At the summit: AI has left the lab
IAB Hong Kong's C26 summit took place on 12 November 2026 under the theme Business Reimagined, examining how AI reshapes value creation, workflow design, governance, creativity and talent. More than 1,200 marketing, media, technology and business leaders from 14 markets attended. The event also marked IAB Hong Kong's tenth anniversary; its 130+ member organisations and a global network spanning 45 markets have made the conference a regional benchmark for the industry.
Speakers included Daniel Cheung, JP, Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy; Drew Lai, Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries; and Sir Martin Sorrell, Founder and Executive Chairman of S4 Capital. The shared message was blunt: AI has moved out of the experimentation stage and into business execution. The agenda itself reflected the shift: the discussion is no longer about whether to use AI, but about how governance, workflows and talent reorganise around it.
A HK$33.9 billion market: budgets hold, flows shift
Figures released at the event show Hong Kong's total advertising expenditure holding steady at HK$33.9 billion, with social media ad spending up 15%. Overall investment is not shrinking; what changes is where it goes. Content production is becoming faster, cheaper and more scalable, and budgets are shifting from traditional formats toward AI-enabled production and distribution.
In a fireside chat, Sir Martin Sorrell argued that AI is rewriting marketing economics and putting pressure on time-based agency models. He also said Hong Kong's position between Chinese and Western media ecosystems gives the city a strategic advantage in connecting platforms, mainland innovation and regional growth. Arthur Chan, Chairman of IAB HK C26, said the conference shows Hong Kong is not just participating in the AI marketing conversation but building a regional platform for it.
Government support: industries for AI, AI for industries
Daniel Cheung outlined the government's industries for AI and AI for industries strategy, citing the Committee on AI+ and Industry Development Strategy and the forthcoming AI research institute. According to the Digital Policy Office, the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute was established with $1 billion set aside in the 2025-26 Budget, received Legislative Council funding approval in September 2025, formed its board in March 2026 chaired by Professor Harry Shum, and aims to begin operation in the second half of 2026.
Closer to marketers are two concrete items. First, the BUD Fund will provide enhanced support for AI-enabled branding and marketing projects; the 2026 Policy Address likewise pledges more targeted funding support for AI projects under the BUD Fund. Second, the government plans to launch CorpID, a secure digital corporate identity platform. For SMEs looking to upgrade brand marketing with AI, these are practical resources worth exploring.
Talent: AI for All and four university MOUs
On talent, the event announced the AI for All programme, targeting more than 200 AI training courses and activities by the first quarter of 2028. IAB Hong Kong also signed MOUs with four institutions — City University of Hong Kong's Department of Media and Communication, HKBU School of Business, HKU Business School and PolyU Business School — covering curriculum development, joint research, internships, mentorship and knowledge exchange.
For businesses, the agreements point to a growing pipeline of AI-literate marketing graduates and interns over the next few years, worth watching when planning hiring or internship programmes. For practitioners, they add low-cost routes to build AI skills. As content production speeds up, maintaining quality and compliance becomes as important as operating the tools themselves, which is one reason demand for structured training keeps rising.
What businesses can do now
Three practical steps follow from the summit. First, map the repetitive, high-volume tasks in your marketing workflow — content production, localisation, community operations — because that is where AI pays off first. Second, check the BUD Fund's scope for AI branding and marketing projects and assess your eligibility. Third, enrol teams in training such as AI for All, so that skills arrive together with the tools.
One more signal deserves attention: as the cost structure of content production changes, time-based agency arrangements will come under review, and brands and agencies should discuss outcome-based models early. This article is based on the IAB Hong Kong press release and public government materials and is not investment or legal advice.