Hong Kong-Don’t try to force feed advertising to consumers, especially youth. Look for ways to engage with consumers so they spend time with brands. Recruit people who can influence consumers. And spend more on online marketing. These were among the opinions voiced at a panel session on Communications in the Age of Digital Youth organized in Hong Kong last month by Carat Media Services. “You need to recruit influencers, people that will talk positively about your brand and spread that exponentially”, said Patrick Stahle, CEO Carat Asia Pacific. SY Lau, Executive Vice President, Online Marketing Services and Corporate Branding, QQ China, urged attendees to redress the balance in ad spending, noting that while youths watch TV for an average of 11 hours a week, 37% of ad budgets are allocated to that medium. Lau contrasted that with the average of 16 hours spent online each week, yet just 5% of ad budgets go to online.