The Global Virtual MarTech Summit, held on 19 February 2025, brought together marketing and technology leaders from both the EMEA and APAC regions to discuss the evolving MarTech landscape. With an impressive lineup of 35+ speakers across industries, the summit tackled critical themes such as Next-Gen Marketing, AI Agents, Breaking Free from Legacy, Navigating the Social Landscape, MarTech Predictive Analytics, The Architecture of Trust, CRM, Data Analytics & Personalisation, Omnichannel Engagement, AI-Driven Customer Experiences, and Data Optimization.
Attracting 1,000+ attendees, 98% of whom were senior leaders, the event provided valuable discussions and practical takeaways for organizations looking to refine their marketing strategies. Participants represented a diverse range of industries, including finance, e-commerce, retail, and technology and more.
APAC Track
With an impressive lineup of speakers and a highly engaged audience, the Global Virtual MarTech Summit APAC track covered key themes such as Omnichannel Engagement, AI-Driven Customer Experiences, Personalization, and Data Optimization.
Poll Insights
The summit included interactive polls to gauge audience perspectives on key industry topics. Below are some highlights:
- Challenges in Data Integration: Nearly 50% of respondents identified data silos across different systems as the biggest obstacle in achieving a unified customer view. Additionally, organizational resistance or lack of alignment and ensuring data accuracy and consistency were also highlighted as concerns by over 15% of participants.
- Omnichannel Experience: When asked to describe omnichannel in one word, responses included seamless, unified, complicated, and consistent, reflecting both its potential and complexities.
- Adoption of AI Solutions: Over 96% of organizations expressed eagerness to adopt AI for personalized and localized campaigns, while fewer than 5% are still evaluating its potential.
Summit Highlights
Key Insights from Industry Leaders
- Omnichannel Excellence: According to Cristiane Ross, Director of Customer Experience at PURE Group, an effective omnichannel strategy enhances customer loyalty. She emphasized leveraging existing data from CRM and analytics systems to create personalized experiences that foster trust.
- The AI Resolution: Desmond Phua, Head of Digital Platforms at Home Credit Group, stressed the importance of embracing AI early. His advice: “Understand > Strategize > People > Process before technology.”
- Balancing AI & Human Interaction: Lolitta Suffian, VP of Customer Experience at Telekom Malaysia, reassured that AI should not be feared but rather used responsibly to enhance human decision-making.
- MarTech Discipline: Andy Chang, Head of Group Engagement Solutions at Electrolux, likened omnichannel success to fitness—requiring consistency, optimization, and long-term commitment.
- Avoiding Over-Engineering Solutions: Yozora Wong, Global Head of CRM at DFS Group, urged organizations to solve real problems rather than overloading teams with unnecessary analytics and models.
Key Takeaways
Summarising the most critical insights from the summit:
1.Customer Trust & Engagement
Successful brands prioritize consistency across digital touchpoints while engaging customers in a proactive yet balanced manner.
2. AI as an Enabler, Not a Replacement
AI adoption should be strategic and ethical, ensuring that it complements human creativity and decision-making.
3. Data-Driven Strategies
Organisations must optimise existing data before investing in complex technology solutions.
4. Agility in MarTech Investment
As highlighted by Nailesh Shah, Head of Digital Platform & Content Commercialisation at Citi, staying ahead requires a hyper-agile approach and a culture ready for rapid technological shifts.
5. Human-Centric CX & Personalisation
Personalisation efforts must align with actual customer needs, rather than being dictated solely by technological capabilities.
EMEA Track
With 20+ speakers from industries across the EMEA region, the Global Virtual MarTech Summit EMEA track examined important themes such as Next-Gen Marketing, AI Agents, Breaking Free from Legacy, Navigating the Social Landscape, MarTech Predictive Analytics, The Architecture of Trust, CRM, and Data Analytics & Personalisation.
Poll Insights
At the start of each session, the attendees took part in an interactive poll in order to receive feedback on important MarTech questions. Some of these include:
- [Next-Gen Marketing] 52.8% of voters agreed that the factor that has the biggest impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions is Influencer & Peer Recommendations. With Personalised & Interactive Content and Brand Authenticity & Social Values coming in a close second (25%) and third (22.2%).
- [Breaking Free from Legacy] For the biggest challenge organisations face with legacy systems, Data Silos came out on top, with 39.6%, followed by Cost & Maintenance (29.2%), Inflexibility (20.8%), and Security & Compliance Risks (10.4%).
- [MarTech Predictive Analytics] 54.3% of attendees mostly rely on historical data, no predictive analytics yet, 31.4% have basic predictive models but limited real-time optimisation, and only 14.3% actively use predictive analytics.
- [CRM] For this panel, 37.9% of attendees believed that Hyper-personalised Omnichannel Engagement will have the biggest impact on customer relationships in the next 3 years, followed by 31% believing that of AI-Powered Predictive Analytics, 20.7% with Privacy-first & Zero-Party Data Collection Strategies, and only 10.3% believing Advanced Data Integration & Automation.
- [Data Analytics & Personalisation] For which best describes your organisation’s current approach to data analytics & personalisation for marketing, the majority (38.9%) voted Moderately implemented, with 27.8% believing it is Exploring & Testing, followed by Advanced & Scaled and Minimal or None with 16.7% each.
Summit Highlights
- “Let’s ensure we are not just leveraging tools just because they are fancy, but test them carefully, set clear KPIs, and measure afterwards if they help you to achieve your target. Ensure that your marketing team keeps on track with the latest MarTech trends as in the end it is humans who should benefit from it.” Wilhelm Frank, Director, Commercial Marketing, EMEA, Lenovo.
- “By leveraging AI-driven predictive insights and contextual engagement, businesses can proactively deliver personalised, industry-specific recommendations, before customers even ask. The key is to empower customers, not overwhelm them.” Vaiva Palma, Head of Marketing, E.ON Hydrogen.
- “Don’t hoard data – start with why and align strategy with business goals. Keep execution simple – use what you have, win fast, test, learn, repeat. Bring others along – educate and celebrate progress.” Sebastian Gawelowicz, Global CRM & Personalisation Lead, British American Tobacco.
Key Takeaways
Collating the top insights from the summit:
1. Balance Personalisation with Brand Salience
While personalisation enhances relevance, brands must also maintain broad awareness across all category buyers. Ethical data practices and AI-driven insights help strike the right balance – delivering tailored experiences while ensuring brand visibility.
2. CRM is a Process, Not Just a Tool
Successful customer relationship management (CRM) depends on mapping your internal value chain with the customer journey. Identify gaps in people, processes, or technology before adopting new tools. The goal is to optimise customer relationships, not just implement tech for its own sake.
3. Leverage AI & MarTech with Purpose
The real objective of AI and marketing technology is to enhance the customer experience before, during, and after the buying journey. Set clear KPIs, test new tools carefully, and ensure they genuinely contribute to business goals rather than just following trends.
4. Influencers & Social Media are Strategic Assets
Influencers can be more than just brand awareness drivers – they can play a key role in strategic partnerships. Brands must optimise their channel mix for each product or promotion, aligning messaging and timing with customer needs, measuring results, and adapting as necessary.
Looking Forward
We are excited to announce a series of upcoming events for 2025, designed to continue fostering innovation and excellence in MarTech:
In the APAC region
In the EMEA region
To see more our upcoming summits in 2025, please visit: https://themartechsummit.com/events/
For another year running, the Global Virtual MarTech Summit has proven itself to be a can’t-miss opportunity for MarTech professionals across the region. Thank you again to our speakers, attendees, and partners for their crucial contributions. For those who missed the live event or wish the revisit these sessions, on-demand content is accessible on BEETc On-Screen.
Future engagement
Lastly, don’t forget to stay up-to-date with all things The MarTech Summit by following our social media accounts to not miss an update!
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We hope to see you at our future events and let’s continue pushing the boundaries of what it means to be marketers together!
Stay tuned for updates!
By: Namsa and Frankie, March 2025
