Hong Kong – In 2025, digital advertising is entering a transformative era—one defined by hyper-personalised engagement and AI-driven creativity. Today’s consumers are no longer impressed by standard targeting alone; they’re looking for immersive, relevant experiences that adapt to their behaviours in real time.
Brands are responding by harnessing the power of advanced data insights, machine learning algorithms, and dynamic content technologies to deliver messages that are not only timely but deeply resonant. Whether through interactive formats, predictive campaigns, or context-aware storytelling, the goal is no longer just to be seen—it’s to spark authentic connection. As we move forward, the future of marketing will belong to those who can turn digital interactions into meaningful conversations at scale.
In response to these challenges and opportunities, MARKETECH APAC recently concluded its inaugural What’s NEXT in Marketing: Hong Kong 2025 conference, held on April 24, 2025 at Cordis, Hong Kong.
The conference, part of the media company’s What’s NEXT in Marketing 2025 conference series, united local and regional industry leaders to share groundbreaking ideas, delve into emerging trends, and unveil exclusive insights into the future of marketing.
For the morning part of the conference, the sessions focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation in marketing, which included how the marketers of the future should think and work, AI-driven conversational marketing, the importance of the customer lifecycle value (CLV), amongst other topics.
Leading the conversations during the morning part included:
- Esther Soo, Senior Partner Manager at Dotdigital
- Rilla Roessel, Vice President, Growth Marketing at INTO University Partnerships
- Laurent Lenoir, Chief Digital Officer APAC at Lacoste
- Sylvia Lee, Director of Sales and Marketing at Lan Kwai Fong Group
- Christopher Brewer, President at Ogilvy Consulting
- David Ko, Managing Director at Ruder Finn Interactive
- Steven Lee, Vice President of Marketing, Power Systems Division at Schneider Electric
- Eric Mui, VP, General Manager (GCC, EMEA, LATAM) at SleekFlow
- Otilia Chan, Former Head of Marketing
For the afternoon part of the conference, the sessions focused on customer engagement and customer experience, specifically on factors such as improving omnichannel strategies, stressing the importance of connecting with customers multilingually, as well as the power of storytelling in engaging with customers.
Leading the conversations during the afternoon included:
- Alice Wong, Director for Marketing & Partnership (East Asia) at Airwallex
- Thomas Elliott, Executive Producer at Casual
- Linda Wang, Head of Lifestyle Marketing at Cathay Pacific Airways
- Michel Wong, Former Head of Consumer Communications, Asia at Deliveroo Hong Kong Ltd.
- Stephanie Chan, Head of Marketing at DETERMINANT
- Johnny Ng, Vice President for Strategy & Growth at GroupM
- Sean Seah, SVP Strategy Technology Innovation at Langham Hospitality Group
- Laurent Lenoir, Chief Digital Officer APAC at Lacoste
- Rola Lin, Marketing Director at Moët Hennessy Hong Kong and Macau
- Jaslin Goh, Director (Marketing, Communications, & Data) at Octopus Holdings Limited
- Louise Vas, Head of OSW Marketing at PrimeCredit Limited
- Gian Chan, Associate Director at Sanrio Global Asia
- Philip Chau, Regional Director, Marketing Performance & Operations – Asia at Sun Life Insurance
- Chris Baker, Founder at Totem Media
Moreover, the conference also included roundtable discussions, which allowed attendees to connect with industry peers, share valuable insights, and explore key marketing topics shaping the future of the industry including content marketing, conversational marketing, customer engagement, customer experience, customer insights, data & analytics, digital advertising, digital transformation, Generative AI, and omnichannel marketing.
The moderators and their respective topics in these sessions included:
- Eric Mui, VP, General Manager (GCC, EMEA, LATAM) at SleekFlow (Conversational Marketing)
- Thomas Elliott, Executive Producer at Casual (Content Marketing)
- Chris Baker, Founder at Totem Media (Customer Engagement)
- Sylvia Lee, Senior Director, Sales and Marketing Corporate at Lan Kwai Fong Group (Customer Experience)
- Lumia Zhou, Director-E-Commerce at Langham Hospitality Group (Customer Insights)
- Veron Dai, VP, Data & Tech Consultancy at Assembly Global (Data & Analytics)
- Johnny Ng, VP of Strategy and Growth at GroupM (Digital Advertising)
- David Ko, Managing Director at Ruder Finn Interactive (Generative AI)
- Danny Wong, Head of Growth and Innovation, GCR at TEAM LEWIS (Omnichannel Marketing)
- Aloysius Soh, Senior Business Development Manager at Dotdigital (Omnichannel Marketing)
The What’s NEXT in Marketing: Hong Kong 2025 was made possible by sponsors Dotdigital, Sleekflow, Ogilvy One; as well as event partners Casual, Omnichat, and Shopify Plus x Wave Commerce.
A total of 148 delegates attended the event, representing brands such as Aesop, Airport Authority Hong Kong, AS Watson, AXA, BeCandle, Canon, CUHK Medical Centre, Decathlon, DKSH, GP Batteries, Hang Seng Bank, Klook, Kontoor Asia, L’Oréal, Melomel AB, Miramar Group, Prudential, Shangri-La Group, South China Morning Post, Tiffany & Co., Universal Music Group, amongst others.
The conference is part of a five-part conference series–with the Singapore one concluding on 20 February and the Philippine one on 26-27 March. The subsequent conferences are listed as follows:
- What’s NEXT in Marketing: Indonesia 2025 – 31 July 2025 (Pullman Jakarta Central Park)
- What’s NEXT in Marketing: Malaysia 2025 – 22 October 2025 (Sheraton Petaling Jaya)
For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Joven Barceñas at [email protected].
For speaking opportunities for these conferences, contact Katherine Sy at [email protected]; and for registrations, reach out to Hans Policarpio at [email protected].
