Astro's digital marketing arm Blaze Digital bolsters team with new hires

Astro's digital marketing arm, Blaze Digital, has appointed Andy Yap (pictured centre) as vice president. In his new role, he will lead the Blaze Digital team in helping brands understand their true online audience to better target ads based on psychographics, behaviours and buying intention.Prior to Blaze Digital, Yap was leading strategic partnerships and platform solutions for SpotX, a global video ad serving platform.The marketing arm has also named Jennifer Ding (pictured left) head of programmatic and inventory management. In her new role, she will be responsible for establishing Blaze Digital's programmatic best practices and digital ad operation processes. Meanwhile, Mark Anderson (pictured right) was appointed to the role of head of sales, where he will lead client engagement for Blaze Digital, driving innovative digital led marketing solutions for clients.Previously the senior sales executive for Astro Radio, Anderson has worked with clients such as Digi, Shell, Volkswagen and Ford. He has been with Astro for over 10 years.TH Chong, group director of Astro Media Sales said the latest addition will see the team become more data-focused and adaptive to the rapidly evolving market."The digital adex space represents a key opportunity for growth and we have every intention to put together a strong Malaysian digital offering and grow faster than the industry norm," Chong said. He added that the team comprises "highly experienced" creative directors, producers and digital marketing experts. As such, it is in "a strong position" to help marketers connect with a growing socially-connected and tech-savvy population.Blaze Digital, launched in June 2017. aims to offer integrated digital-first solutions for marketers across Astro’s 21 digital brands. These brands include Malay entertainment portal Astro Gempak, news portal Astro Awani, Chinese lifestyle portal Xuan, Rojak Daily which offers entertainment and lifestyle updates, as well as 11 independent digital publications.