mCanvas, an adtech company under Affinity, has appointed Lee Wen Tan as its new country director for Malaysia. She first joined as the company’s senior client partnership manager before being promoted to associate director.
In an interview with MARKETECH APAC, Lee Wen shared that her expanded role is centered on evolving mCanvas into a multi-touchpoint powerhouse that captures consumer attention across the entire digital ecosystem.
“My primary responsibility is to drive the strategic adoption of our latest innovations specifically our mobile first screen, Push Notifications and Connected TV (CTV) offerings, ensuring these tools are integrated into holistic, omnichannel strategies for Malaysia’s top brands and agencies,”
She also added that she is tasked with moving the needle beyond traditional display by demonstrating how mCanvas’ ‘star products’ can bridge the gap between lean-back home entertainment and real-time mobile engagement.
“Beyond scaling our market footprint, I am focused on building a high-performance local team capable of delivering data-driven, ‘thumb-stopping’ results that prioritise genuine user attention. Ultimately, my goal is to elevate the digital landscape in Malaysia by ensuring mCanvas delivers ‘thumb-stopping’ experiences that prioritise genuine user attention and measurable brand impact,” she explained.
Reflecting on internal change of role
Reflecting on her journey at mCanvas, Lee Wen said that the most vital learning she brings to this leadership role is the power of consultative resilience—the understanding that leadership isn’t about being a ‘jack of all trades,’ but about having the focus to solve specific, complex brand challenges.
“Having transitioned from a client-facing partnership role into this directorship, I intend to lead with a ‘client-first, product-second’ mindset. This means empowering my team to move beyond being just vendors to becoming strategic consultants who can navigate the fragmentation of the digital landscape,” she said.
She also remarked that she learned to embrace patience and enjoy the process, moving away from reactive selling toward a grounded perspective where trust and results always prove someone else’s value.
“In the Malaysian adtech space, when you consistently deliver high-impact, measurable outcomes through measurable, attention first products like our Mobile Display, Push Notifications and Connected TV (CTV), the market recognises that your solutions truly solve their pain points, and they naturally reach out to you,” she said.
Moving forward, she stated, “My goal is to lead mCanvas Malaysia by doing a few things exceptionally well, trusting in our technical superiority and staying patient as we build the long-term, results-driven partnerships that define the future of experiential advertising.”
Navigating Malaysia’s crowded adtech space
Lee Wen acknowledges that the Malaysian adtech landscape is undeniably crowded, and with so many players fighting for the same budgets, it’s easy for the market to fall into a price-driven ‘commodity trap.’
“The real challenge I see isn’t just the number of competitors, but the fragmentation, brands are juggling too many platforms, most of which offer the same ‘social-first’ or standard display reach,” she said.
Acknowledging these issues, Lee Wen said that under her leadership, mCanvas responded to this by doubling down on their role as a specialist partner rather than a general vendor.
“We don’t try to compete on volume or low-cost ‘junk’ traffic; instead, we compete on quality traffic and measurable attention. By focusing on sticking to offering premium environments that are far less cluttered than traditional social feeds,” she added.
Moreover, her response to the competitive pressure is a commitment to consultative excellence: empowering her team to show brands how they can bridge the gap between the household’s big screen and the consumer’s personal mobile screen in a way that is non-intrusive and highly effective.
“I believe that trust and results will always prove our value; in a sea of competitors, we stand out by staying patient, avoiding the ‘jack of all trades’ trap, and consistently delivering the kind of high-impact outcomes that make brands seek us out as their strategic anchor in a fragmented digital world,” she added.
Aiding mCanvas’ regional growth in expanded role
Speaking about mCanvas’ growth in Southeast Asia, Lee Wen said that the growth of mCanvas in Malaysia and across the region is at ‘a really exciting point’, and that they are moving beyond just being an adtech provider to becoming a partner that helps brands connect the dots across different screens.
“As our SEA team continues to expand, my new role is designed to act as the strategic anchor for this growth. I am focused on building a scalable operational blueprint in Malaysia that can be replicated across our neighbouring markets, ensuring that as we grow in size, we don’t lose the ‘consultative boutique’ feel that our clients value,” she explained.
She also added that ultimately, their growth in the region isn’t just about getting bigger; it’s about getting better at what they do and focusing on how the biggest screen in the home and the most personal screen in someone’s pocket can work together.
“By keeping things simple and focusing on our solutions we can show brands that real results come from a smart, connected strategy that respects the consumer’s time and delivers quality traffic and measurable attention,” she concluded.
