New data from Criteo shows APAC travel demand remained resilient heading into the spring season, with hotel traffic rising and a late spike of nearly 30% year-on-year, even as OTA conversion rates softened 10% year-on-year in Q1.

The report found that while overall demand remains steady, travellers are becoming more selective about how and where they travel. Air traffic in the region fell 17% year-on-year in Q1 2026, as tensions in the Middle East prompted some travellers to reconsider long-haul plans. However, demand has largely shifted toward nearer destinations rather than declined.

In April, air bookings rose 1.0% for short-haul and 1.8% for medium-haul travel year-on-year, while long-haul bookings fell 2.8%, signalling a continued pivot to regional travel. Rather than a broad pullback, the data points to a recalibration in demand, creating opportunities for destination marketers and online travel agencies focused on shorter-haul routes.

Criteo also found that APAC travellers are spending more time researching and comparing options before booking. On average, travellers browse around 25 hotel listings before booking, while 66% cite reviews as a key decision factor. For travel brands in the region, the challenge has shifted from attracting interest to closing bookings.

This longer consideration period is also reflected in APAC’s extended booking season compared to other regions. Travel bookings outpaced retail sales week-on-week from early July through mid-October 2025, longer than in both EMEA and the Americas. The trend signals an extended activation window for marketers, supporting always-on campaign strategies over short, peak-driven bursts.

At the same time, travellers are increasingly turning to AI tools for planning, with APAC leading adoption. The report found that full-trip AI planning is most common in the region, with 45% of Japanese travellers and 47% of South Korean travellers using AI for end-to-end trip planning, versus a global average of 30%.

AI is also emerging as a key channel in the travel journey. In March 2026, ChatGPT accounted for a higher share of travel booking page visits than traditional search by 13 percentage points, while 72% of Criteo’s travel clients recorded at least one booking from ChatGPT referrals.

Criteo said the shift underscores the need to identify high-intent travellers rather than focus on volume. In partnership with the company, Skyscanner shifted its mid-funnel success metric from clicks to “Engaged Search Sessions”, defined as sessions where users did not bounce and completed at least one search for flights, hotels or car hire. Campaigns optimised on this metric in India and Canada delivered up to a 67% lift in ROI and an 80% increase in engaged search sessions.

As travellers navigate a more cost-conscious and complex environment, Criteo said brands that best convert will be those using real-time commerce data, AI-driven targeting, intent-based strategies and full-funnel activation to engage travellers throughout the booking journey.

“In Japan and South Korea, nearly half of travellers are now turning to AI in their trip planning, a strong signal for the rest of APAC. How a hotel, airline, or destination is surfaced and described by AI now matters as much as how it’s advertised,” said Szi Wei Lo, Executive Managing Director, APAC, Criteo. 

“Travel brands no longer win simply by outbidding competitors — they win by making it easier for travellers to understand, compare and choose their offering. The travel brands that pull ahead will be those treating content and product data as the driver of discovery, not a back-end concern.”

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Speaking exclusively to MARKETECH APAC, Danielle Jin, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Visa Asia-Pacific, highlighted why Laufey was a perfect fit for Visa’s campaign, citing the artist’s reimagining of jazz for a new generation of music listeners, creating music that is intimate and emotionally alive for Gen Z’ers and her journey to become a globally-recognised singer, and also being a two-time Grammy winner.

“As someone who has lived between cultures, her story is one of resilience and progress amidst vulnerability, aligning with Visa’s belief that success is the result of small steps we take every day. We’re heartened to partner with Laufey for the A Matter of Time Tour in Asia, and we hope to inspire a new generation to find their voice in the world,” she explained.

Showing up where culture and commerce connect

It should be noted that according to Visa’s recent study on global travel intentions, not only are consumers in Asia-Pacific travelling for live events like concerts, but this behaviour is most pronounced among younger segments. 84% of Gen Z and Millennial respondents in the region said they attended live events at their travel destinations, higher than the 81% regional figure.

“At Visa, we want to show up where culture, commerce, and community intersect. Artists like Laufey are more than performers – they unite people and are role models that younger fans, especially Gen Zs can connect with and see themselves in. When we can connect the dots to make the fan journey effortless from tickets to flight bookings to the actual concerts, we elevate the experience and demonstrate the value of Visa for everyone,” Danielle further added.

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For context, Visa’s global network aims to connect culture and commerce, allowing consumers and fans to transact securely and seamlessly across the journeys, from discovery to accessing tickets to travel bookings and on-ground spending in the cities they visit.

Speaking about additional experiences fans can expect in this collaboration, Danielle said that when they partner with artists like Laufey, their focus is always on creating experiences that feel authentic and meaningful for fans – enabling them to experience Laufey’s story–in this instance–her journey, and beliefs in ways that only Visa can do.

“The campaign film is one example, as the first of several combining Laufey’s love for travel with Visa’s seamless and secure payments that make exploring the world feel effortless. On the other hand, we also strive to bring fans up close and personal with Laufey throughout the A Matter of Time Tour with exclusive pre-show soundcheck experiences, photo opportunities, and more that enable fans to connect with Laufey on a deeper level.”

A broader move into music and live entertainment

It is worth noting that live music is a US$63b global industry, with Asia Pacific accounting for around 23% of that value. With that in mind, Danielle noted how music is woven into the fabric of Asia Pacific and together with live concerts and entertainment, it plays a central role in how they reinforce Visa’s brand relevance in the region.

“What we’re seeing in the region is a shift towards experience-led behaviours as consumers, especially younger segments like Gen Zs seek moments that feel personal and meaningful – be it travelling for a concert or following their favourite artists around the world,” she said.

Aside from their partnership with Laufey’s “A Matter of Time Tour”, Visa has recently been announced as the Official Payment Partner for the Asia leg of The Weeknd’s “After Hours Til Dawn” Stadium Tour. They are also the title sponsor of the popular K-pop awards event MAMA AWARDS through to 2029, and the Worldwide Tour Sponsor for BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’.

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Visa has also highlighted how musical mega-events show how culture drives commerce and the economy.

For instance, during the 2025 MAMA AWARDS, the brand noted that nearly 90% of overseas ticket buyers at the Visa Presale had not visited the city in the past year – showing how music can reinvigorate travel and boost the profile of cities to new traveller segments 

Moreover, BTS’ comeback concert on 21 March in Seoul attracted 18.4 million viewers worldwide. Foreign travel to South Korea also surged over 25% on the week of the concert compared to an average week, while travel spending climbed around 20% from an average week, showing that BTS is as much a magnet for K-pop fans as it is a springboard for tourism.

“Music is a core part of our Passion Pillars Strategy because it enables Visa to show up as an enabler, supporting fans in their journey from discovery to ticket access to travel and on-ground spending. When we get this right, we strengthen the Visa brand and drive meaningful growth for clients and partners,” she concluded.

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The initiative features stories from families and individuals in India, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Malaysia, with the campaign aiming to showcase how oral care plays a role in daily life across different cultures and communities.

According to the company, the campaign focuses on real-life narratives and personal experiences rather than traditional product-focused advertising.

“At the core of this initiative is a universal truth: the desire to protect one’s family, ensuring their health and well-being through every stage of life. This campaign showcases real people sharing their stories in their own words, about their lives, and the role of Colgate as a trusted, often unspoken, partner in their journey. “ said Samir Singh, EVP Marketing Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific.

The campaign highlights several stories across the region. In India, one story follows a multi-generational family running a sweet shop, where oral care has been part of their household routine for years. Another narrative features actor Prateik Smita Patil, who reflects on the legacy of his mother and the significance of her smile.

In Australia, the campaign includes the story of Patrick Cripps, a star from the Australian Football League, who grew up in a remote community with limited access to dental services. The story recounts how his mother emphasised oral care while he was growing up and how he now passes the same habits to his own child.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand segment highlights the company’s global oral health education programme, Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures, which the company says has reached billions of children and families worldwide. The story focuses on a kindergarten teacher in Mayfield who encourages young students to build oral health habits.

In the Philippines, the campaign portrays a grandmother working overseas who sends balikbayan boxes home to her granddaughter, including oral care products, as a way to stay connected despite the distance.

“These are stories about growing up, about being away from home and coming back, about joy, disappointments, celebrations, ups and downs, about life, and most of all, about love. Colgate’s role in these stories is small but intimate, and completely authentic. We hope this will become a new way of communicating to people who are tired of hyperbole and exaggerated claims. Of telling human stories, simply and honestly.” Samir added.

The campaign will roll out across Asia-Pacific markets through multiple channels, featuring short films and storytelling content centred on everyday family experiences.

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According to the reports, international Muslim visitor arrivals are estimated at 186 million in 2025 and are expected to grow to 245 million by the end of the decade. The reports also note that baseline services such as Halal food availability and prayer spaces have become more established in many destinations, while newer expectations are emerging around safety, digital confidence and faith-aligned assurance.

Asia continues to play a significant role in the global Muslim travel market. The report estimates that the region attracted nearly 120 million Muslim visitors in 2024, accounting for around 65% of the world’s 176 million global Muslim travelers.

The study attributes the region’s strong position to connectivity, cultural diversity, established Halal infrastructure and proximity between major Muslim source markets and destinations.

Southeast Asia in particular is seen as well placed to capture future demand. Countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei are cited among preferred destinations for Muslim women travelers. The reports also identify Southeast Asia as a significant source market, accounting for around 5.8 million Muslim women travelers.

Beyond Muslim-majority countries, the reports point to growing opportunities for destinations that can make their Muslim-friendly services more visible and reliable to travelers.

In 2025, Muslim women travelers accounted for 90 million international arrivals, representing 48% of global Muslim visitor arrivals. This marks an increase from 63 million travelers and a 45% share in 2019.

The report notes that Muslim women are increasingly shaping travel planning across a range of travel types, including family vacations, solo travel, religious journeys, business trips and women-led group experiences.

Safety and comfort remain the most important factors in destination choice, cited by 60% of Muslim women travelers surveyed. Muslim-friendliness — including access to Halal food, prayer spaces and the ability to dress modestly without discrimination — was cited by 30% of respondents.

Digital platforms are also playing an important role in travel planning. The report found that 68% of respondents said social media influences their travel decisions, with Instagram identified as the most-used platform, followed by YouTube and TikTok. Artificial intelligence tools are also increasingly used by travelers to research destinations, plan itineraries and identify Halal-friendly services.

“Muslim travel is entering a more sophisticated phase, where confidence, inclusion and purpose are becoming as important as access and convenience,” said Aisha Islam, Senior Vice President, Customer Solutions Center, Southeast Asia at Mastercard. “Through the RIDA framework, destinations and businesses have a practical way to think about the full traveler journey from trusted digital information and secure payments to meaningful experiences that respect faith, culture, safety and personal values.”

The RIDA framework refers to the following:

• Responsible: support community-led tourism, environmental stewardship and regenerative travel practices. 
• Immersive: create deeper cultural, heritage and local experiences that go beyond sightseeing. 
• Digital: use technology, AI and secure digital payments to reduce friction and increase confidence. 
• Assured: build trust through verified Halal services, safety standards, inclusive infrastructure and consistent quality across touchpoints.

The reports highlight an opportunity for destinations to strengthen their appeal by making Muslim-friendly services more visible, verifiable and consistent.

Under the RIDA framework, destinations are encouraged to support community-led tourism and environmental stewardship, offer deeper cultural experiences, adopt digital tools such as AI and secure payment systems, and ensure reliable Halal services and inclusive infrastructure.

“For destinations, the opportunity is to move from availability to assurance,” said Raudha Zaini, Director of Operations, CrescentRating. “Muslim travelers are looking for experiences that are meaningful, inclusive and easy to trust. The destinations that clearly communicate their readiness and deliver consistently across the journey will be best positioned to earn long-term loyalty.”

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According to the study, travel behaviour in the region has shifted from being largely aspirational to more intentional, as travellers become more cautious about spending and rely increasingly on familiar brands.

The report indicates that travellers today are more digitally engaged but also more economically cautious, making decisions shaped by familiarity and trust rather than exploration. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, social media platforms, and broader economic pressures have contributed to what the study describes as a more compressed decision-making process, where travel brands are evaluated more quickly and compared more critically.

Across APAC, 57% of travellers reported using AI for travel planning. However, the report also found that 53% consider AI recommendations to be generic, while 42% say the technology makes them more likely to stay with familiar brands.

According to the study, AI is functioning less as a tool for discovery and more as a validation filter, favouring brands that consumers already recognise and trust.

The report also highlights differences across Southeast Asian markets, noting that travel behaviour varies significantly within the region.

Malaysia: High influence, lower trust

In Malaysia, travellers appear highly influenced by digital content but remain cautious about acting on it. The study found that 67% of Malaysian travellers rely on social media for travel inspiration. At the same time, 67% said they are choosing more affordable destinations, while 63% reported that geopolitical concerns influence their travel decisions.

This dynamic, according to the report, creates a situation where brands may achieve visibility online but struggle to convert that attention into bookings without strong credibility signals.

Audrey Chong, CEO of Dentsu Malaysia, said, “Travel marketing often assumes that more inspiration automatically creates more demand. Malaysia proves the opposite. Malaysian travelers have developed an unusually sharp instinct for separating perception from reality.”

She added, “Years of economic pressure and digital saturation have created consumers who are incredibly adaptive, knowing know how to navigate abundance without fully trusting it. That changes the role of branding entirely. This is where inspiration may open the door, but credibility is what gets a brand invited in.”

Vietnam: Experience-led but constrained

In Vietnam, travellers show the strongest interest in experiential travel across the region. The report found that Vietnamese respondents prioritise experiences at a rate 12 percentage points higher than the regional average.

Despite this appetite for experiences, the market also recorded the highest level of trip postponements in APAC, at 31%. The study further found that 63% of respondents in Vietnam are navigating geopolitical concerns, while 40% view travel as an extension of everyday life.

According to the report, Vietnamese travellers increasingly approach travel with deliberate intent, with many prioritising meaningful experiences over generic offerings. Domestic and nearby destinations also remain popular, influenced by concerns over currency fluctuations and regional tensions.

Thu Nguyen, CEO of Dentsu Vietnam, said, “Vietnam’s travel mindset today is incredibly revealing of where Southeast Asia is heading next. This is a market with enormous appetite for experience, self-expression and personal enrichment, but also one that is acutely aware of constraint. Vietnamese consumers are simply becoming more selective about what deserves emotional and financial investment. That makes this one of the most emotionally intelligent travel markets in the region, but also one operating with far more nuance than many brands realise.”

***

Overall, the study suggests that travel consumers across Southeast Asia are becoming more selective and emotionally driven in their decision-making. While AI may accelerate the discovery of travel options, the report indicates that it is also shortening the evaluation process and reinforcing the advantage of brands that already hold consumer trust.

For travel marketers, the findings suggest that building credibility and distinctive brand positioning may be increasingly important as travellers weigh options more carefully before making decisions.

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The launch comes as search behaviour evolves from traditional link-based queries toward AI-generated answers. According to the company, APAC has become a leading region for adoption of AI search tools, with 78% of users reporting weekly usage. As a result, AI-generated responses are increasingly shaping brand discovery and consideration before users visit websites.

Assembly said the new offering is intended to address how brands appear within AI-generated answers rather than simply focusing on search rankings or clicks. The system reflects what the agency describes as a shift away from treating search as a standalone channel toward a broader ecosystem spanning paid, owned, earned and shared media.

The complexity of this transition is particularly pronounced in the Asia-Pacific region due to the fragmented landscape of large language models and the diversity of languages and cultural contexts. As different models may interpret and present brands differently, marketers face the risk of inconsistent or inaccurate representation across AI platforms.

Stagwell Search+ was developed by Assembly in partnership with emberos and is powered by what the companies describe as the industry’s first agentic operating system designed for AI search. The platform monitors how brands appear across multiple AI models and languages, while measuring how changes across content, media and digital channels influence brand visibility.

Rather than automatically making changes to platforms, the system uses AI agents to guide human decision-making, enabling marketing teams to adjust strategies while maintaining oversight of brand messaging and experience.

The platform is currently integrated with AI models from companies including OpenAI, Google’s Gemini, Perplexity AI, xAI’s Grok, and Anthropic. Assembly said additional integrations with regional platforms such as DeepSeek are planned later this year.

“AI is already making brand decisions without marketers in the room – and in APAC, that challenge is amplified by language and cultural complexity,” said Yi En Chye, VP of Experience and Activation, APAC at Assembly. “Success is no longer defined by rankings or clicks, but by a brand’s ability to secure share of prompt. Stagwell Search+ gives brands the visibility and control they need to compete in this new environment.”

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Marketers are doing exactly what they have been told to do, and doing it well. They are hitting the quarter, proving the channel, cutting the slack, defending the spreadsheet. By every measure their CFOs were trained to care about, they are succeeding. And yet, when the CMO Survey looked at where marketing money was actually flowing in 2024, it found that almost 70% of budgets had been redirected to short-term performance tactics, up from 60% the year before – even though the same group of marketers said the optimal balance was a 50:50 split between brand-building and performance. We know better, but we are doing it anyway.

So why does it feel like the brand is disappearing?

None of this is irrational when you look at what marketers across APAC have been handed in 2026. AI is rewriting the rules of who reaches whom, which means every existing playbook is being rebuilt mid-flight. Regional budgets are tighter than they have been in a decade, partly because the global parent had its own budget cut. Geopolitics is making cross-border supply, pricing, and channel mix harder to predict than at any point since the pandemic. And on top of all of it, the planning horizon is no longer the year – for most marketers I speak with across the region, it is the next earnings call.

Faced with that combination, the rational response is to do what shows up in this quarter’s report. You spend on what you can measure, attribute, and put in front of the board without flinching, you move money toward the channel that closed the quarter last time, and you quietly let the slower work slip — the brand-building, the long-arc storytelling and the platforms that compound. 

However, postponing brand work for a quarter compounds the costs of not building the brand, leaving many CMOs paying “hidden interest” on a balance most  do not even know they are carrying. I call this Brand Debt.

The accounting is not theoretical. Kantar’s BrandZ analysis tracking brand value over a three-year period found that found that brands maintaining equity investment grew brand value by 72%, while those that deprioritised brand-building grew by only 20%. That gap is the interest rate on the debt, and it accrues whether the dashboard is showing it or not.

Like any other debt, you do not see it until you have to. It compounds quietly while you are busy hitting the targets that earned you the right to keep postponing it, and at some point, usually three to four years out, it comes due — in pricing power that has thinned, in CAC that no longer responds to optimisation, in distinctive assets your competitors are now using better than you, and in a brand the next CMO inherits that has stopped meaning anything specific to anyone.

The brands that survive 2026, by every quarter-on-quarter measure that defines survival in 2026, are often the ones building the largest Brand Debt balances. They look healthy on the surface, sometimes for years, and by the time the debt comes due, the conditions that made the debt rational will have changed, the team that made the trade will have moved on, and the cost of repayment will be a multi-year rebuild paid for by someone who was never in the room when the original decision was made.

This is an accounting problem disguised as a marketing one.

So what gets borrowed against, exactly?

The first thing is distinctiveness. Every quarter spent on “what works” tends to converge a brand on the same channels, formats, and creative grammar as everyone else in the category, until by year three the category reads like one paragraph in slightly different fonts, and the descriptions of competing brands in the latest landscape reports could be swapped without anyone noticing.

The second thing is pricing latitude. Brands that have stopped investing in meaningful distinctiveness end up competing on what is comparable, which is to say price, promo, convenience, speed of delivery and so on. While each individual promotion looks like it works, the aggregate effect – accumulated quarter by quarter –  is a brand that has trained its customers to wait for the next discount.

The third thing, and this is the one most CFOs miss, is recoverability. A brand carrying low Brand Debt can recover quickly when conditions improve because the underlying assets are still there, while a brand that has been dismantled quarter by quarter has nothing to recover with. When budgets eventually loosen in 2028 or 2029, the rebuild starts from a much lower base than the original, and the cost of getting back is significantly more than the cost of having stayed.

So what does a CMO in emerging markets such as Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand actually do, in the conditions we are in, with the budgets we have?

Three moves are working for the brands that are quietly servicing their Brand Debt while still hitting their numbers.

The first is to audit the next quarterly plan for inheritance. How much of what is in there exists only because last quarter ended, and how much of it is genuine continuation of a longer arc? If the honest answer is that most of it is inherited from the previous cycle, that is Brand Debt accumulating in real time, regardless of how the campaigns are performing in isolation.

The second is to carve out a small, fixed percentage of every quarter’s plan — somewhere between 10 and 15 percent – for work whose payback horizon is longer than the quarter itself. Forget the old 60/40 brand-versus-performance argument from 2019. What we are talking about here is a deliberately small, deliberately protected line that buys you optionality in 2030, whether that is a long-arc creative platform, a codified brand asset, an owned channel, or any infrastructure you keep building rather than rent.

The third is to change what gets reported up. Most APAC marketing dashboards report what happened in the recent quarter and very few report what compounded over the longer horizon. A single line in the monthly review — “this quarter, we built or strengthened X, which will still be working three years from now” — changes the conversation more than any deck or dashboard, because it teaches the rest of the business that brand-building leaves a strong trace, and that trace is a measurable asset.

The math has been clear for some time: WARC’s Multiplier Effect 2025 reports 90% higher ROI for brands that balance long-term brand-building with performance marketing, versus a 40% ROI cut for those who over-rely on performance. Paying down Brand Debt is the higher-yield investment, even if it does not show up on the dashboard until later.

The most expensive marketing strategy in APAC right now is the one that perfectly hits its quarter while quietly running up a Brand Debt that no one is reading – one that even makes overspending cheaper by comparison.

The brands that survive 2030 will be the ones that, in 2026, paid down their debt diligently.

This thought leadership piece is written by Dennis Kam, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of JUNO.

The insight is published as part of MARKETECH APAC’s thought leadership series under What’s NEXT in Marketing 2026, a multi-platform industry initiative which features marketing and industry leaders in APAC sharing their marketing insights and predictions for 2026 and beyond.

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According to the report, the data suggest that shared viewing experiences—particularly on CTV—create advertising environments that deliver stronger attention and engagement compared to solo viewing.

The report also indicates that while mobile devices dominate individual, habitual content consumption, television screens often serve as shared spaces where viewers watch content together. This dynamic, the report suggests, positions CTV as both a reach and performance channel for advertisers seeking higher attention and measurable outcomes.

The study found that co-viewing—defined as watching video content with others—is a recurring activity in many APAC households. Data from the report suggests that shared viewing environments can amplify advertising impact.

When it comes to co-viewing, the data suggests it significantly enhances advertising effectiveness and engagement. Specifically, 42% of viewers pay more attention to ads when watching with others compared to watching alone, and 53% reported stronger brand recall in co-viewing environments. 

The intent to act is also boosted, with 70% indicating they are more likely to take action after seeing an advertisement while co-viewing. This shared experience generates stronger emotional responses to both content and advertising for 44% of respondents, with 43% reporting that they actually discuss or react to advertisements during the viewing moment.

According to the report, these behaviors point to a form of attention that is more engaged and socially reinforced, which may influence advertising effectiveness.

The research also found that 78% of co-viewing activity in APAC occurs on CTV devices. Shared viewing was reported to be concentrated during predictable times, particularly weekend evenings such as Saturdays between 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.

Content genres that most commonly attract shared audiences include family-oriented programming, movies, television series, and live events. The report notes that these viewing windows are typically brand-safe and available through programmatic buying channels.

The report also outlines several factors that advertisers consider when activating CTV campaigns, including transparency, performance measurement, and workflow efficiency.

According to the report, programmatic buying provides advertisers with visibility into where ads are delivered, the associated costs, and audience targeting parameters. The company also notes that higher action rates and stronger brand recall among co-viewers may support the case for CTV as a performance-driven channel.

Within APAC, the study suggests that Southeast Asia demonstrates particularly strong connections between co-viewing and advertising response. The research found that co-viewing in the subregion tends to occur slightly more spontaneously than the broader APAC average, with 41% of shared viewing happening organically.

Among respondents in Southeast Asia, 73% reported being more likely to take action after exposure to an advertisement during shared viewing, compared with the regional average of 70%.

“The findings show APAC to be high-intensity co-viewing markets where CTV-led programmatic strategies can unlock outsized emotional engagement and conversion potential,” said Luke Smith, Senior Director CTV, APAC at PubMatic. “When advertisers align their buying strategies to co-viewing behaviors – accounting for everything from timing and content genre to device choice – they can access premium moments that consistently drive stronger recall and meaningful post-ad action.”

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“I’m proud to say I’ve delivered on everything I set out to achieve… an award-winning, connected business scaled across truly diverse markets; winning, growing, and trusted by incredible brands; remarkable talent with leading technology at the core; and an ambitious culture of builders. With that, and after 16 years, I’ve decided it’s now time to move on,” he stated.

Brosgill began as a marketing analyst and business development executive for Forward3D back in 2010, and quickly rose to the ranks within the company, becoming the Head of APAC and Russia in 2016.

Following the rebrand of Forward3D to ForwardPMX to Assembly Global, Brosgill then took on the role of Managing Director for APAC in 2019 before ending up in the CEO role in 2023.

“I’ve built offices from scratch, entered new markets, grew teams, shaped cultures, led some of the most exciting brands in the world, and transitioned from startup to scale-up to established operations. Every year brought fresh challenges, new opportunities, and countless lessons,” he stated in his LinkedIn post.

Assembly Global has declined to comment to MARKETECH APAC when asked on Brosgill’s departure.

Brisgoll’s departure follows recent moves within Assembly, with the group announcing earlier this year the full rebranding of all former ADK Global offices in Asia under the Assembly brand, marking the completion of the first phase of the merger following its acquisition of ADK Global last year. 

The move positions Assembly as a tech-enabled, end-to-end brand performance agency in the region, integrating brand strategy, creative, media, data, and commerce.

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Branded “Be A Hero with M&M’S | Marvel,” the campaign runs from April 1 to May 31, 2026, spanning Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, the Philippines, and Hong Kong.

Consumers can enter the campaign by scanning QR codes on packaging or in-store materials, which direct them into a game layer hosted at mmsmarvel.com.

Users will register via WhatsApp in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Hong Kong, LINE in Thailand and Taiwan, and KakaoTalk in South Korea—removing the need for standalone apps or email sign-ups.

The campaign’s central mechanic sits in purchase verification. Participants upload receipts, which are validated through an AI-powered scanner developed on SUPERFAN’s game engine. 

Each verified purchase unlocks access to a Marvel-themed mini game, with additional entries granted for repeat purchases.

“We built SUPERFAN to turn gaming into a verified action channel, not just an entertainment layer. When a consumer in Bangkok and a consumer in Seoul are both engaging through our game engine, that’s a meaningful connection established,” said Jason Ang, Founder of SUPERFAN.

Prizes include a trip for two to Shanghai Disneyland, along with iPads and platform vouchers for registered users. All participants who complete registration receive a TikTok discount voucher.

SUPERFAN’s platform underpins the campaign’s mechanics, handling receipt validation, audience tracking, and gameplay access across all eight markets. 

The company positions its system as an infrastructure layer for purchase-linked gaming across both digital and physical retail environments.

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