Smart Data Usage Helps Capture Markets

Based in Hong Kong with a global presence, AlikeAudience helps businesses make strong impressions through targeted data systems.

The increasingly competitive online arena makes reaching the right audience quickly and with maximum impact ever more important. AlikeAudience supports marketers by identifying the most relevant segments and targets them to make impressions; it further follows up by measuring campaign effectiveness against competitor performances. Its customer base includes leading brands in financial services, retail, travel, hospitality, mobile and telecommunications. It offers them standard as well as bespoke solutions by activating 1.6 billion mobile ad identifications (MAIDs) across 13 countries, partnering with global brands and offline data companies.

Nurturing tech startups in Hong Kong

AlikeAudience founders Ronald Kwok, Bosco Lam and Andy Lam sought seed funding by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company, and the firm incubated at Hong Kong Science and Technology Park. Though the company boasts investors from Silicon Valley and Mainland China as well as Hong Kong, it became clear that the latter was a good fit as a base to grow the firm. “We received strong support from the Hong Kong government during our early startup stage,” said Ronald Kwok, co-founder of AlikeAudience. “There is good startup support and resources here, and great business opportunities for data management and mobile marketing solution companies.”

AlikeAudience is currently working with a global credit card and payment network on data projects, with one of its bank clients leveraging this segment. It is also developing research on the feasibility of using data augmentation with distributed computing tools and state-of-the-art deep learning techniques, filling in the missing links in its dataset with support from government funding. “Last year was a big challenge for us due to COVID-19 causing a considerable drop in ad spending, which affected our business as an advertising technology company,” Kwok noted. “Through an internal revamp of new business model and new internal corporate strategy, we managed to adapt to this new norm.”

Power of networking

Kwok found the funding for technology startups in Hong Kong encouraging, and that more talented researchers should join its R&D community to contribute to growth. “My tip for startups is to get comfortable with the unknown and cherish talent by providing more opportunities for growth,” he advised. “Join more seminars and conferences to broaden networks. The opportunity to network is endless, and people should take advantage of every one of them.”

With advice and support from InvestHK since AlikeAudience was first established, Kwok has plans to import experience gained from its years in Silicon Valley to Hong Kong. “We are doing great in the U.S. and we would like to bring back what we have learned for further expansion,” he said. “We plan to put more resources into marketing, business development and R&D. Hong Kong has a lot of great talent that can help contribute to our growth. The city is a regional financial and logistics hub for Asia and a strategic gateway to growing the Mainland China market, with a business-friendly and cosmopolitan vibe.”