Unlike transactional purchases, choosing a school is deeply emotional and often life-shaping. Parents are not simply comparing products or prices—they are making decisions about their children’s futures. 

For education marketers, that means personalisation cannot merely be another tactic in the playbook; it has to become a meaningful extension of the experience institutions create for families.

For the latest edition of MARKETECH APAC‘s What’s NEXT in Marketing interview series, we spoke with Bipasha Minocha, Group Chief Marketing Officer at EtonHouse International Education Group, about what it truly means to scale personalisation in a deeply human sector, how schools can avoid losing authenticity as they embrace technology, and why empathy should remain at the centre of every marketing decision.

Personalisation matters more in high-stakes decisions

For Bipasha, the notion that technology-driven personalisation feels at odds with education couldn’t be further from the truth.

I think there is a perception that high-tech personalisation sits somewhat awkwardly with a deeply human sector like education. But I would argue that the opposite is true.

Instead, she argues that the more complex and emotionally significant a decision becomes, the greater the need for thoughtful personalisation.

Because in sectors where involvement is much deeper, such as healthcare, banking, etc., the decision is highly complex and highly nuanced, and therefore the need for personalisation becomes even greater.

In education, families often spend months navigating uncertainty, researching extensively, and weighing multiple options before arriving at a decision.

Understanding where parents are in that journey—and responding with relevance and empathy—becomes less of a marketing exercise and more of a service commitment. And that, Bipasha argues, is where many organisations misunderstand the role technology should play.

The biggest misconception: technology isn’t the strategy

As organisations increasingly adopt AI tools, automation platforms, and sophisticated martech solutions, Bipasha believes many marketers make the mistake of confusing technology with personalisation itself.

Technology, she explains, should never dictate the experience. Instead, it should support an organisation’s ability to deliver on an already well-defined understanding of its audience.

However, even with the right intentions and tools in place, many institutions still struggle to deliver truly seamless experiences.

Rather than asking what technology can do, marketers should first ask what their stakeholders genuinely need—and then determine how technology can help bridge that gap at scale.

This distinction becomes especially important in education, where trust and relationships often outweigh efficiency gains.

Where schools lose the human touch

Ironically, one of the moments institutions risk becoming the least personal is after a family has already shown clear intent.

“Another point where institutions tend to lose the human touch is at the time of handoff,” Bipasha explains.

Despite multiple touchpoints, prospective parents are often forced to repeat information they’ve already shared.

If a family has signalled strong intent across multiple interactions—for example, they’ve visited your website, engaged with your advertising assets, and finally speak to someone—there are times when they have to start from ground zero.

The result is a fragmented experience that undermines the very purpose of personalisation. Rather than feeling recognised and understood, families can end up feeling like just another enquiry moving through the system.

Closing these gaps, however, requires more than empathy alone. It demands the right foundations, processes, and systems working together to ensure every interaction builds on the last.

Building connected experiences at EtonHouse

At EtonHouse, this means looking at the parent journey as one connected experience, not a series of separate touchpoints. A family that has attended an open house, enquired about a particular campus, or shared specific questions should not feel as though they are starting again at every interaction.

As communication habits evolve, institutions must create ecosystems that connect these interactions rather than treat them as isolated exchanges.

The objective isn’t merely to collect more data; it’s to use insights responsibly to deliver more relevant, consistent, and supportive experiences.

Yet Bipasha believes technology alone cannot guarantee this outcome. Without a clear philosophy guiding how these tools are used, even the most sophisticated systems risk becoming little more than automated processes.

Brand philosophy before technology

Preventing personalisation from becoming another checklist exercise requires organisations to establish a clear foundation.

Processes and automation alone cannot create meaningful experiences if they aren’t anchored in a broader philosophy of service.

When institutions begin with their values—understanding what they stand for and how they want people to feel—technology becomes an extension of that intent rather than a replacement for it.

The question shifts from “How can we automate this?” to “How can we better support our communities?”

That people-first mindset also shapes how Bipasha imagines the future of marketing—one where technology fades further into the background.

Making technology invisible

Looking ahead, Bipasha doesn’t envision a future where technology takes centre stage. Instead, she believes its greatest success lies in fading into the background.

The future that I am hoping for is where technology becomes less visible, but far more useful

Families shouldn’t be impressed by the sophistication of the systems behind the scenes. They should simply feel understood. They should feel supported.

And the best use of technology in education marketing is not when families notice it, it’s when they simply feel it

In many ways, that sentiment captures the balancing act facing marketers today: embracing innovation without losing sight of the people they serve.

Scale and sincerity can coexist

As more organisations seek to expand their personalisation efforts, Bipasha offers an important reminder: authenticity and scale do not have to exist in opposition.

When grounded in empathy, trust, and a genuine desire to serve stakeholders better, technology can amplify what makes organisations human rather than diminish it.

For marketers navigating increasingly complex expectations, perhaps the future isn’t about choosing between efficiency and empathy. It’s about ensuring one strengthens the other.

Because if this conversation makes one thing clear, it’s that the brands that succeed won’t necessarily be those with the most advanced technology. They’ll be the ones that use it to make people feel seen.

And in an age of automation, that may be the most human advantage of all.

***

Check out the highlights of the interview in our YouTube video below. For the full version of this topic, head over to our official YouTube channel and check out the full conversation.

The post What’s NEXT in Marketing: Bipasha Minocha on why scaling personalisation in education starts with empathy, not automation appeared first on MARKETECH APAC.

Based in Singapore, Williams will oversee BBC Studios’ advertising sales strategy across Asia Pacific, including Japan and Australia and New Zealand. 

She will also lead the regional sales organisation, with responsibility for driving revenue growth, strengthening client relationships, and expanding the company’s advertising and branded content offering across platforms.

Williams joins BBC Studios from a career spanning senior leadership roles at CNN, Time Warner, and Fox Sports, bringing experience in commercial growth and advertising across Asia-Pacific markets.

The move comes as BBC Studios continues to invest in its advertising business in the region, with the appointment forming part of its strategy to expand its commercial footprint and deepen relationships with brands.

James Wildbore, Global Senior Vice President and General Manager of Advertising Sales at BBC Studios, said, “Erin brings outstanding leadership experience, deep regional knowledge and a clear commercial vision. Her appointment marks an important step in strengthening our advertising capabilities in APAC and positions us for continued growth across the region.”

Williams said, “As one of the most iconic and powerful brands in the world, I’ve long admired the strength of BBC Studios’ content, impact and reputation amongst audiences and partners alike.”

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining the APAC team, working together to evolve and grow advertising partnerships with smart and influential creative solutions.”

Beyond the appointment, Williams will work with BBC Studios’ global and regional leadership teams to advance the company’s advertising strategy and develop integrated commercial offerings for clients across the region.

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The refreshed brand goes beyond a visual update, aligning with the company’s vision of “Powering the Digital Evolution of the Global Economy” and its mission of “Engineering the Future of Global Payments.”

The move comes as businesses face growing complexity in managing cross-border payments, treasury operations, foreign exchange, and compliance amid an increasingly interconnected global economy.

Sunrate said the refreshed identity reflects its ambition to offer a unified platform that enables businesses to move money internationally, manage treasury functions, optimise foreign exchange, and address compliance requirements through a single system.

Paul Meng, Co-Founder and CEO of Sunrate, said, “Our brand refresh represents far more than a new visual identity—it reflects the company we have become and the future we are building.”

“Our vision is to power the digital evolution of the global economy by helping businesses operate seamlessly across borders. As we continue to engineer the future of global payments, we remain committed to combining trusted financial infrastructure with technological innovation to make global money movement simpler, smarter and more connected.”

“This refreshed brand reflects our ambition, our expertise and our commitment to empowering businesses to grow with confidence,” Meng added.

Beyond the new positioning, Sunrate has introduced a modern visual identity designed to better represent its expertise, technology capabilities, and global network while creating a more consistent experience across customer touchpoints.

The updated branding will be introduced progressively across the company’s products, digital platforms, customer communications, and global offices over the coming months.

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The collaboration introduces a dedicated ChatGPT contact within Viber, enabling users to ask questions, brainstorm ideas, draft messages, and complete everyday tasks without requiring a ChatGPT account, although signing in provides higher usage limits.

Users can also mention @ChatGPT in private or group chats to receive AI-generated responses that remain clearly identified within the conversation. 

According to Viber, only the specific messages sent to ChatGPT or those mentioning it are shared with OpenAI, rather than the entire chat history.

The update also adds several AI-powered features, including Image Remix for editing photos, Link Summary for generating summaries of shared articles and documents, Chat Summary to help users catch up on conversations, Polish Messages for refining drafts before sending, and Translate Message for in-chat translation.

“Partnering with OpenAI means we can bring ChatGPT to our users to add real, day-to-day value – even if they would never have sought it out on their own,” said Ofir Eyal, CEO of Rakuten Viber. 

“Whether you’re drafting the perfect message, remixing an image, or just exploring a new idea, this is now built into the app people already use every day.”

Torben Severson, VP and Head of Global Business Development at OpenAI, said the partnership reflects how AI can support users within the messaging apps they already rely on.

“Messaging is where so much of everyday life happens. With ChatGPT in Viber, people can get helpful, creative support right in the moment, from finding the right words to catching up on busy chats or remixing a photo,” Severson said.

The rollout is available to Viber users on iOS and Android in most markets where ChatGPT is supported, with desktop availability planned for a later date. 

Viber said users must provide explicit consent to OpenAI’s terms before using AI features, while core messaging services remain protected by end-to-end encryption.

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The announcement was made during the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where Amperity said the recognition reflects its collaboration with Snowflake in enabling brands to build trusted customer data foundations for AI-powered marketing.

Now in its fifth year, Snowflake’s Modern Marketing Data Stack report examines the evolution of marketing technology from fragmented systems to AI-driven platforms supported by governed data. According to Snowflake, the report draws insights from more than 11,500 customers and ecosystem partners across 13 categories, focusing on how organisations are bringing applications closer to their data to improve execution, business outcomes, and governance while addressing data privacy and trust.

Amperity said its platform helps organisations unify fragmented customer data into trusted customer profiles that can be used by teams, systems, and AI applications to support real-time customer engagement.

“AI only creates value when brands can recognise customers, understand their context and respond in the moments that matter. That requires more than access to data. It requires trusted customer context that systems, teams, and AI can act on in real time,” said Bridget Perry, Chief Marketing Officer at Amperity. “Together with Snowflake, we’re helping brands turn customer signals into decisions and action.”

According to the company, combining its customer data capabilities with Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud enables brands to use customer signals throughout the customer lifecycle for real-time decision-making and activation.

“As marketing shifts from workflows built around campaigns to systems built around real-time decisions, trusted and interoperable customer data becomes foundational,” said Denise Persson, Chief Marketing Officer at Snowflake. “Amperity helps brands activate that data into connected experiences and AI-driven outcomes at scale.”

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De Andréis will continue serving as CEO of Western Europe while taking on the new global position. 

Reporting directly to Chairman and CEO Yannick Bolloré, he will work closely with leaders across Havas’ Creative, Media, Health, and Content at Scale networks to shape global strategy, guide the group’s brand portfolio, and strengthen collaboration across Havas Villages.

The appointment is designed to bring greater strategic alignment across the organization while integrating creativity, media, technology, data, and execution under Havas’ Converged.AI operating system. 

The agency said the move aims to improve delivery for clients while reinforcing its market positioning around its “Growth, Powered by Desire” strategy.

According to Havas, the new role will focus on ensuring strategic consistency across business units, accelerating collaboration between disciplines, and helping clients navigate an increasingly complex communications landscape through integrated business solutions.

De Andréis has played a key role in shaping Havas’ current strategic positioning. He joined the group in 1996 through BETC, later becoming its president in 2007 before serving as executive vice president at Canal+. 

In 2013, he returned to Havas as CEO of Havas Media Network France and President of Havas Productions, later leading Havas Village France and supporting the company’s growth across Western Europe.

His career spans creative, media, content and business leadership, giving him experience across multiple disciplines that Havas says will support its ambition to deliver more connected and measurable outcomes for clients.

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Whether through retail activations, themed dining experiences or immersive travel campaigns, entertainment intellectual property (IP) has become a powerful way for marketers to engage consumers long before they step into a cinema.

For Scoot, its collaboration with Spider-Man: Brand New Day reflects this shift. As the only airline in the Asia-Pacific region partnering with the film, the campaign transforms multiple touchpoints across the passenger journey into extensions of the Spider-Man universe.

Speaking to MARKETECH APAC, Calvin Chan, Chief Commercial Officer at Scoot, shared why meaningful brand collaborations go beyond visibility—and why the future of movie marketing lies in creating experiences consumers can actively take part in.

Why movie marketing needs more than trailers

For Chan, branded partnerships have become an increasingly important part of a film’s launch because they allow stories to move beyond conventional advertising and into consumers’ daily lives.

Rather than limiting engagement to cinemas or digital campaigns, collaborations give audiences new ways to experience a film through brands they already interact with.

“Branded collaborations have become an increasingly engaging way to extend a film’s storytelling beyond traditional marketing channels and into customers’ everyday experiences,” he said.

Scoot’s Spider-Man campaign illustrates this approach by integrating elements of the film across the travel journey—from the booking experience and airport environment to the cabin itself.

For Chan, innovative marketing isn’t simply about creating visibility; it’s about giving customers another way to connect with the story while simultaneously elevating the travel experience.

Authenticity begins with a shared story

As entertainment partnerships become increasingly common, marketers face a growing challenge: making collaborations feel authentic rather than purely promotional.

Chan believes authenticity starts with finding common ground between both brands.

In Scoot’s case, that connection wasn’t Spider-Man’s popularity—it was the film’s underlying narrative.

Peter Parker’s journey of self-discovery, growth and embracing new possibilities closely reflects what travel means to many people.

“At Scoot, we believe that each journey is not just about the destination but about choosing who you want to become along the way,” Chan explained.

That shared philosophy allowed the collaboration to feel like a natural extension of Scoot’s brand, reinforcing its belief in adventure, discovery and personal transformation rather than simply leveraging a well-known entertainment franchise.

What airlines offer that other brands can’t

While entertainment collaborations span industries—from quick-service restaurants to retailers—Chan believes airlines bring a distinctive advantage.

Unlike brands that interact with consumers at a single point in time, airlines accompany customers throughout an entire journey.

For Scoot, that means the Spider-Man experience begins even before passengers arrive at the airport. 

Customers can identify themed flights while booking through the airline’s website, mobile app and WeChat Mini Programme before encountering Spider-Man-themed installations at Singapore Changi Airport.

The experience continues onboard through specially designed cabin interiors, exclusive headrest covers, themed audio, inflight activities and exclusive merchandise.

According to Chan, these multiple touchpoints allow the airline to build a continuous narrative instead of a one-off activation.

“These immersive elements create an end-to-end journey that brings the Spider-Man: Brand New Day movie to life while delivering the unique travel experience that customers can look forward to on their journey with Scoot.”

Success isn’t measured by buzz alone

While media attention and social conversations remain valuable outcomes, Chan says Scoot looks beyond awareness when evaluating the campaign’s performance.

The airline tracks demand for themed flights, conversions from digital advertising and EDM campaigns, as well as customer sentiment across online conversations.

These metrics help Scoot understand whether the collaboration is driving meaningful engagement throughout the customer journey—not simply generating short-term publicity.

Ultimately, Chan says the campaign’s success lies in whether it creates lasting memories for customers.

“It is important that our collaboration with Spider-Man: Brand New Day creates meaningful and memorable experiences for our customers, strengthening their affinity with our brand and deepening engagement with not only Scoot, but also the movie.”

The next chapter for entertainment partnerships

Scoot’s Spider-Man collaboration builds on the airline’s ongoing partnership with The Pokémon Company, which began in 2022 with the launch of the Pikachu Jet.

Rather than signalling a one-off campaign, Chan says it reflects Scoot’s continued openness to entertainment partnerships that align with the airline’s brand and create memorable travel experiences.

As entertainment IP becomes an increasingly valuable marketing platform, Chan believes the brands that stand out will be those that move beyond promotional collaborations and focus instead on creating experiences customers genuinely want to be part of.

For marketers, the lesson is clear: the most effective movie partnerships aren’t just about putting a brand alongside a blockbuster—they’re about finding a shared story and bringing it to life in ways audiences can experience for themselves.

The post Beyond the box office: What Scoot’s Spider-Man collaboration reveals about the future of entertainment marketing appeared first on MARKETECH APAC.

The partnership will see Kwik Trip implement Eagle Eye’s Personalised Challenges platform, enabling participating consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands to deliver individually targeted promotions instead of broad-based discounts. The platform also provides campaign performance reporting designed to help suppliers measure sales attribution and return on investment.

David Jackson, Director of Loyalty and Digital Marketing at Kwik Trip, Inc., said the partnership would strengthen collaboration with the retailer’s brand partners.

“Our CPG partners have always been central to how we deliver value for our guests, and the partnership with Eagle Eye gives us an entirely new way to work with them. With Personalised Challenges, we can offer brands a targeted, measurable promotional vehicle that drives real incremental behavior. That’s a win for our guests, our suppliers, and our business,” said David.

Eagle Eye’s Personalised Challenges platform uses artificial intelligence to generate individualised promotions based on a customer’s purchase history, predicted behaviour and responsiveness to promotions. The company said the gamified model is intended to encourage incremental spending by presenting shoppers with personalised purchasing challenges.

Jeff Baskin, Chief Revenue Officer at Eagle Eye, said the partnership extends AI-driven personalisation into the convenience retail sector.

“Kwik Trip has built one of the most respected loyalty programs in U.S. convenience retail, and our partnership takes it to the next level. By activating Eagle Eye’s Personalisation engine with Challenges, Kwik Trip is bringing the kind of AI-driven personalisation currently utilised by major retailers all around the world to drive loyalty and attributable incrementality to its partner brands at significant scale, while also creating a first-class experience for their guests,” said Jeff.

According to Eagle Eye, its platform currently delivers more than 1.7 billion personalised offers each week and supports over 750 million loyalty members globally. The company said the Kwik Trip deployment builds on its existing implementations across grocery and retail businesses and demonstrates the application of AI-powered loyalty programmes in high-frequency convenience and fuel retail environments.

The companies also stated that customer data privacy remains a core component of the partnership. Guest data will remain under Kwik Trip’s control and will be used only to operate and enhance its loyalty programme, with no sale or uncontrolled sharing of individual customer information, according to the announcement.

Joel Percy, Vice President for North America at Eagle Eye Solutions, said AI-personalised loyalty campaigns have demonstrated measurable commercial outcomes.

“The economics of AI-personalised loyalty are proven. For C-store operators trying to drive additional trips and get an additional item in the basket, Personalised Challenges deliver a 7:1 sales-to-reward ratio. Kwik Trip is leading the way for what personalisation looks like for the industry,” said Joel Percy, VP North America, Eagle Eye Solutions.

Eagle Eye also highlighted the partnership as a model that could be replicated in other markets, including the Asia-Pacific region.

Aaron Crowe, Head of Revenue for APAC at Eagle Eye, said retailers in the region are increasingly adopting more personalised loyalty strategies.

“Kwik Trip shows what AI-led, personalised loyalty looks like at scale in convenience, and it’s exactly the model APAC retailers are now asking for. Convenience and grocery operators across the region are moving away from broad, points-based programmes towards real-time, individualised offers, and that shift is where Eagle Eye is winning,” said Crowe.

He added, “The Kwik Trip partnership proves we can power millions of personalised customer interactions a day, and we’re already bringing that same capability to convenience and grocery players here in APAC.”

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The findings come from Kantar’s newly released ‘The Creator Game Plan’ report, which analysed more than 15,000 branded creator assets across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts.

While the study found that 27% of creator content achieved medium-to-high engagement alongside medium-to-high brand impact, the report suggests many marketers continue to overestimate the value of engagement metrics without considering broader business outcomes.

According to Kantar, the findings expose a growing disconnect between the billions invested in creator marketing and the commercial results brands expect.

Irene Joshy, Head of Creative at Kantar Australia and APAC, said the research is particularly relevant as brands across the region continue increasing their investment in creator partnerships.

“While around a quarter of creator content drives effectiveness, the brand itself is too often missed. Therefore, for our region, ‘Cultural Power’ is such an important measure in Kantar’s new Creator Effectiveness framework,” said Joshy. 

“It helps unlock the right balance between creator authenticity and meaningful brand connection, ensuring content feels native to culture while still working hard for the brand,” added Joshy. 

To help marketers better evaluate creator campaigns, Kantar has expanded its LINK AI platform with creator-specific testing, a new capability that measures engagement, brand-building and short-term sales potential against creator content benchmarks to enable marketers to assess performance beyond traditional platform metrics.

Vera Sidlova, Global Creative Director at Kantar, said the findings should encourage marketers to adopt broader measurement frameworks beyond engagement alone.

“Our research is a wake-up call that high engagement and genuine brand effectiveness more often than not do not align. CMOs say they’re under pressure to prove their return on investment. To do this, they need better signals and more rigorous metrics for testing to understand if their creator partnerships are the right fit,” shared Sidlova. 

The report also notes that creative freedom remains essential for successful creator marketing, with 61% of marketers planning to increase investment in creator content.

However, Sidlova said authenticity alone is not enough without a clear strategic foundation.

“But for all the authenticity and personality that creators offer, there’s no gain to be found in a campaign that lacks strategy, genuine audience insight and fails to add value to a brand’s long-term game plan,” added Sidlova. 

The post High engagement doesn’t guarantee ROI, creator marketing effectiveness: report  appeared first on MARKETECH APAC.

The launch marks Meta’s latest effort to make content creation on Facebook more streamlined by giving creators a dedicated workspace outside the main Facebook app.

The new Creator Studio uses AI to recommend what creators should focus on next based on their goals, audience and content performance, while also including an integrated AI creator assistant that can answer questions, generate content ideas and offer tailored suggestions to improve reach, engagement and earnings. 

Meta said the objective is to remove distractions from the main Facebook experience while helping creators spend more time producing content and building their communities.

Upon opening the app, creators will see their daily priorities, including post performance, goal tracking and comments requiring responses. The platform also highlights trends relevant to a creator’s niche and recommends actions that could improve future performance.

To further reduce manual work, the app introduces AI-powered comment management that identifies important conversations and drafts replies in the creator’s writing style. Creators retain full control by reviewing and editing responses before publishing.

The company is initially testing the app with a small group of creators before expanding access more widely through a waitlist programme.

Alongside the launch, Meta is also redesigning its creator tools within Facebook by separating the existing Professional Dashboard into two dedicated experiences—Creator Dashboard for creators and Business Dashboard for businesses — giving each audience tools tailored to their specific needs.

Meta is also bringing more creator features from Meta Business Suite into the desktop Creator Dashboard, including a content calendar for scheduling posts, bulk video uploads, and more advanced performance insights.

The rollout reflects Meta’s broader strategy to simplify the creator experience across Facebook while using AI to reduce administrative tasks, improve audience engagement, and help creators monetise their content more effectively.

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