PR & Marketing Manager - Hong Kong

About Markato Markato is one of the fastest-growing distribution and brand marketing companies in Asia, serving as the exclusive distributor for trending brands such as WELLAGE, ILSO, LILYEVE, BB LAB, and more. We are driven to be a tech-led disruptor in the FMCG industry, dedicated to introducing a new generation of innovative brands to consumers across Asia. Operating in a fast-paced, high-growth startup environment, Markato is backed by Lightspeed, a leading global VC. Job Summary The Marketing Manager is the face of our brands to Hong Kong’s influencers and media, and the orchestrator of our brand launches and sustained growth. KOL management, PR and media relations are the core of this role: you will own our influencer programme from top-tier talent to micro-creators, build relationships with beauty editors and talent agencies, and turn every launch into conversation, credibility and buzz. You will plan and run end-to-end campaigns that bring these elements together with digital ads and retail rollouts, so that online buzz converts into physical footfall and sales in store. You will also act as an internal champion for innovation, using AI to scale your output and streamline workflows. You do not need to be a highly technical performance marketer or an AI expert. We are looking for a well-connected, highly organized campaign leader with deep KOL and media relationships and a passion for disrupting traditional FMCG marketing.

Key Responsibilities
• KOL Management, PR & Media Relations: Build and manage our KOL roster across tiers, from top-tier talent to micro-creators. Source, negotiate and contract creators (fees, deliverables, usage rights and exclusivity), brief them, review scripts and content, and track results and costs so we rebook the best performers. Own relationships with key beauty media editors and talent agencies in Hong Kong, and lead PR events, masterclasses, and the distribution of premium brand seeding kits to generate local buzz and sustain community engagement.
• End-to-End Campaign Management: Oversee the 360-degree execution of our brand launches and sustained growth campaigns. Coordinate all moving parts of a campaign timeline, ensuring PR drops, influencer posts, and digital ads align with retail inventory rollouts and overarching commercial goals.
• Performance Marketing Execution: Set up, manage, and optimize foundational paid digital campaigns across key social and search platforms. You don’t need to be a media buying engineer: you will use automated, AI-driven campaign structures to let the platforms do the heavy lifting, ensuring our budget drives Online-to-Offline (O2O) conversion. This includes boosting top-performing creator content as paid ads and partnership posts.
• Innovating with AI: Actively explore and integrate AI capabilities into your daily operations. Use AI to enhance and optimise our campaign strategies, rapidly develop and test content, and organise and streamline your overall workflow.
• Budget & Performance Monitoring: Keep a close eye on campaign expenditures across influencer payouts and digital ad spend, continuously adjusting priorities to hit aggressive retail scan-sales targets. Requirements
• A Bachelor’s degree preferably in Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, or a closely related field.
• Agency background: Experience at a PR, influencer or integrated marketing agency, ideally handling beauty, lifestyle or FMCG clients.
• 4–6 years of experience in PR, KOL management or marketing campaigns, ideally within the Hong Kong beauty, lifestyle, or FMCG sectors.
• Strong existing relationships with local KOLs, talent agencies, and beauty media, alongside excellent negotiation skills.
• Digital Fluency: A solid working knowledge of major digital ad platforms. You don’t need to be an expert media buyer, but you must be comfortable navigating these platforms, launching campaigns, and analysing performance metrics.
• Passion for AI & Innovation: You do not need to be a technical AI expert. You just need a strong curiosity, the resourcefulness to test new AI applications, and a desire to build the marketing workflows of the future.
• Highly organized, with exceptional time management capabilities to handle multiple overlapping campaigns and tight startup deadlines.
• Poised, professional, and capable of representing Markato to top-tier talent, editors and external partners.
• Fluency in both English and Cantonese is required.