Hong Kong’s Omnichannel Reality: Why the Future of Advertising Is About Attention, Not Just Reach

Hong Kong is one of Asia’s most digitally connected markets, where consumers seamlessly move between streaming TV, mobile, social media and digital marketplaces – often using multiple screens at once. As the traditional path to purchase gives way to fluid, cross-device journeys, marketers face a new challenge: moving beyond reach to capture attention and relevance.

Magnite’s latest research highlights this shift, with more than half of viewers multitasking while watching TV and 55% highly likely to take action after seeing an ad on multiple devices. In Hong Kong, these behaviours are fast becoming the norm.

Against this backdrop, Magnite recently brought together industry leaders from Carousell Media, Havas Media, South China Morning Post (SCMP)  and Publicis Media at eMpower Hong Kong to explore what this multi-screen reality means for the future of programmatic advertising, omnichannel strategies and cross-device storytelling.

The Natural Rise of the “Second Screen”

With more than half of audiences using secondary devices while watching TV, the traditional television set is evolving. Rather than viewing mobile phones as a distraction or a competitor to the big screen, brands are beginning to view them as a natural extension of the consumer journey.

A compelling Connected TV campaign doesn’t necessarily end when the ad finishes – it often sparks an immediate search, product lookup, or deeper exploration on another device. This creates an opportunity to bridge upper-funnel storytelling with lower-funnel action in real time.

Angel Koh, Head of Sales, Carousell Media, highlighted that this behaviour is already playing out across digital marketplaces:

“More than 90% of our users are on mobile, making it the natural second screen. Consumers often discover a product on TV, then immediately turn to Carousell to search and learn more.”

Publishers are adapting just as quickly. Premium media owners like SCMP are redesigning content experiences around evolving consumption habits and investing in multimedia storytelling that better complements how audiences consume content today, explained Jo Liu, Associate Director Digital Advertising, SCMP.

“Consumers increasingly come to us as their second screen. That’s why we’ve evolved beyond traditional articles to deliver video, interactive graphics and richer storytelling experiences that match how audiences engage today.”

From Isolated Silos to Omni-Channel Harmony

Many brands advertise across multiple platforms, but true omnichannel strategy requires a unified, audience-first approach. Consumers don’t see channels – they see one brand.
When CTV, mobile, video, display, and other channels are planned in silos, consumers are often overexposed to the same messaging. By coordinating campaigns across screens, brands can better manage frequency, deliver sequential storytelling, and create a more seamless consumer experience.

As Louis Ng, Head of Programmatic, Havas Media, shared, “Omnichannel starts with a unified audience strategy activated through the right DSP and data stack. In practice, that means using cross-device identity and frequency capping across CTV, mobile and display to sequence messaging and avoid burning budget on repeat exposure, while keeping measurement consistent across every screen. “

Rather than repeating the same creative everywhere, brands can sequence messaging based on where consumers are in their journey: a powerful emotional story on the living room TV, followed by product education, social proof or a promotional offer on mobile.

Prachi Karan, Head of Data & Tech Solutions, Publicis Media, noted that successful omnichannel strategies are about thoughtful orchestration, not simply increasing exposure.

“Reach is important, but consumers don’t need to see the same ad repeatedly. The opportunity is to sequence messages- starting with brand storytelling and following up with ads that move people closer to action.”

Ultimately, Prachi emphasized that every touchpoint should have a clear purpose.

“Consumers don’t distinguish between screens; they simply expect a seamless experience. Our role is to understand how each touchpoint contributes to the journey and delivers messaging that feels connected rather than isolated.”

Rethinking Success: The Industry Needs to Measure Attention, Not Just Impressions

As consumer journeys become increasingly connected, measurement must evolve alongside them.

Traditional buying metrics like CPM and CPC remain important operational benchmarks, but they reveal little about whether advertising actually influenced consumer behaviour or business outcomes. Increasingly, advertisers are shifting their focus towards attention, incrementality and measurable business impact.

Louis from Havas Media mentioned how this shift is already influencing agency planning. “We’re evolving our measurement frameworks to focus less on how much media we buy and more on the attention we generate. Havas Media Network’s global study, analyzing over 9,000 brand lift campaigns and 5.6 million impressions, found attention closely correlates with all key brand outcomes, with multiple exposures that reach a sufficient attention threshold proving most effective at driving awareness and consideration.”

When advertisers look beyond basic impressions and start mapping out the correlation between consumer attention and downstream brand consideration, the true value of multi-screen inventory becomes clear.

Publishers are seeing the same challenge from another perspective.

As Carousell’s Angel highlighted, “Advertisers still buy media on CPMs, but they’re evaluating success through ROAS and ROI. Closing that gap is one of the industry’s biggest opportunities.”

Bringing media metrics closer to business outcomes will require stronger cross-device measurement, better attribution and greater collaboration across the ecosystem.

Collaboration Will Define the Next Era of Omnichannel

Technology alone won’t solve omnichannel complexity.

As media channels multiply and consumer expectations evolve, delivering effective omnichannel campaigns will require closer collaboration across agencies, publishers and technology partners.

Jo emphasised the importance of working together rather than in silos. “By combining publishers’ first-party data and premium environments with agency expertise, we can deliver higher-quality audiences while maintaining brand safety and consumer trust.”

For publishers like Carousell, collaboration also means creating value for every stakeholder in the advertising ecosystem. “The strongest campaigns create value for everyone: the brand, the publisher and, ultimately, the consumer. That’s how we define success.”

Looking ahead, Prachi believes the industry’s greatest opportunity lies in closer collaboration across agencies, publishers and technology partners.

“No single platform has the full picture. The future of omnichannel depends on bringing together data, technology and premium media to create a connected experience for consumers.”

As the omnichannel landscape continues to evolve, the brands that succeed won’t necessarily be those with the biggest budgets or the broadest reach. They’ll be the ones that understand how consumers naturally move between screens and deliver experiences that feel connected, relevant and valuable at every touchpoint.

Want to learn more? Download Magnite’s latest research: Hong Kong Streams & Screens to explore the trends, insights and consumer behaviours shaping the future of streaming advertising in Hong Kong and beyond.