# How to Choose a Marketing Agency (HK). > Source: https://shakalakaa.com/hk/resources/how-to-choose-a-marketing-agency · Updated: 2026-10-18 · Market: HK Resource · Buyer Guide · Hong Kong # How to Choose a Marketing Agency (HK). What to check before you sign: proof, fees, PDPO consent, health-ad rules and a short checklist for each type of agency. Last updated October 2026 Quick answer To choose a marketing agency in Hong Kong, ask for results from a live account, get fees and account ownership in writing, and check how the agency handles PDPO direct-marketing consent. shakalakaa adds a short checklist for content, SEO and AI search, paid media and KOL agencies, plus the medical-advertising ordinance for healthcare buyers. ## What should you check first in a Hong Kong marketing agency? Last updated: October 2026 · Last checked: 18 October 2026 Check proof first: real reporting from an account the agency manages today, not a logo slide. Ask what counts as a conversion and how it is checked against the enquiries your team actually received. A report built on reach and impressions, with no cost per lead or cost per sale, says little about whether the spend produced revenue. Then send every shortlisted agency the same written brief, so the answers can be compared line by line. Ask each one what it would decline to take on; an agency that recommends its own service for every brief is selling rather than diagnosing. ## What does the PDPO mean for an agency running your lead generation? If an agency collects leads for you and follows them up by phone, SMS or messaging app, the direct-marketing rules in Part 6A of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance apply to your business. The PCPD's [Guidance on Direct Marketing↗ (opens in a new tab)](https://www.pcpd.org.hk/english/publications/files/GN_DM_e.pdf) (April 2023) says a data user must give specified information and get consent before using personal data in direct marketing, and that silence does not count as consent. - What consent wording appears on the form, and is direct-marketing consent asked for separately from the enquiry? - Where are consent records and opt-out requests kept, and who keeps the opt-out list current? - Does the first marketing message tell the person they can ask you to stop, free of charge? The PCPD guidance requires this on first use. - If leads are passed to a partner, has the separate written consent that the guidance requires for that transfer been collected? An agency that answers with a vague "we're PDPO compliant" and no described process is a weaker answer than one that walks you through each step. ## What should healthcare buyers check when choosing an agency in Hong Kong? Clinics, medical groups and health-product brands should check that the agency knows the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance (Cap. 231). The Department of Health's [Drug Office↗ (opens in a new tab)](https://www.drugoffice.gov.hk/eps/do/en/pharmaceutical_trade/other_useful_information/umao.html) says it prohibits or restricts advertisements for medicines, surgical appliances or treatments for the diseases and conditions in its schedules, and restricts six groups of claims for orally consumed products. Ask who checks each claim against the ordinance before an ad runs, and at which step. You can screen draft copy first with our free [Hong Kong medical ad checker](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/tools/hk-medical-ad-checker), and see how we work with clinics in our [Hong Kong aesthetic clinic case study](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/case-studies/aesthetic-clinic-meta-google-ads). ## How do you choose a content or video production agency in Hong Kong? Choose a content or video agency on finished work in your category and on what you own when the project ends. Ask to see the brief, the raw footage and the final cut for one recent project, and check that Cantonese, English and Traditional Chinese versions are written natively, not translated. Our approach is on the [Hong Kong content creation](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/services/content-creation) page. - Who owns the raw footage, project files and music or talent licences afterwards? - How many revision rounds are included, and what is the turnaround for each? - Are vertical, square and landscape cuts planned at the shoot rather than cropped later? - How will each piece be judged (watch time, clicks or enquiries), and who reports it? - For health and beauty brands, who checks scripts and captions for claims before filming? ## How do you choose an SEO or AI search (GEO) agency in Hong Kong? Choose an SEO or GEO agency on how it measures results: organic enquiries and citations in AI answers, not a ranking report alone. Hong Kong buyers search in both English and Traditional Chinese, so ask how each language is planned. See our [Hong Kong SEO](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/services/seo) page and our [AI search optimisation](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/services/geo-ai-search-optimization) page for how we report. - Does the work start with a technical and content audit you receive in writing? - Which buyer searches and AI prompts will be tracked, and how often are AI answers checked for citations? - Is content planned for English and Traditional Chinese searches separately? - Does the agency decline to guarantee rankings or AI citations? Nobody controls either. - Will the content, site changes and analytics stay in your company's name? ## How do you choose a performance marketing or media agency in Hong Kong? Choose a performance or media agency on tracked cost per lead or sale, and on who owns the ad accounts. Ask how conversions are checked against your CRM, and how the fee changes when spend rises. Our [Hong Kong performance marketing](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/services/performance-marketing) page shows how we set this up. - Are the ad accounts, pixels and conversion data in your company's name? - Is the fee flat or a percentage of spend, and what is billed separately? - How are reported conversions checked against real enquiries or orders? - How often is new creative tested, and who produces it? - Is reporting in HKD by channel and campaign, with weak results shown as well as strong ones? ## How do you choose a KOL, influencer or UGC agency in Hong Kong? Choose a KOL or UGC agency on how it picks creators and on the rights you get to the content. Ask for each creator's audience location and past results, not follower counts alone, and get usage rights in writing. KOL work sits inside our [Hong Kong social media](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/services/social-media-marketing) team, and Xiaohongshu work is on our [小紅書代運營](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/zh/services/xhs-marketing) page. - What share of each creator's audience is in Hong Kong, and how is that shown to you? - How long can you reuse the content in ads, and on which platforms? - Will paid posts carry the platform's own paid-partnership or branded-content label? - For health and beauty products, who checks creator scripts against the ordinance above? - How are results tracked (links, codes or enquiries) rather than views alone? ## What should you check when hiring one agency for several markets? Check whether one team plans, buys and reports for every market, or whether each country is handed to a different partner with its own data and its own report. shakalakaa runs Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan from one team; see our [Hong Kong](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/) page and our note on marketing across Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. ## What fee and contract terms should you agree in writing? Agree the fee model, what it excludes and the notice period in writing before work starts. A percentage-of-spend fee grows with your budget, so ask what result a proposed budget increase is expected to bring. Ad spend, production and landing pages are often billed separately. Ask what the handover looks like if you leave: admin access to your ad accounts, exported data, documented tracking and the creative files. If leaving means losing the account history, the switching cost is being built in rather than earned. ## What are the red flags when choosing an agency in Hong Kong? Four signs should stop a deal, or at least prompt harder questions before you sign. - **Guaranteed rankings, AI citations or lead volumes.** No agency controls any of them. - **Reporting only on platform-counted conversions**, never checked against the enquiries you received. - **A vague PDPO answer** with no consent wording or opt-out process described. - **Ad accounts, tracking or the website held in the agency's name** rather than yours. Related ## Keep exploring [ServiceHong Kong performance marketing Paid media reported in HKD against tracked leads.](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/services/performance-marketing)[ServiceAI search optimisation, Hong Kong Getting cited in AI answers in English and Chinese.](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/services/geo-ai-search-optimization)[ToolHong Kong medical ad checker Screen draft health ad copy before launch.](https://shakalakaa.com/hk/tools/hk-medical-ad-checker) FAQ ## Frequently Asked Questions. ### What should I ask a Hong Kong marketing agency before signing? Ask for results from a comparable live account, the fee model in writing, and who owns the ad accounts and data. For any lead follow-up, ask how direct-marketing consent and opt-out requests are handled under the PDPO. ### Does a Hong Kong agency need to handle PDPO direct-marketing consent? Yes, if it collects or follows up leads for you. The PCPD's Guidance on Direct Marketing says consent must be obtained before personal data is used in direct marketing, and that silence is not consent. Ask to see the consent wording and the opt-out process. ### Which type of agency does a Hong Kong company need? Start from the outcome you need. Paid media brings enquiries while spend runs, SEO and GEO build search demand that keeps working, and content and KOL work feed both. Many companies hire one agency for several of these so reporting stays in one place. ### Do medical advertising rules affect my choice of agency in Hong Kong? For clinics and health products, yes. The Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance prohibits or restricts ads for listed conditions and certain claims, so ask who checks each claim before an ad goes live.