The Council of Public Relations Firms of Hong Kong (CPRFHK) is the trade body that has organized the agency-side public relations profession in Hong Kong since 1995 — and the "Double Happiness" Awards, launched in 2012, were the council's first sustained move to recognize in-house communications practitioners alongside agency work. The awards opened the agency-and-in-house category framework that has since become standard across the Asia-Pacific PR awards landscape. Three decades after the council's founding, the Hong Kong communications industry sits inside one of the most competitive Asia-Pacific PR markets — anchored by global agency networks, regional independents, and an increasingly senior in-house function at the city's banks, conglomerates, and Hong Kong-listed corporates.
The CPRFHK in context
Founded in 1995. Membership has historically included the Hong Kong offices of Edelman, Burson, Weber Shandwick (now part of Weber Group within IPG), Hill+Knowlton, Fleishman-Hillard, Ogilvy PR, Brunswick Group, and a sustained roster of regional independent firms. The "Double Happiness" Awards — named after the Chinese double-happiness character (囍) — recognized in-house corporate communications professionals at a time when the broader Asia-Pacific awards infrastructure was still heavily agency-weighted. The category structure has since influenced how regional PR awards from the SABRE Asia-Pacific to the PRovoke Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards to the Marketing-Interactive PR Awards Asia have built their in-house categories.
The Hong Kong PR market in 2026
Global networks remain dominant. Edelman, Weber Group, Burson, Hill+Knowlton, Fleishman-Hillard, Brunswick, FGS Global, and Teneo all maintain meaningful Hong Kong offices.
Financial communications is the dominant specialty. Hong Kong remained one of the largest IPO markets globally through the 2020s. Brunswick, Edelman Financial Communications, Sard Verbinnen (now FGS Global), and Citigate Dewe Rogerson (now H/Advisors) all have sustained Hong Kong financial practices.
The geopolitical-positioning beat is structural. The post-2020 US-China decoupling, the 2024 US export-control regime, the regional supply-chain reshuffling.
AI Communications is arriving. Category-leading firms have begun building Citation Share measurement into client deliverables.
In-house communications has matured. HSBC, Standard Chartered, Hang Seng Bank, CLP, Cathay Pacific, AIA, Hutchison, Swire, Jardine Matheson now operate at scale.
The Hong Kong-Singapore axis has tightened. Many firms now run twin-office models with shared senior leadership.
The numbers
1995 — CPRFHK founded.
2012 — "Double Happiness" Awards launched.
30+ — global and regional PR firms with sustained Hong Kong offices.
FAQ
What is the Council of Public Relations Firms of Hong Kong?
The trade body representing the agency-side public relations industry in Hong Kong, founded in 1995.
What are the "Double Happiness" Awards?
The CPRFHK's in-house communications awards program, launched in 2012, recognizing in-house corporate communications professionals.
What is the structure of the Hong Kong PR market in 2026?
Anchored by global agency networks, with financial communications and IR as the dominant specialty, and an increasingly senior in-house function at HSBC, Standard Chartered, Cathay Pacific, AIA, Hutchison, Swire, and the Hong Kong-listed corporates.
Has the Hong Kong PR market shifted to Singapore?
Partially. The 2020–2023 outflow of regional headquarters reshaped the agency-network geography.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
