CMO APAC Alliance Agenda
Thursday, 17 July 2025 | 9am-1pm | PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore
In partnership with
“Decoding Asia: Navigating Behavioural Shifts Through Cultural Intelligence”
Asia is emerging as a dynamic and rapidly evolving market, driving shifts in consumer behaviour with major implications for marketers.
CMOAA is created to enable marketers to better understand the new world of consumer behaviour emerging in Asia and how these trends are impacting brands, by providing practical, actionable strategies/solutions tailored to the Asian market with a focus on:
- Understanding the shifts in consumer behaviour in Asia to succeed in this diverse and fast-paced region
- How marketers can produce culturally relevant and localised content that resonates with specific target audiences
- Why marketers need to prioritise local insights, ethical practices, and real-time engagement to successfully navigate the changing media landscape in Asia
- How marketers can ensure that their investments in media platforms not only meet the immediate demands of their audiences but also lay the groundwork for long-term brand loyalty and growth.
Agenda
8:30 - 9:00 30 MINS
Registration
9:00 - 9:10 10 MINS
Welcome Remarks by Spikes Asia
9:10 - 9:30 20 MINS
Unlocking Cultural Code for Commerce: A New Blueprint for Brands
Presentation by dentsu
Speaking: Richard Reid, Integrated Strategy Partner, dentsu APAC
In a world where commerce evolves faster than brands can react, staying relevant is no longer enough, CMOs must lead with cultural intelligence. This session unveils dentsu’s proprietary culture road-mapping framework, a powerful new methodology developed to identify, track and leverage emerging cultural trends across APAC. With examples from beauty, travel, entertainment and lifestyle, this tool empowers marketers to move with culture, not behind it. Learn how to spot what’s next, engage authentically and drive relevance and purchases by becoming part of the cultural narrative before it becomes yesterday’s news.
9:30 – 10:00 30 MINS
One Asia, Many Realities: Why Cultural Nuance Is Your Growth Engine
Panel Discussion
Speaking: Jaren Loy, Head of Digital Growth, FairPrice Richard Reid, Integrated Strategy Partner, dentsu APAC Gretchen Moore, Vice President, Marketing & Loyalty APAC, Hilton
Moderator: Atifa Silk, Managing Director, Haymarket Media Asia, Spikes Asia
Asia is often spoken about as one market, but the reality is far more layered. This panel discussion will explore how deep-rooted cultural, linguistic, and behavioural differences across the region shape consumer expectations. It will examine the importance of tailoring retail media strategies to address these diverse cultural contexts, highlighting how brands can leverage local platforms to connect more effectively with distinct consumer segments. Through real case studies, we will analyse examples of global brands that succeeded or stumbled based on their understanding of local nuances and the role of retail media in their strategies.
10:00 – 10:20 20 MINS
Relevance, Ritual, and Retail: How Brands Win in the Quietest Places
Speaking: Bryan Choong, General Manager, Retail Media, Digital Engagement and Growth, FairPrice
In an increasingly complex and culturally diverse Asia, brands are under pressure to engage consumers with greater precision and relevance. FairPrice Group’s Retail Media Network (RMN) empowers marketers to navigate these shifts through data-driven, omnichannel engagement rooted in local insight. By tapping into real omni-shopping behaviours across physical stores and digital platforms, we enable brands to connect with the right audience at the right place, time, and context. With deep shopper understanding and a wide range of touchpoints, FPG RMN offers brands a culturally relevant and full-funnel solution to drive both brand equity and commerce outcomes in Singapore.
10:20 - 10:40 20 MINS
Networking Break
10:40 – 11:10 30 MINS
Beyond the Scroll: How Social Platforms Are Rewriting the Consumer Journey
Breakout Session 1
The path to purchase in Asia increasingly begins—and often ends—on social platforms. This breakout session takes a deep dive into how platforms like TikTok, Xiaohongshu, and regional super apps are collapsing the traditional funnel and reshaping the way consumers discover, evaluate and buy. We’ll share examples of how creators, content and commerce now intersect in ways that challenge old assumptions, and how marketers can build strategies around attention that drive action.
11:10 – 11:40 30 MINS
The Trust Factor: Community, Reputation, and the Power of Relationships
Breakout Session 2
In many Asian markets, purchase decisions are less about price or product features and more about the perceived integrity and trustworthiness of a brand. This breakout session will unpack how trust is formed—whether through community ties, heritage, peer validation or after-sales relationships—and how this shapes loyalty and advocacy.
11:40 - 12:00 20 MINS
Same same but different: A new paradigm for global-local brand advantage
Presentation by WARC
Speaking: Rica Facundo, Managing Editor, WARC APAC
In many ways, Asia operates differently; however, there are also universal brand-building principles that are overlooked by Asian marketers that may be holding them back from unlocking growth.
Based on WARC’s landmark Asian-effectiveness study and myth-busting guide “The Pace Principle”, we look at how the principles of effective marketing can be adapted to a dynamic and diverse region in Asia, so that marketers can use region’s speed and culture to unlock their brand’s advantage.
12:00 - 13:00 60 MINS