Rolling out across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, the campaign positions three travel essentials: a phone, a passport and a Mastercard, as all travellers need to unlock diverse experiences across the region.

Developed in partnership with issuing banks and merchant networks, Mastercards’ “Phone. Passport. Mastercard.” campaign brings together more than 300 offers spanning dining, shopping, accommodation, transport and attractions, giving travellers added value whether they are planning a weekend escape or a longer regional adventure.

Through the campaign, Mastercard highlights the benefits of secure payments, broad acceptance and travel-focused for a smoother travel experience from trip planning to spending at destinations.

Beyond targeting hodophiles, the campaign also supports merchants and tourism partners by helping them connect with consumers throughout their travel journey.

“We’re helping make travel across the region feel more  seamless, accessible and connected, while bringing travelers closer to the local experiences  and businesses that make every journey memorable,” said Dheeraj Raina, Senior Vice President and Head of Integrated Marketing and Communications at Mastercard Southeast Asia. 

“For a truly rewarding travel experience within Southeast Asia, all you need is your Phone, your Passport and your Mastercard,” added Raina. 

The campaign runs from May to December 2026, and will appear across pre-travel and in-destination channels to promote seamless travel experiences in Southeast Asia.

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Running from June 5 to 21, the massive in-game event aims to unite gamers and football fans worldwide to experience the spirit of “Kick Off for Passion,” where Garena players can immerse themselves with a football-inspired festival experience, fresh game modes, and plenty of free elements to unlock.

At the heart of the “Fire Kickoff” campaign is the transformation of Bermuda’s Factory area into a football field, alongside the introduction of football-inspired gameplay features such as Football Form and Football Blast, bringing the spirit of the sport into both Battle Royale and Clash Squad modes. 

Beyond gameplay, players can take part in a five-stage football tournament journey through a dedicated event interface, where they can complete challenges and unlock exclusive themed rewards such as a football-themed backpack and the Female Bundle grand prize. 

As part of the campaign rollout, players can also access a range of football-themed collectibles through the in-game store, including a customisable Unisex Football Jersey, Gloo Wall skins, sports car skins, hairstyles and themed emotes. 

More campaign content and themed rewards are expected to be revealed throughout the event period. 

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As part of the refresh, JUNO developed a visual identity system and design framework for TikTok Shop Mall that will be used across Mall campaigns, banners, in-app placements, and co-branded partner executions. 

Central to the update is the transformation of the familiar golden “TikTok Shop bag” icon into the “Pocket Mall“, a shopfront-inspired visual frame designed to unify the platform’s branding across different campaigns and touchpoints.

Rather than replacing the existing shopping bag icon, the consultancy built the broader design system around it, using the shape as a consistent visual cue across social posts, LIVE overlays, offline activations, and campaign materials. The approach aims to improve recognition and consistency while allowing merchant partners to customise campaign visuals within the same framework.

According to the companies, the refresh was developed to address the lack of distinction and cohesion across TikTok Shop Mall’s previous shopping campaigns, where different campaign creatives often appeared disconnected from the main mall identity. The updated system was designed to create a more scalable and unified visual language across campaigns while strengthening TikTok Shop Mall’s positioning in Malaysia’s competitive eCommerce market.

The new identity system has been adapted across five key TikTok Shop Mall campaigns, including New Arrival Day, Super Brand Day, MY Brand Day, Super Mall Carnival, and Super Brand Day Grand Opening. While each campaign carries its own colour palette and visual style, the Pocket Mall frame remains the consistent brand element across executions.

Sharing about the campaign, Gui, Executive Creative Director at JUNO, said, “I may risk giving away my age, but the MTV logo in its heyday is the clearest precedent we kept coming back to – the same shape every time, but an infinite canvas for whoever was using it. It pulsated, danced, and vibed on screen, and it never got boring because the shape itself was the constant, and everything else was expression. That’s exactly what we were trying to do with the bag. We didn’t want to retire an asset that already had recognition equity. We wanted to take it to new heights and make it do something it had never done before.” 

“The bag is the canvas. What eCommerce design has been producing out of sophisticated markets like China and Korea – the cutting edge of what youth-facing platforms look like – that was the energy we wanted to inject into TikTok Shop Mall. Design coherence and uniformity, but with enough creative range that each campaign still cuts through the noise on its own.”

The refreshed TikTok Shop Mall brand system is now live in the market. The project marks JUNO’s latest brand refresh work following the recent rollout of Spritzer’s “Flow With Joy” platform. JUNO previously partnered with TikTok Shop on its 2025 CNY Hometown Market campaign before expanding the collaboration into a broader brand identity refresh.

Reflecting on their work with TikTok Shop, Erika, co-founder of JUNO, said, “There is something genuinely moving about the fact that a shop our size gets to shape how one of the world’s largest platforms looks and feels in this market. We don’t take that lightly, and the trust that TikTok Shop has placed in us is honestly what powers everything we do here.”

She continued, “We have a philosophy at JUNO we call ‘joyful excellence’ – the belief that striving for high standards and getting better every time should feel like a source of meaning and fulfilment, not a pressure cooker chasing perfection.” 

“So we marry painstaking craft to sharp strategic diagnosis, and we hold ourselves to the principle that today’s best performance is tomorrow’s baseline — not as a threat, but as an invitation to keep growing. That’s the standard we set for ourselves, and it’s genuinely what makes the work worth doing.” 

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Speaking to MARKETECH APAC, Diana Boo, Chief Marketing Officer at Boost noted how the mix-up around the Boost brand is something many Malaysians and even Boosties themselves have experienced for years, so they knew this was a conversation people could instantly relate to.

“Rather than approaching it in a serious or corporate way, we felt humour was the most authentic and engaging approach. Financial services campaigns can often feel overly formal, but Malaysians naturally connect with relatable humour and storytelling. More importantly, people tend to remember brands that entertain and connect with them, rather than brands that simply talk at them,” she stated.

The campaign was done alongside Kaki Sosial, the dedicated social content studio of Ballsy Group.

Diana mentioned how the campaign was rooted in answering the confusion among Malaysians about the brand–and how it was a real insight for them despite operating locally for a significant amount of time.

“The starting point for the campaign was a very real insight from everyday conversations. It was common for Boosties to hear questions like, ‘Which Boost do you work at? The eWallet or the juice company?’ despite how much the business has evolved over the years into a banking group,” she said.

Speaking about the campaign’s process, she added, “Together with Ballsy Group’s Kaki Sosial team, we explored how to turn that familiar reaction into a creative hook that felt distinctly Malaysian, playful and culturally relatable. What stood out to us was the boldness of addressing the perception head-on instead of avoiding it, and that ultimately became the foundation for the ‘Not Juicing, But Banking’ campaign.”

Beyond the playfulness and humour of the campaign, Diana shared that the campaign was designed to reinforce that Boost today goes far beyond its original e-wallet roots.

“While many Malaysians first knew us through digital payments, the business today spans a much broader ecosystem across financing, merchant solutions, fintech services and digital banking through Boost Bank. By using a simple but clear distinction through ‘Not Juicing, But Banking’, the campaign creates an easy and memorable way for audiences to understand that evolution. Beyond the hero campaign itself, this will also extend into more tactical and social-led storytelling around the broader solutions and services available within the Boost ecosystem today,” she explained.

Looking ahead, with Malaysia’s digital banking and fintech landscape becoming increasingly competitive, Diana shared that having strong brand clarity and differentiation is becoming more important than ever.

“This campaign helps create stronger understanding around the broader Boost ecosystem and how Boost Bank fits naturally within it as part of customers’ everyday financial journeys,” she said.

Diana concluded, “More broadly, it also reflects the direction we want the brand to move towards: modern, confident, relatable and digitally native. We want to build a brand experience that feels closer to how Malaysians actually live, transact and engage today, while continuing to reinforce accessibility, trust and financial empowerment”

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Developed in collaboration with JUNO, the campaign marks a strategic shift for Spritzer as it expands its focus from bottled water to promoting healthier and more intentional lifestyles through digital, retail, and community-led activations.

The refresh introduces a renewed brand purpose, vision, and mission centred on encouraging Malaysians to adopt healthier habits through simple daily actions. Under the theme “move naturally, live meaningfully”, the campaign highlights moments of movement, rest, and connection in everyday life.

“Being number one in hydration was always the starting line, not the finish line,” said Shiao Chan, Head of Marketing, Spritzer Malaysia. “Malaysians have let us into their homes for decades. We want to earn that trust forward by standing for something that matters beyond the bottle. Flow With Joy is our commitment to helping people do what truly makes them smile so that the nation can live a little better and a little lighter.”

The campaign rollout includes a multilingual brand film, refreshed visual identity, digital content hub, retail promotions, and on-ground activations. A dedicated ‘Flow With Joy’ section on Spritzer’s corporate website serves as the platform’s permanent digital home, housing the brand film, campaign manifesto, and content centred on themes including nature, vitality, love, purpose, and creativity.

The website also features “The Spritzer Collective”, a public community feed showcasing user-generated moments shared under the hashtag #FlowWithJoy, as the brand looks to encourage participation around the campaign.

As part of its retail activation, Spritzer is offering recycled-plastic “Flow With Joy” socks with qualifying purchases at participating retailers nationwide. The initiative ties into the company’s sustainability commitments, including its use of 100% recyclable PET bottles and its carbon neutrality target by 2030.

The brand has also partnered with local communities, including hiking group So Hikers and running platform RUNLIGA by BiiB, alongside workplace activations across the Klang Valley aimed at promoting wellness and movement during the workday.

In addition, the refresh extends to Spritzer’s retail displays and nationwide delivery fleet, which are being updated with new campaign branding.

“Spritzer didn’t come to us for a new logo; they came because the market around them was shifting and their brand needed to say more,” said Erika Seow, Managing Director, JUNO. “What we built together isn’t merely a campaign with new colours but a platform the brand can keep building on for years, across every touchpoint — from the bottle you pick up at the store to the truck that delivered it to the communities Spritzer will gather around healthier, joyful living.”

“A refresh only works if the idea is worth living with for years,” said Naqib Shamsuri, Chief Creative Officer, JUNO. “Flow With Joy had to be honest before it could be ambitious. We started with a truth most Malaysians feel every day: that doing life well is harder than it should be, and built the platform around making the joy side of that equation easier to find. The craft has to hold across every surface, from the film down to a shelf talker.”

Spritzer said the initiative aims to make healthier habits feel more accessible and culturally relevant, extending beyond hydration into broader aspects of everyday wellness and intentional living. 

“We’re not claiming to solve wellness for Malaysia,” Chan added. “But if Spritzer can be the brand people reach for when they want to start, or restart, a better habit, or just simply feel the joy of living better — that is the category position worth building for the decade ahead.”

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The first outlet will be located at 39G, Jalan SS 21/37, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Additional locations are expected to open in the following weeks, with a grand opening celebration planned for July 2026 in Bandar Puteri Puchong.

The Malaysia debut will introduce menu items including the HOT-N-READY® Classic Pepperoni Pizza and Crazy Puffs Pepperoni, alongside locally adapted offerings such as the Chicken Hawaiian, 3 Cheese Edge to Edge, and Classic Veggie pizzas.

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The brand said its Malaysia strategy will balance its global core menu with regionally inspired flavours, with an emphasis on freshness, convenience and value.

The expansion is led by franchisees Dato’ Vincent Choo and Datin Cynthia Cheong, who operate multiple quick-service restaurant brands in the country and bring prior experience in local market development.

They said the rollout will focus on maintaining operational consistency and guest experience across outlets as the brand scales in Malaysia.

“We’re proud to introduce Little Caesars to Malaysia and share its world-famous pizza with our community,” said Dato’ Vincent Choo and Datin Cynthia Cheong. “We believe there is strong demand for high-quality, affordable pizza, and we’re excited to bring something new and exciting to the local dining scene.”

The Malaysia launch marks part of Little Caesars’ wider international expansion strategy as it continues to enter new markets globally.

Paula Vissing, President and Chief Executive Officer at Global Retail, said, “Launching in Malaysia marks an exciting milestone as we continue to grow our global footprint. We’re thrilled to introduce Malaysian guests to our delicious offerings made with fresh ingredients and incredible value. With Malaysia’s dynamic food culture and strong sense of community, we’re excited to become part of this thriving market.”

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In a statement to MARKETECH APAC, H&M has stated that despite these changes, they will have their office still located in Singapore while strengthening its retail presence.

“At H&M, we are constantly working on improvements to adapt to our customers’ expectations. As part of that, we regularly review how we work to ensure our Organisation remains flexible, efficient, and fast-moving,” the spokesperson told MARKETECH APAC.

They added, “Singapore remains an important market to us, and we will continue to have our office located in Singapore. We will continue to maintain our retail presence reflecting our long‑term commitment.”

Speaking about the layoff exercise, the spokesperson said, “We are fully committed to supporting all of our colleagues in any organisational changes and will continue to fulfil our obligations according to local labor law requirements.”

H&M declined to comment further on the update, citing the ongoing process for the exercise.

The retailer’s two-storey outlet at Ion Orchard closed in March 2023 after operating for more than a decade. Its Tampines Mall store had earlier shut in August 2020, followed by the closure of its Waterway Point branch in Punggol in January 2021.

As of this writing, H&M currently operates six outlets across Singapore.

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Moreover, the partnership is designed to offer clients greater agility, speed and customised go-to-market solutions through a single, accountable, platform-agnostic ecosystem.

Speaking exclusively to MARKETECH APAC, Keith Miranda, President at Invictus Blue and Sivanathan Krishnan, Chairman and Co-Founder of Trapper Group, acknowledged that the joint venture is a response to the rapid changes of the industry, with client expectations nowadays focused on more integrated thinking, faster execution, stronger accountability, and partners who can adapt quickly to changing market realities.

“The industry itself is going through a period of reset. Networks are consolidating, agencies are merging to defend margins, and many independents are being pressured to stay small, fast, and cost-efficient. But increasingly, clients want something more connected, more agile, and more outcome-driven,” they explained.

Moreover, both Keith and Siva recognised that independent agencies need to evolve proactively rather than become a consequence of external global factors.

“This JV allows us to create access to larger and more bespoke opportunities where, historically, independent agencies may have been viewed as too small individually,” they explained.

Continued agency independence following joint venture

Both agencies have clarified that they will continue to operate independently following the joint venture. The agencies will continue to operate independently, serving their existing clients and maintaining responsible working relationships with Media Owners and Partners locally and globally, while collaborating where it drives greater impact.

“Invictus Blue and Trapper will continue operating independently with our own structures, cultures, leadership, and client relationships. The JV is not designed to replace the agencies, but to selectively create additional scale, capabilities, and integration where it genuinely adds value,” both Keith and Siva said.

They also mentioned that what made the timing right was also the shared ambition between both organisations, as well as a similar people-first mindset in how we build our businesses and teams.

Both also stressed that the joint venture is focused on bespoke opportunities that may require the combined forces of both agencies.

“The JV itself is also intentionally structured as a separate layer that will only be activated for specific opportunities where a more integrated or scaled approach is required. This could include bespoke projects, larger mandates, or opportunities where clients may traditionally perceive independent agencies as being too small individually,” they explained.

Moreover, the agencies shared that if collaboration does happen, there will always be clear accountability through a designated lead agency or project lead.

“The intention is to create additional flexibility and capability for clients without losing the agility, independence, and identity that make both agencies effective in the first place,” they said.

The joint venture’s influence on Malaysia’s marketing industry

Keith and Siva believe that the joint venture between Trapper Group and Invictus Blue challenges the traditional idea that growth only comes through consolidation or network scale.

“What we are showing is that independent agencies can collaborate strategically while still maintaining complete independence in how they operate, grow, and build their own cultures,” they said.

Moreover, the joint venture wasn’t about creating a larger agency structure, and in fact, the separation was intentional in the first place.

“It is designed to give both agencies the ability to come together only when there are bespoke opportunities that require greater scale, integration, or broader capabilities,” they added.

Looking ahead, Keith and Siva express hope that what they are doing in Malaysia can become a catalyst for other independent agencies across the region. 

“We genuinely believe independents collaborating together is the way forward, not just for agencies themselves, but in creating stronger and more meaningful value for clients,” they explained.

They also hope that this joint venture encourages the industry to think more progressively about partnerships, capability building, and long-term sustainability.

“At the end of the day, the future will favour agencies that are adaptable, collaborative, and able to deliver meaningful business impact in a much more connected environment,” they concluded.

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The campaign comes as competition in Malaysia’s telecommunications sector has largely centred on offering greater data allowances, faster speeds, and expanded plan options. According to Tune Talk, consumer expectations have evolved toward connectivity that integrates more seamlessly with digital lifestyles and offers smarter, adaptive experiences.

At the centre of the “Kasi Tune” campaign is a film set around a café conversation, where a woman describes her “ideal guy”, before the audience realises she is actually referring to her network experience. The line “This one… dah Kasi Tune” anchors the narrative.

The campaign illustrates everyday digital scenarios enabled by connectivity, including uninterrupted streaming during a storm, built-in security for data usage, and seamless multitasking across activities such as gaming and shopping. The visual cues are intended to reflect Tune Talk’s cloud-powered infrastructure and its ambitions to build a future-ready digital ecosystem.

The campaign also highlights three key areas the company says reflect evolving consumer expectations: faster connectivity for modern digital lifestyles, a smarter network powered by cloud-native AI, and greater value delivered through continuously evolving digital experiences.

“Kasi Tune reflects a broader shift in how Tune Talk is evolving as both a brand and a business”, says Jill Yeap, GM Marketing, Tune Talk. “Malaysians today are no longer just looking for connectivity; they expect digital experiences that are faster, smarter, secure, and seamlessly integrated into everyday life.

“s we move beyond traditional telco boundaries, our focus is on building a smarter network experience that adapts to changing consumer needs while delivering greater value. This campaign signals that evolution in a way that is culturally relevant, progressive, and distinctly Tune Talk.”

For Edelman Malaysia, the campaign sought to emphasise cultural relatability rather than conventional telecommunications messaging.

“What makes Kasi Tune work as an earned-first campaign is that it refuses to behave like traditional telco advertising,” says Mazuin Zin, CEO, Edelman Malaysia. “Instead of pushing plans and technical claims, we built the story around a culturally familiar conversation Malaysians would instantly recognize, relate to and want to share. Earned attention today does not come from being louder, it comes from creating ideas that feel socially relevant, entertaining and naturally talkable.

“That was the strategic opportunity here: to make Tune Talk’s evolution into a smarter, future-forward ecosystem feel human and emotionally intuitive rather than overly technical. The campaign demonstrates how better connectivity should feel in everyday life: seamless, adaptive and frictionless, while positioning the brand in a way that consumers, media and culture can organically engage with. That is what gives Kasi Tune stronger earned impact beyond traditional advertising.”

Through the campaign, Tune Talk signals its intention to position the brand around smarter connectivity and evolving digital experiences as it expands beyond traditional telecommunications offerings.

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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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