EXPAND 2026: Australian brands told to ditch the one-size-fits-all Asia strategy

For years, Australian brands have eyed Asia as the ultimate growth frontier. At MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's inaugural EXPAND conference in Sydney, one message rang out loud and clear: there is no single playbook for success across the region.

More than 150 marketers, founders and business leaders piled into Dolton House in Hyde Park to hear practical lessons from executives with experience leading brands across Asia, with speakers repeatedly stressing that successful expansion depends on understanding local consumers, cultures and commercial realities without losing the brand identity that made them successful at home.

The timing is no coincidence. Driven by a seismic demographic shift, the economic imperative is becoming impossible for marketers to ignore. By 2030, Asia's middle class is expected to reach three billion people, while Southeast Asia's digital economy is projected to reach US$1 trillion, creating unprecedented opportunities for brands willing to rethink how they approach the region.

For Australian CMOs and strategists looking north, the takeaway is stark: capitalising on the region’s explosive growth will take far more than just copy-pasting domestic campaigns. Success in one of the world’s fastest-moving markets will hinge on deep cultural fluency, agile localisation, and precise execution. 

This is the first in a series of stories from EXPAND. Over the coming days, we'll unpack the biggest insights from each session, speaker and panel.

Setting the stage for us with an opening fireside chat is Merrill Pereyra, CEO of Domino’s Australia and New Zealand. With more than 35 years of leadership experience across 23 geographies, Pereyra has held senior executive and board roles with some of the world’s most recognised F&B and quick-service restaurant businesses, including Yum Restaurants, Pizza Hut and QSR Brands.   

According to Pereyra, companies looking to expand into Asia should abandon the idea of a one-size-fits-all regional strategy and instead build market-specific approaches. While India offers scale and talent, markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia each require different growth strategies, local partnerships and patience to succeed. He said businesses should focus on building profitable, scalable operations rather than chasing large population figures alone.

The real strategy has to be how you go about building a portfolio of marketplaces. It's not one option. It's not one opportunity, and it's not one market.

He advised attendees to prioritise localisation, conduct thorough due diligence on partners, and innovate continuously while staying true to their brand values.

One of the biggest challenges brands face when expanding into Asia is navigating the region's fragmented media landscape. Marketers in Asia are juggling marketplaces, livestream commerce, creator ecosystems and traditional media, all while being expected to prove ROI on every dollar spent. That's before they even begin measuring what's actually driving results. 

Byron Munson, vice president of APJ at Supermetrics, a marketing intelligence platform that helps organisations turn historical performance data into future action, said the real challenge isn't the sheer number of platforms but bringing data together to generate meaningful insights and smarter marketing decisions.

He added that brands looking to expand into Asia need to recognise that every market operates differently.

"There is no shared commercial rhythm across Asia. There's a blanket statement that Southeast Asia is more transactional but you have to always break it down on what that means. You have to understand cultural nuances on how consumers buy and what influences them," he said.

Munson urged marketers to identify the right channels, centralise their data before scaling, and "let AI carry the weight" so teams can focus on growth instead of manual reporting. Ultimately, Munson said:

The brands that win in Asia are the ones who embrace its nuances.

While technology is reshaping how brands engage consumers, innovation alone is no longer enough. From AI-powered activations and immersive experiences to retail innovation, brands are experimenting at a rapid pace. But without cultural relevance, even the most cutting-edge campaigns risk falling flat.

According to Jason Yong, founder and CEO of Unicom Marketing, brands need to pair innovation with cultural equity to create experiences that truly resonate. With more than 15 years of experience, Yong has built his career around understanding consumer journeys and using technology, data and creative thinking to transform brand ideas into memorable experiences. 

While creator marketing continues to grow across the region, Yong said brands should not overlook the value of in-person experiences.

"Despite Southeast Asia's creator economy being US$40 billion and influencers driving one in five online sales across SEA, brand events matter. In markets such as Indonesia, 58% of Indonesians are likely to attend a brand event in the next year, and 82% believe brands need real-life engagement," he said.

Sharing a case study on how brands can pair innovation with creativity, Yong highlighted a campaign for Cebu Pacific, which tailored its activations across Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong based on local consumer insights rather than applying a single strategy across markets.

Research found that Japanese consumers gravitated towards anime-inspired experiences, Singaporeans responded to discounts and digital-first interactions, while Hong Kong audiences were drawn to culturally relevant elements such as feng shui. Yong said these insights shaped market-specific activations, underscoring that brands looking to grow across Asia need to localise their approach rather than simply replicate campaigns from one market to another.

While Yong’s presentation brought to life practical executions, the panel that followed shed light on the strategic thinking required for market expansion and local resonance. 

Allie Sparr, global head of brand and marketing at Envoyage, part of Flight Centre Travel Group, who has led the global rollout of the brand across Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and South Africa, shared how localised customer behaviour drives their market strategy. 

"What [market expansion] looks like is different in every country - different content, different nuances - it ultimately comes from the customer and what they are driving," Sparr said.

Their willingness to use a travel advisor, and how they bring that into their culture and perception, is very different. That’s certainly something we’ve needed to look at from a local perspective.

Adding to the conversation, Alisha Thornley, global head of marketing at Seafolly, who oversees marketing across Seafolly’s global portfolio, highlighted the necessity of flexible pricing strategies across borders. 

"It’s really easy to assume that it's one playbook per market. But what really surprised me in Singapore specifically for Seafolly is that there are actually two playbooks we need to use for the same market," Thornley noted, pointing out the distinct behaviours of their local shoppers versus tourist clientele.

Sundip Mace, founder of Sun Maiso, who helps brands such as W Hotels, Sheraton, Gulf Air, and Fiji Airways unlock growth and strengthen their market position, emphasised the operational pillar of expansion alongside brand narrative.

"The global story and expression help bring relevance," Mace continued. "Where a hotel is sharing a local story, instead of using a generic fragrance, using [local elements] helps communicate that narrative. A local story feels real."

Meanwhile, Matthias Blume, vice president of alcohol ready-to-drink for ASEAN and South Pacific at The Coca-Cola Company, rounded up the discussion by emphasising the value of listening to regional insights while building long-term brand differentiation.

"When I moved to the region, my Vietnam team told me the contour bottle had zero equity. I went and did my own market research, and that research never came out of my drawer because the Vietnamese team was right," Blume recalled. "It pays to listen to your local team."

The panel reminded audience members that at the end of the day successful expansion is about adapting to each market without losing what makes your brand distinctive. 

During his keynote presentation, director of Julie's Biscuits, Sai Tzy Horng, who has led the brand's growth across Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the  Philippines and Hong Kong, reflected on the lessons the company has learned from expanding across Asia.

He admitted one of Julie's biggest mistakes was producing a single campaign for both China and Thailand, which won creative accolades but failed commercially because it tried to appeal to two very different audiences.

Sai said that brands need to respond to the unique dynamics of each market, particularly as consumer behaviour, retail channels and regulations evolve rapidly across the region.

Drawing comparisons between China, the Philippines and Thailand, Sai said Julie's has shifted away from chasing fast-moving digital trends in favour of marketing fundamentals such as micro-influencers, product sampling and trade marketing. He added that high-touch activations remain effective across Asia, with the company continuing to invest in on-the-ground experiences at schools, offices, concerts and community spaces to build brand familiarity alongside digital campaigns.

"Fast-changing social and tech environments are one of the key things I feel that as an FMCG brand, we don't have the appetite to keep on chasing them. For us, it's going back to basics."

Sai said that in Malaysia, post-pandemic shifts in consumer behaviour have fueled demand for larger pack sizes and value purchases, as more young people continue living with their families. He added that while general trade and eCommerce have slowed, modern trade and convenience stores have become increasingly important, with consumers making more considered, value-driven purchasing decisions.

Keeping to the theme of local partnerships and building relationships, PR agency founder and CEO Oliver Budgen, who runs Bud Communications, argued that successful market expansion depends not on how loudly brands communicate, but on whether their actions consistently match their promises.

"When intention, perception, and proof align - that's where trust is earned. And that's even more important than visibility," said Budgen.

To illustrate his point, Budgen highlighted Australian skincare brand Aesop, which delayed its entry into mainland China for more than a decade rather than compromise its values over mandatory animal testing requirements. At the same time, the brand ensured every store was designed by a local architect, balancing global brand consistency with local relevance.

In contrast, he shared how a global technology company damaged its credibility after aggressively promoting its Singapore expansion before establishing a meaningful local presence, forcing its PR team to rebuild trust after its claims were challenged.

Closing the session, Budgen challenged communicators to rethink how they measure success, arguing that PR should move beyond traditional metrics such as share of voice and impressions to identify gaps in trust and credibility.

What is measured can be closed. Once you understand exactly where your brand sits, where those gaps are, you really can start building a communication strategy that helps you build not just a brand that people care about and want to trust, but also a resilient brand.

One of the platforms that has gained significant prominence over the past year is Xiaohongshu, otherwise known as Rednote. Giving an in-depth understanding of the platform is Jeffrey Hau, co-founder and CEO of PRIZM Group. Jeffrey founded PRIZM in 2012 and has grown the business into a regional agency of more than 200 people across Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and China. 

Hau highlighted the massive commercial potential of Chinese travellers and diaspora in markets such as Australia, noting that over 700,000 local Rednote users represent a high-value, long-stay audience. 

"Chinese tourists to Australia stay for months visiting family, spending five to six times more than UK or US visitors," Hau noted. "We have over 700,000 Rednote users in Australia alone - that's a larger population than Tasmania or Canberra." 

He also explained how Rednote functions as a search and solution-based platform rather than a traditional social network: "Don't think about just posting. Think about providing solutions to your readers."

"So instead of an Instagram where we post really good branded studio photos, Rednote is solution-based and user-centric. On Rednote, in a lot of occasions, you have a specific purpose," he added. 

Meanwhile, Monica Zheng, managing director of Weixin Pay Oceania explained to the audience the power of WeChat. Today the platform has evolved way beyond a messaging app and is one of the world's most sophisticated digital ecosystems, bringing together communication, payments, commerce and customer engagement in a way that's still difficult to imagine in many global markets.

Zheng, who has led major smart-lifestyle initiatives across airports, theme parks, department stores and the food and beverage sector, and is now involved in helping international partners improve digital efficiency and connect more effectively with consumers, pointed to the economic impact of returning Chinese travellers across Australia and New Zealand, emphasising their unmatched purchasing power:

Chinese visitors rank as the No.1 spenders in Australia and top 3 in New Zealand. This isn't just foot traffic; this is high-value spending power right here in your backyard.

To help local merchants capitalise on this opportunity, she outlined a strategy to bridge operational gaps and engage mobile-first consumers across their entire journey: "The answer lies in creating a seamless pre-trip, in-trip, and post-trip closed loop."

"So, before they arrive, you got to drive their attention and discovery, even make them make a pre-booking through social seeding, and when they're in the store, you need to eliminate the friction with fast payment," Zheng explained. 

Commenting further on the creatorverse was Nathan Powell, co-founder and chief product and strategy officer at Fabulate, an AI-powered creator marketing platform helping brands turn creator influence into measurable growth.  

Powell argued that the traditional flow of marketing innovation has reversed. While brands have long looked to the US for best practices, Southeast Asia is now setting the benchmark in creator marketing, particularly through social commerce, live streaming, affiliate ecosystems and integrated creator campaigns. He said markets including the US and Europe are increasingly looking to Southeast Asia for ideas on how to build and scale creator-led marketing.

The most sophisticated thinking about creator marketing is happening right here in Southeast Asia.

Powell also noted that successful campaigns are shifting away from relying on celebrity influencers towards a broader mix of mid-tier and micro creators, who deliver stronger engagement and a wider variety of content.

He said that creators should no longer be treated as an add-on to campaigns, but integrated across the entire customer journey, from content creation and live commerce to events, PR and retail experiences.

Flying in from Hong Kong, Ronald Wong, group chief marketing officer at Tam Jai International, one of the city's most recognised fast-casual dining groups, shared how the brand is modernising its visual marketing and content strategy to capture consumer attention in new markets.

He said, "We used to have a static key visual of key products, but that's not the game anymore. We have to step up and evolve."

Our product needs to fly visually — otherwise, they just scroll past on their phone.

Wong, who brings more than 20 years of experience in marketing, loyalty, and digital transformation, is now helping lead the company’s international growth as it expands across China, Asia, and beyond. He highlighted the challenge of maintaining brand identity while adopting new localised channels abroad.

"In Hong Kong, because we have such high brand awareness, consumers already know us. But as we expand overseas, we need to find new platforms and new channels to help us communicate faster," Wong added. "At the same time, we need to stay true to the brand, explaining why we're there and what we bring to the space."

The next phase of growth at home 

While we spent the whole day talking about growth in Asia, it is also important to take a minute to understand the changing demographics within Australia. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census data, approximately 17% to 17.4% of Australia's population identifies as having Asian ancestry.

Unpacking what this means for marketers, the panel agreed that Australia's changing demographics demand more than simply importing successful ideas from Asia. Instead, brands need to distinguish between fleeting trends and lasting consumer behaviours, using local insights to determine which innovations are worth adapting for the Australian market. 

Michelle Wee, general manager of marketing ANZ at Hisense, said the definition of a trend differs across industries, arguing that for consumer electronics, innovation starts with solving real problems rather than chasing what's popular.

"Our role is to really understand what consumers need, what their pain points are, and to be able to be creative and understand what their expectations are, to create products that actually solve their pain points," she explained.

Building on that, Sebastian Cruz, group eCommerce leader at Laser Clinics Australia, said marketers should look beyond social media trends and analyse search behaviour, which often reveals emerging consumer demand before it reaches the mainstream. He added that trends must also be evaluated against Australia's regulatory environment to ensure they are both relevant and safe for local consumers.

Rounding up the conversation is Serge Costi, general manager of international marketing at Noumi. Before leading global marketing for MILKLAB, Costi held senior roles across brands including Smirnoff, Heineken and Guinness. In his opinion, brands should focus on developing products that solve genuine consumer needs and fit local consumption occasions, rather than reacting to every viral moment. While trends can present opportunities, he cautioned that brands need to distinguish between short-lived fads and lasting consumer behaviour.

Costi also stressed the importance of building strong distribution, arguing that winning over the cafés and retailers consumers already trust is a stronger indicator of success than simply expanding into new markets.

Special thanks to Supermetrics, our exclusive TableTalks sponsor; platinum sponsors PRIZM Group and Weixin Pay; silver sponsors Bud Communications, Fabulate and Unicom Marketing; brand sponsor Redhill; event partner Pigeonhole; and Lighthouse Events for helping bring the conference to life.