As Malaysia’s marketing and advertising landscape moves toward the close of another year, the sector finds itself at an inflection point shaped by shifting consumer behaviour, tighter economic conditions, and accelerating digital maturity. Brands are re-evaluating agency models, investing more heavily in performance-led creativity, and expanding their expectations of partners beyond traditional campaign work.
At the same time, regulatory changes, media fragmentation, and a renewed focus on local relevance are reshaping how marketers plan, measure, and deliver growth in an increasingly competitive environment. Against this backdrop, industry players across media, creative, technology, and brand leadership have been recalibrating their strategies — signalling a market in the midst of structural, not just cyclical, change.
This backdrop is what MARKETECH APAC aimed to target in its recently-concluded What’s NEXT in Marketing: Malaysia 2025 which was held at the Sheraton Petaling Jaya on 22 October. Said event brought together industry leaders to exchange ideas, spark innovation, and explore the future of marketing in Malaysia.
For the morning part of the conference, attendees were treated to discussions revolving around artificial intelligence, customer experience, and customer engagement. Some of those discussions included advice for brands on rewriting the customer journey in 2025 and beyond, what lies ahead for the future of marketing talent, and revolutionising CX in the age of AI.
Speakers during the morning session included:
- Low Ngai Yuen, Managing Director at AEON360
- Andreas Vogiatzakis, Executive Director at AMVPLUS ADVISORY
- Najeeb Nazali, Media and Digital Marketing Lead at Boost
- Olga Pulyaeva, Marketing Director at Carlsberg Group
- Christopher Greenough, General Manager & Regional Head of Creative Service at GrowthOps Malaysia
- Jennifer Chang, Head of Marketing at MABECS Malaysia
- Melissa Sandhu, Head of Commercial & Strategic Partnerships at Prince Court Medical Centre
- Jia Cheng Tan, Manager, Customer Implementation at Proximus Global
- Asnawi Jufrie, Vice President & General Manager of Southeast Asia at Sleekflow
- Daniel E. Guedez Vasquez, Director of Brand and Marketing AGD / Malaysia CMO at Stellantis
- Nicholas Kontopoulos, VP of Marketing, APJ at Twilio
Over the afternoon, delegates listened to sessions focused on digital advertising, influencer marketing and creative marketing–with topics ranging from crafting brand-influencer partnerships that last, unlocking innovation in Malaysia’s online advertising ecosystem, and how brands can unlock the future of marketing through creative automation and smart technology.
Speakers in the afternoon included:
- Asyraf Suhaibi, Head of Brand Management at Air Selangor
- Benjamin Woo, Head of Group Marketing at Astro Malaysia
- Karis Lim, Digital Commerce and Brand Marketing Director at Bonia Corporation Berhad
- May Ling Chan, Head of Brand and Marketing Services at CelcomDigi Bhd.
- Hubert Tose, Market Lead, Malaysia at CleverTap
- Ie Tjer Wang, Executive Creative Director at FCB Shout
- Ahmad Nasyami Mihat, Head of Marketing at Hyundai Motor Malaysia
- Steven Yap, Digital and Operations Director at Kingdom Digital
- Teddy Cambosa, Regional Editor at MARKETECH APAC
- Shona Read, Head of Strategy at OMG Malaysia
- Winnie Pang, Head of Performance at OMG Malaysia
- Alyaa Ramlan, Head of Social at Unifi
The event also featured roundtable discussions, which allowed attendees to connect with industry peers, share valuable insights, and explore key marketing and advertising topics shaping the future of the industry, including conversational marketing, content marketing, customer engagement, customer insights, customer experience, data & analytics, digital advertising, digital transformation, generative AI, influencer marketing, omnichannel marketing, and performance marketing.
The moderators for the sessions included:
- Asnawi Jufrie, Vice President & General Manager of Southeast Asia at Sleekflow (Conversational Marketing)
- Joel Tan, Content Lead at Montigo / RPG (Content Marketing)
- Jaslene Tung, Regional Managing Director at Unicom Marketing (Customer Engagement)
- Salihah Noh, Head of Digital & Marketing Tower at Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (Customer Insights)
- Nicholas Kontopoulos, VP of Marketing, APJ at Twilio (Customer Experience)
- Kent Hoong, Digital Marketing Manager at Cycle & Carriage (Data & Analytics)
- Chuan Yee Lee, HOD, Product & Marketing at Acson Malaysia Sales & Service (Digital Advertising)
- Teddy Cambosa, Regional Editor at MARKETECH APAC (Digital Transformation)
- Karl Baldry, Senior Enterprise Account Director at Proximus Global (Omnichannel Marketing)
- Hayley Choong, Director of Sales & Marketing at Sheraton Petaling Jaya (Influencer Marketing)
- Tim Tham, Marketing & E-Commerce Director at REV Edition Sdn Bhd (Generative AI)
- Syed Omar, Head of Commercial at Eskayvie (Performance Marketing)
- Wei Li Saw, Senior Regional Field Marketing Manager at Clevertap (Customer Engagement)
- Shee Wiey Fong, Sales and Marketing Director at CS Curascience (Content Marketing)
The What’s NEXT in Marketing: Malaysia 2025 was made possible by CleverTap, Sleekflow, Proximus Global, Twilio, and Unicom Marketing, as well as event partners DreamsKingdoms and Sheraton Petaling Jaya.
A total of 164 delegates attended the event, representing local and regional brands such as Acson Malaysia Sales & Service, Affin Bank, ALL IT Hypermarket Sdn. Bhd., AmBank Group, Amway, Be International, Beacon Hospital, Caring Pharmacy, Grameenphone Ltd., Hong Leong Bank, KAHARO JEWELS, Kenanga Digital, KPJ Healthcare, Malaysia Airlines, Malaysia Airports, Manulife Insurance, Pharmaniaga Marketing, Pos Malaysia, Reckitt, Royal Selangor, Shell, Sunway Malls, TNG Digital, and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS.
Said event is the last conference of MARKETECH APAC’s What’s NEXT in Marketing series this year, which began in Singapore, then in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.
To be part of the What’s NEXT in Marketing 2026 series, you may contact our sales team at [email protected] for sponsorship opportunities. Meanwhile, for speaker opportunities, contact Kathleen Murata at [email protected], and Rosalie Cruz for registrations at [email protected].
