Tag: Artificial Intelligence

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Malaysia Airlines is ramping up its digital transformation efforts through an expanded strategic partnership with tech giant Google. The collaboration, first launched in 2024, will now focus more intensively on artificial intelligence, personalised marketing, and digital innovation across the airline’s operations.

The announcement marks a new chapter in the airline’s strategy to enhance customer engagement and streamline services. Under a newly formalised Joint Business Plan, the partnership aims to embed Google’s AI technologies — including Gemini and image-to-video tool Veo — throughout the traveller experience.

One of the recent highlights of the collaboration was an interactive AI showcase at the MATTA Fair, where visitors were able to use Veo to turn personal photos into short videos. This experience tied into Malaysia Airlines’ “Time For” campaign, demonstrating how emerging technologies can create more engaging, shareable travel content.

“This is about transforming how we connect with our customers — from inspiration to booking, to every interaction across the journey,” said Dersenish Aresandiran, chief commercial officer of airlines at Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG). “By leveraging Google’s advanced technology and global expertise, we’re unlocking new opportunities, enhancing the travel experience, and reinforcing Malaysia’s appeal as a world-class tourism destination.”

The partnership will prioritise four main areas:

  • AI-Powered Marketing: Utilising Google’s Performance Max and Search tools to deliver data-driven campaigns.
  • Global Brand Expansion: Launching YouTube marketing campaigns across key markets including the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and ASEAN.
  • Innovation Acceleration: Cultivating a culture of experimentation to test new digital ideas quickly.
  • Customer Data Integration: Enhancing loyalty programmes and premium offerings through first-party data insights.

Farhan Qureshi, Google Malaysia’s Country Director, said the partnership highlights the power of combining technology and creativity. “Together, we’re pushing boundaries to deliver more relevant, intuitive, and engaging experiences for travellers worldwide,” he said.

The strengthened alliance comes as Malaysia Airlines positions itself as a key player in regional aviation ahead of Visit Malaysia 2026, the country’s upcoming tourism campaign. The airline aims to become a digital-first carrier and support Malaysia’s goal of being the gateway to Asia.

The collaboration also reflects a broader trend in the aviation industry, where digital capabilities are becoming central to both customer satisfaction and commercial success.

Australia – As artificial intelligence continues to disrupt traditional retail and marketing landscapes, industry leaders are turning their focus to how AI can future-proof loyalty programs. The Australian Loyalty Association (ALA) has confirmed that artificial intelligence, personalisation, and customer data ethics will headline discussions at the upcoming 2025 Asia Pacific Loyalty Conference.

Recent ALA research reveals a growing tension between consumer expectations and trust. Nearly half of members (46%) expect brands to understand their preferences, while 58% are willing to share their data in exchange for more relevant offers. 

However, 53% remain uneasy about the sheer volume of data collected by loyalty programs. Communication preferences also signal a need for brands to tread carefully: 75% of consumers prefer email updates, but only 35% are open to receiving texts, with 68% limiting SMS to urgent matters.

ALA Founder and Director Sarah Richardson said the growing complexity of customer expectations demands a smarter, tech-driven response from loyalty professionals. “AI is not just a tool—it’s a transformative force in the loyalty ecosystem,” she said. “To remain competitive, loyalty leaders must embrace new technologies while being deeply mindful of consumer comfort and trust.”

As AI reshapes every stage of the loyalty journey—from data strategy to seamless customer experience—the 2025 Asia Pacific Loyalty Conference will serve as a critical forum for brands seeking to stay ahead in an increasingly intelligent and customer-centric marketplace.

The 2025 conference agenda opens with a Fireside Chat featuring Robert Lopez, Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer at Norths Collective, and Lucinda Acheson, Customer and Loyalty Strategy Lead at Salesforce. The session will explore how AI technologies such as predictive analytics and machine learning are reshaping customer experience and loyalty across the Asia Pacific region—highlighting strategies to balance innovation with transparency and ethical data use.

Robert Pope, General Manager of Customer at Myer, will also speak on adapting loyalty strategies during an economic downturn. His session will delve into how brands can remain agile in the face of inflationary pressures while continuing to deliver meaningful value to their members.

“In this session, we will explore how the AI era is reshaping customer experience and member loyalty,” said Pope. “Attendees will leave with practical strategies to apply AI in creating more efficient, personalised and trusted loyalty experiences.”

With over 30 expert speakers and 200 brands represented, the event promises insights into the future of loyalty across multiple dimensions—including emotional loyalty, omnichannel engagement, and data-led personalisation.

MARKETECH APAC is also hosting its What’s NEXT in Marketing conference series, which highlights the future of marketing in APAC this 2025 and beyond, as well as the Retail & E-Commerce Innovation series, highlighting the convergence of retail and e-commerce for brands in Southeast Asia.

India – DermiCool has partnered with Wondrlab India to launch a fully AI-generated advertisement film, marking a bold step forward in tech-driven brand storytelling.

Created in collaboration with AI creative agencies The TopScout and Crushed Studios, the ad film reimagines the fight against ghamoriyan (prickly heat) through a video game-inspired narrative. Set on a stylised battlefield, it features animated warriors combating heat-induced monsters, representing DermiCool’s cooling effect.

Amit Akali, co-founder and CCO of Wondrlab, said, “Very rarely does a client present a brief that lets us push creative and technological boundaries. We had the concept in place, but bringing AI into the mix supercharged the execution and gave the film an entirely new visual identity.”

Gauri Gokarn, content lead at Wondrlab, added, “While AI is still in its early days in advertising, this project has shown us just how powerful the technology can be when used thoughtfully. It wasn’t just about creating content—it was a collaborative learning journey that opened up new creative avenues.”

The release builds on the momentum of the brand’s earlier ‘Garmi ki Pakad’ campaign, which resonated strongly with audiences.

Now live across major digital platforms, the AI-generated film reflects a growing shift toward tech-enabled storytelling in Indian advertising.

Kaushik Vedula, AVP-marketing for DermiCool at Emami India, said, “DermiCool enjoys the love of its consumers owing to it consistently delivering cooling relief from heat and associated problems like prickly heat. In our efforts to win the new generation of consumers, we realised that we needed to adopt modern storytelling formats while retaining the legacy we are proud of.”

“DermiCool Warriors, our digital film, is an effort in that direction. It embraces future-facing technologies in brand communication while staying true to the brand’s core emotional legacy and promise. The campaign highlights the strategic use of AI as a cost-effective alternative to high-budget filmmaking while being a more agile and efficient approach to creative development,” Vedula added.

China – LUX, together with VML Singapore, has unveiled a new campaign that challenges deep-rooted naming traditions in China—encouraging women to reclaim their identity by creating meaningful, modern names that celebrate who they truly are.

As part of the campaign, LUX and VML Singapore launched ‘Reclaim Her Name’, a digital tool that allows women in China to replace outdated, gender-biased names with alternatives that reflect modern values and personal empowerment. The tool, accessible via mobile apps WeChat, Weibo, and Rednote, uses AI to suggest new names based on the original—retaining key elements such as sounds and characters, but shifting away from regressive associations.

The initiative introduces the concept of “self-renaming”, a response to the enduring practice of assigning names that reflect traditional gender hierarchies. In China, it remains common for women to be given names that signify fragility, inferiority, or disappointment—such as Zhao Di (“I wish I had a boy”), Ya Nan (“Second to man”), and Sheng Nan (“Bear me a boy”). These names continue to reflect deep-seated gender bias, subtly reinforcing the idea that women are secondary to men.

Rooted in feminist history, the campaign draws inspiration from Nu Shu, a centuries-old secret script developed and used exclusively by women during the Song Dynasty. Created as a way for women to communicate and share their experiences in a male-dominated society, Nu Shu’s flowing, symbolic strokes form the basis for the campaign’s custom-designed “New Women’s Font”, which appears throughout the tool.

The name-changing process is designed to be interactive and intuitive. Users enter their current name and simply shake their phones to receive a new suggestion. If the result doesn’t resonate, they can continue shaking until they find a name that aligns with their identity.

By combining technology with cultural insight, ‘Reclaim Her Name’ offers a modern response to a longstanding issue—providing women with a means to assert agency over something as foundational as their name.

Marco Versolato, chief creative officer – WPP@Unilever at VML Singapore, said, “Inspired by an ancient, secret language created only for women, we’re rewriting sexist traditions to create meaningful new names that reflect the spirit of modern, dynamic women in China.”

Since its launch, ‘Reclaim Her Name’ has generated over 14,000 new names, reflecting growing engagement with the tool and broader conversations around identity and gender norms in China.

Judy Zu, global brand director at LUX, shared, “Each Chinese character is an alchemy of sound and symbol: the same strokes, rearranged, weave blessings or critiques. At LUX, we believe every woman deserves a name that becomes a mirror to her strength and a compass for her journey. Yet, even today, profound bias still lurks behind many women’s names. That’s why we created Reclaim Her Name: not just to rename, but to reignite. Because every woman can – and should – sculpt her identity unapologetically; just as characters transform with every stroke, so can we.”

Australia – The Australian Centre for AI in Marketing (ACAM) has announced that IBM ANZ has joined as a founding supporter, marking a significant step towards the goal of equipping Australian marketers with essential skills, tools, and ethical frameworks necessary for success in the AI era.

Since launching in March, ACAM has gained traction as a national initiative designed to ensure every marketer in Australia can confidently and responsibly adopt AI. IBM’s involvement brings global weight and credibility to the Centre’s work and will enable the expansion of ACAM’s education programs and thought leadership initiatives. 

Australia is forecast to spend US$8.3b on AI by 2027, making it the second largest AI spender in APAC according to IDC and while 80% of CMOs believe AI will transform marketing in the next 12 months, many feel unprepared to lead that change. IBM’s support will enable ACAM to help close this gap by offering practical, accessible, and values-driven AI education, thought leadership and support.

Miki Luong, marketing and communications leader at IBM ANZ, said, “We’re proud to support ACAM in building a more capable, confident, and ethical marketing industry. There’s a strong alignment in how we both approach AI -purpose-led, human-centred, and grounded in trust.”

Meanwhile, Louise Cummins, founder of ACAM, commented, “This collaboration is about helping to shape the future of marketing in Australia. IBM’s leadership in ethical AI positions them as an ideal founding partner. While ACAM will remain technology agnostic, industry support allows us to advance our mission. IBM’s backing enables us to create an environment where marketers can experiment, learn, and lead with confidence.”

The pro-purpose Australian Centre for AI in Marketing has been founded by prominent marketing leaders Louise Cummins, former CMO of World Vision Australia; Jodie Sangster, former CEO of ADMA, Rochelle Tognetti, former Deloitte CMO and partner and Douglas Nicol, former strategy partner at The Works, part of Capgemini.

Hong Kong – In a move that bridges tradition and innovation, Chinese herbal wellness retailer Hung Fook Tong has teamed up with Nutribite to launch a personalised meal service powered by AI and rooted in traditional Chinese wellness principles.

The new meal service combines AI technology with nutritional science and traditional Chinese wellness principles to deliver personalised healthy meal plans. Users input basic personal information—such as age, height, weight, dietary preferences, and health goals—into the platform. DeepSeek, the AI engine behind Nutribite, then generates customised meal plans that include curated Nutribite meal boxes and Hung Fook Tong wellness products tailored to individual needs. Real-time interactive features allow users to adjust recommendations as needed.

At the centre of the service is a healthier take on the popular “two-dish rice” concept, featuring fresh ingredients and balanced combinations. The offering aims to make personalised nutrition more accessible and convenient for everyday consumption.

Wei Qiang, founder of Nutribite, shared, “Nutribite has been dedicated to driving innovation in data-driven healthy meal management and developing customised healthy meal solutions catering to various scenarios.”

“We are pleased to partner with Hung Fook Tong to integrate elements of traditional Chinese wellness wisdom into our healthy meal offerings, marking an important step in deepening our presence in the healthy catering market. We look forward to a close collaboration that will create more innovative value in the market and reshape the future of healthy eating,” Qiang added.

Customers can order personalised meals through Hung Fook Tong’s “JIKA CLUB” mobile app and collect them at designated locations across its network of over 100 stores in Hong Kong, including outlets at MTR stations. The service runs from 28 April to 31 May 2025, with a 10% discount available during the launch period.

Dr. Ricky Szeto, CEO and executive director of Hung Fook Tong, stated, “As a modern wellness concept food and beverage enterprise, Hung Fook Tong is committed to integrating traditional Chinese herbal wellness wisdom with innovative technology to offer customers high-quality, diverse products and services that meet their various needs for healthy diets.”

“This strategic partnership with Nutribite leverages advanced AI technology to provide customers with a brand-new healthy eating experience, marking a significant breakthrough in the group’s digital transformation. Together, we look forward to creating a new blueprint for healthy eating in the market and injecting new momentum into the group’s development,” he added.

Singapore – Creative innovation company R/GA has launched its AI search optimisation platform to help brands track their visibility. Through AI-powered search, R/GA’s tool aims to reshape how consumers discover brands.

Through the AI search optimisation platform, R/GA allows brands to perform real-time search health checks, providing them deep visibility. It helps brands understand and influence AI search results while allowing them to track, measure, and optimise their presence.

R/GA’s platform features include benchmarking across tools such as Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude, and Deepseek. It also performs sentiment analysis and provides actionable recommendations to improve AI search performance.

The shift to AI-generated search necessitates tailored strategies for brands to avoid losing their visibility. Through the platform, R/GA is helping brands retool their content and visibility strategy.

Nick Coronges, Global CTO at R/GA, said, “As part of our Innovation Fund, we’re investing in creating new products and solutions for our global clients that address emerging needs. The R/GA AI Search Optimization Platform is the first in a suite of AI tools we are developing to accelerate value creation for our clients. With this product, we can provide instant insights and ongoing services in a fraction of the time, with the technology itself powered by AI-enabled analytics agents and Large Language Models (LLMs) under the hood.”

“R/GA’s AI Search Optimization Platform provides us with actionable insights as we partner with brands to optimise and refine their visibility across emerging AI search tools. We now have continuous monitoring across sectors, brand-specific benchmarking, and can detect changes in real-time,” Marc Williamson, director of marketing sciences at R/GA, said.

Australia – Customer data cloud Amperity has launched its ‘Identity Resolution Agent,’ an AI-powered tool that unifies customer profiles. The solution helps enterprise brands consolidate fragmented customer data more quickly, instead of taking months.

Leveraging Amperity’s machine learning capabilities, the ‘Identity Resolution Agent’ allows teams to prepare accurate customer data fast and intuitively. Streamlining the process from data ingestion to quality assurance, users can conveniently deploy strategies for business growth.

Besides eliminating complex coding, it incorporates matching strategies to meet needs and enables seamless integration with other data environments, including Databricks and Snowflake.

Through the launch, enterprise brands can unveil deeper insights and trustworthy data for more personalised and meaningful interactions.

The AI agent launch aims to address businesses’ need to unlock AI-driven results, with 78% of global companies feeling unprepared to deploy natural language tools, according to a recent MIT Technology Review Insights study.

With the launch, Amperity is solidifying its position as the foundation for AI-powered customer experiences, enabling brands to be successful in their AI efforts.

“AI is only as good as the data that fuels it. Our new agent gives data teams the power to rapidly transform fragmented customer records into a single source of truth. It turns structured, unstructured, and synthetic data into a strategic asset, accelerating the path to real business outcomes from AI,” Tony Owens, chief executive officer of Amperity, said.

Amperity recently appointed former drugstore.com CEO Dawn G. Lepore as the chairman of its board of directors. The appointment aims to unlock meaningful customer relationships among brands working with the company.

India – Britannia The Laughing Cow, the processed cheese brand from the joint venture between Britannia Industries and Le Groupe Bel, has launched a new campaign spotlighting its revamped creamier recipe and locally produced range.

Conceptualised by Schbang, Britannia The Laughing Cow’s latest film-led campaign focuses on the idea of cheese that’s “Irresistibly Creamier, Uniquely Crafted with French Expertise”. Set in everyday meal moments, the campaign highlights the brand’s updated recipe and local production, anchored in the relatable response of asking for “One More Please”.

“We rooted our creative thinking in a powerful insight: today’s consumers constantly battle digital distractions, even during everyday meals. By showcasing a choice of food and connection over screens, we repositioned Britannia The Laughing Cow Cheese as a simple yet meaningful ally. Showcasing the sheer delight of every bite, the campaign brings alive the brand’s creamier, richer taste further cemented by the spontaneous ask for ‘One More Please’,” said Ria Shah, AVP – integrated brand solution and Puru Agarwal – associate creative director at Schbang.

As part of the campaign, Britannia The Laughing Cow has also introduced a GenAI-powered WhatsApp Recipe Bot, offering users quick, customised recipes featuring its cheese products. The tool aims to make everyday cooking more convenient and engaging.

Abhishek Sinha, chief business officer for dairy and CEO of Britannia Bel Foods, said, “At Britannia Bel Foods, we are proud to bring the finest French cheese-making expertise together with Indian craftsmanship and scale, a blend that truly sets us apart.”

“The new Britannia The Laughing Cow range is a milestone in our journey of making high-quality cheese more accessible and affordable for Indian households. This revamp is not just about taste; it’s a reflection of our commitment to quality, value, and innovation, shaped by global mastery and local understanding. With this creamier, tastier, and locally produced cheese, we’re making it easier than ever for consumers to enjoy a world-class cheese experience every day,” he added.

Britannia The Laughing Cow is produced in India by Britannia Bel Foods, a joint venture between Britannia Industries and France’s Bel Group. Since October 2024, the brand’s cheese products have been locally manufactured at a dedicated facility in Ranjangaon, Maharashtra, using locally sourced ingredients. The updated range blends French cheese-making expertise with Indian taste preferences and features refreshed packaging alongside an improved recipe.

Singapore – Global adtech company Nexxen has announced the launch of ‘nexAI’, a suite of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools integrated across its core platform. ‘nexAI’ is designed to support various stages of the advertising process, including planning, activation, optimization, and monetization, with a focus on transparency and ongoing improvement.

Nexxen’s platform combines a demand-side platform (DSP), supply-side platform (SSP), the Nexxen Data Platform, and an in-house creative studio, Nexxen Studio, to enable communication across its components. The addition of nexAI incorporates machine learning and generative AI technologies to enhance capabilities for advertisers, agencies, and publishers throughout the campaign process.

‘nexAI’ uses Nexxen’s proprietary data to introduce improvements across four main areas. In planning, AI-powered tools support audience planning, forecasting, and strategic recommendations to provide clearer insights. 

For activation, AI-driven automation is used to simplify campaign setup and management. In the optimization phase, nexAI applies machine learning to monitor and adjust campaigns in real time, aiming to enhance performance and return on investment through algorithms that evolve and improve over time. 

Meanwhile, for monetisation, publishers are supported through AI-based yield optimization and increased transparency to help maximize revenue. The first generative AI feature, an in-platform assistant integrated into the Nexxen DSP, is intended to streamline workflows and enhance campaign performance while maintaining transparency and user control. Initially, the nexAI DSP assistant will offer users easier access to campaign insights, helping advertisers save time and resources. 

Future updates are expected to expand the assistant’s capabilities, including direct optimisation recommendations aimed at improving return on ad spend, with additional developments planned throughout the year.

Karim Rayes, chief product officer at Nexxen, said, “Our clients are continuing to lean into data and technology to navigate the fragmented media landscape, and nexAI meets this evolving need. By integrating AI across our unified platform – and leveraging our existing data to inform these capabilities – we’re not just adding features; we’re fundamentally transforming the way campaigns are run and inventory is monetised.”

Meanwhile, Jamie Snider, director of digital strategy at Assembly Global, commented, “Sifting through campaign data to uncover meaningful insights can take hours, but nexAI puts that power at our fingertips in an instant. By streamlining reporting and optimisation, it lets us spend less time digging and more time driving real results for clients.”

Lastly, Brian Binder, senior innovation and growth director, TV, audio & display at Tinuiti, stated, “By automating data and insight collection, nexAI will streamline our team’s workflow, allowing us to shift focus to higher-value strategic initiatives and discovering new growth opportunities for our clients.”