In conversation: Can creativity still win in a data-driven media world?

The media landscape is evolving at “breakneck speed”, and for Astro Malaysia Holdings chief sales and marketing officer Tai Kam Leong, the past three years have been defined by constant reinvention.

Speaking on Marketing Connected's “In conversation”, Tai reflected on steering the company through rapid shifts in audience behaviour, digital consumption and changing business models since joining Astro in 2022.

“It’s been exciting,” he said. “The media landscape is going through significant change at breakneck speed, which challenges business models, culture, processes and technology.”

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Among the key milestones during his tenure, Tai highlighted Astro’s “big, hairy, audacious goals”, the launch of Astro One, and ongoing efforts to build a faster, more market-centric organisation.

Prior to Astro, Tai worked across agencies and brand-side roles including Maxis, DDB Group Singapore and Leo Burnett. Across these experiences, he said a consistent theme has been testing how “creativity and ideation has its place in problem solving at every level”.

I believe with creativity, ingenuity and ideation, you can crack just about anything.

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At Astro, that thinking now spans sales, marketing and product strategy. Tai said sales in particular is often underestimated, despite requiring significant creativity.

“People underestimate sales. There’s a lot of creativity there too,” he said. “The one thing that is irreplaceable with technology is relationships.”

As media consumption fragments across streaming, social and digital platforms, Tai said Astro continues to balance analytics with instinct and agility. “There is a real danger of analysis paralysis,” he said, warning against over-optimising data models that may not deliver proportionate value.

“At some point, you are better off testing in real life and learning from real-world data,” he added.

Despite shifting viewing habits, Tai believes experiential engagement and fandom will play a bigger role in media strategy moving forward. Astro has been investing in live events, activations and Malaysian content to deepen audience connection.

“We think there is a segment that will put a premium on on-ground experiences and selective immersion in specific IPs,” he said.

Looking ahead, Tai said Astro’s focus remains on serving Malaysian households while collaborating with global streaming platforms rather than competing directly. “We’re very focused on serving Malaysian households,” he said. “We want to work at what we’re good at to serve the Malaysian public.”

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