which Google has stopped this features.

In general, Bing surprised me without any suprising features and I can’t see any major features making it as a decision engine as Microsoft Bing team said. I will wait to see for more intelligent search engine in future release.

Extended Reading

• Google and Bing: Plagiarism or … ? by Cappella’s Blogspot
• Bing Launch, Day Two by The Big Money
• Badda-Bing Indeed. by TechCrunch

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Microsoft is launching their latest generation search engine – Bing (previous known as codename Kumo) by June 3. Together with the recently released Wolfram|Alpha, they introduce much speculations about the future of search engines, in my view, it’s about evolution of intelligence in search engines.

Bing – A Decision Engine

▲ Bing Search Result Page (See more in Bing’s Introductory Video)

The biggest change in Bing is the presentation of information on SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). They are customized for the type of search keywords. Its aim is to help users have a better way to search, bing and decide easily, so the Bing team calls Bing a decision engine in introduction letter:

We took a new approach to go beyond search to build what we call a decision engine. With a powerful set of intuitive tools on top of a world class search service, Bing will help you make smarter, faster decisions.

- Bing Team, Microsoft

Microsoft is going launch this decision engine with pretty huge spending campaign of $80 – $100 million [via AdAge]. Definitely, it is looking for a bigger slice of market share in both search engine and keyword ad market. Let’s see if this decision engine can bring any challenge to search giant Google in June.

Wolfram Alpha – An Answer-Engine

▲ Wolfram|Alpha Search Result for “President of U.S.”

Another powerful intelligent search engine, Wolfram|Alpha, was just launched on Jun 16. Its significant difference with other search engines is that it answers your specific questions directly with appropriate format, but not listing links. So it seems like a Wikipedia to me rather than another Google, and kind of Google + Wikipedia as you can search the same questions in Google and probably it shows you Wikipedia links.

Search Engines need Intelligence

To conclude, both Bing and Wolfram|Alpha confirm the trend of search engine to provide better user experience, they have to be much intelligent. Their results should address users’ questions with easy-to-understand presentation, but not only links.

Extended Reading

• Bing! Microsoft Prepares For War With A Revamped Search Engine (Screenshots) by TechCrunch
• Wolfram ‘search engine’ goes live by BBC News
• Wolfram|Alpha by Wikipedia

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TVB.com released its very first live streaming channel a month ago, a myTV Live beta was launched to offer users 24-hour live TVB Interactive News Channel (“互動新聞台”). Though it’s not a dramatic breakthrough to put all their existing free-to-air channels online, e.g. Jade & Pearl, this beta definitely helps to convince this Hong Kong TV monopoly progressively to embrace the interactive media.

Related Posts

• myTV x MSN: Chat and watch TV online
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• Ocean Park Embraces Interactive Marketing

TVB.com partners with MSN to launch a crossover myTV x MSN which offers MSN users to watch TV online while they are chatting on Windows Live Messenger v9. This partnership not only raise the awareness of the online myTV service of TVB.com, but also celebrate MSN 10th anniversary with an innovative idea.

Watch TV and Chat Simultaneously

A TVB icon will show up in the tab bar for MSN users who has upgraded to Windows Live Messenger v9 (WL v9), and myTV windows will pop-up after users clicking on the icon. This myTV x MSN service offers 5 channels including Variety, Entertainment, Food, Music & Travel, however, users are not able to select TV programmes within individual. Selecting other programmes or “more” will open myTV website in another web browser.

Interactive TV with information

As an interactive media, myTV service offers you some additional information which is related to the TV programmes. This function is especially useful for some travel and dining programmes to provide travel tips and restaurant information.

MSN 10th Anniversary

To celebrate MSN 10th anniversary, they leverage on the myTV x MSN campaign and create a mini site to engage TV fans on MSN. They have also created some customized MSN icon image with popular TVB’s drama theme for MSN users to download as well.

No doubt this partnership will bring some MSN geeks to watch traditional TV programmes online, and myTV service is relatively benefited much in brand awareness from this partnership.

Extended Reading

• MyTV X MSN，一邊睇，一邊傾偈 by MSN HK FYI
• TVB.com partners MSN for online MyTV service by BrandRepublic Asia
• MSN 精彩 10 年 by MSN HK

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Google just launched Google Hong Kong Finance (Google 香港財經) Beta on March 30, 2009. It is a localized version of Google Finance, which has already been launched for over 3 years in U.S., and offers users with comprehensive finance information for Hong Kong, China and major worldwide stock markets.

Awesome and Unique features

 Streaming Stock Quote. Besides offering real-time stock quote for China and U.S. market and 15-minute delay for Hong Kong, the displayed prices are updated automatically like streaming quote without any clicks and refresh. And most importantly, it’s free.

Goolge Trend-like Chart. The charts come along with relevant news with labels associated on the timelines which is similar to Google Trend. It helps users to identify any possible causes of the price movement. The relevant news which suggested by Google serach engine consolidate the major local financial news sources like AAStocks.com and 128128.com which is very handy for users. I hope Google will introduce the relevant blogs feature of which Google Finance in U.S. offer real soon.

Interactive Analysis. The interactive charts and analysis tools faciliates users of all-kind. Chart analysis is handy with comprehensive tool in Flash with 10-year historical data. Technical analysis is also easy by specifying criterias in “Stock Screener” (“股票篩選器”).

Promotion Event in Causeway Bay

Just read about in Twitter today that Google has temporaily rented a store in crowded Causeway Bay to introduce Google HK Finance Beta to the public. I have got a chance to be there but realized there are not many passer-by interested, and I am one of a few to sit down and experience the new awesome localized service by Google. And I was surpised by their “Google Chupa Chups” and Octopus card case with a bull in 2008 :p

Extended Reading

• “Google Finance” by Wikipedia
• “Google Finance Blog” by Google
• “Google香港財經Beta正式推出　提供一站式股票市場資訊” by e-zone 討論區

Related Posts

• TVB.com released myTV Live beta
• WordCamp Hong Kong 2009
• Microsoft’s Bing Surprises Us With No Surprising Features