{"id":473349,"date":"2026-06-03T01:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T01:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/473349\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T01:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T01:52:14","slug":"in-conversation-can-creativity-still-win-in-a-data-driven-media-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/473349\/","title":{"rendered":"In conversation: Can creativity still win in a data-driven media world?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"212\">The media landscape is evolving at \u201cbreakneck speed\u201d, and for Astro Malaysia Holdings chief sales and marketing officer Tai Kam Leong, the past three years have been defined by constant reinvention.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"214\" data-end=\"436\">Speaking on Marketing Connected&#8217;s \u201cIn conversation\u201d, Tai reflected on steering the company through rapid shifts in audience behaviour, digital consumption and changing business models since joining Astro in 2022.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"438\" data-end=\"615\">\u201cIt\u2019s been exciting,\u201d he said. \u201cThe media landscape is going through significant change at breakneck speed, which challenges business models, culture, processes and technology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t miss:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketing-interactive.com\/in-conversation-how-airwallex-channels-sports-energy-into-b2b-impact\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">In conversation: How Airwallex channels sports energy into B2B impact\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"617\" data-end=\"813\">Among the key milestones during his tenure, Tai highlighted Astro\u2019s \u201cbig, hairy, audacious goals\u201d, the launch of Astro One, and ongoing efforts to build a faster, more market-centric organisation.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"815\" data-end=\"1081\">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 \u201ccreativity and ideation has its place in problem solving at every level\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>I believe with creativity, ingenuity and ideation, you can crack just about anything.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1181\" data-end=\"1349\">Catch the full interview here:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1181\" data-end=\"1349\">At Astro, that thinking now spans sales, marketing and product strategy. Tai said sales in particular is often underestimated, despite requiring significant creativity.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1351\" data-end=\"1500\">\u201cPeople underestimate sales. There\u2019s a lot of creativity there too,\u201d he said. \u201cThe one thing that is irreplaceable with technology is relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1502\" data-end=\"1653\">As media consumption fragments across streaming, social and digital platforms, Tai said Astro continues to balance analytics with instinct and agility. \u201cThere is a real danger of analysis paralysis,\u201d he said, warning against over-optimising data models that may not deliver proportionate value.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1799\" data-end=\"1900\">\u201cAt some point, you are better off testing in real life and learning from real-world data,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1902\" data-end=\"2146\">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.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2148\" data-end=\"2276\">\u201cWe think there is a segment that will put a premium on on-ground experiences and selective immersion in specific IPs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2278\" data-end=\"2439\">Looking ahead, Tai said Astro\u2019s focus remains on serving Malaysian households while collaborating with global streaming platforms rather than competing directly. \u201cWe\u2019re very focused on serving Malaysian households,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to work at what we\u2019re good at to serve the Malaysian public.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also tune in to the full conversation on Spotify:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2278\" data-end=\"2439\">Tune into the rest of this conversation on your favourite podcast platforms, by searching up\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/5uMePtsQqFfn13n7FQz7vc?si=568152dd8c994483\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marketing Connected<\/a>. For all the visual people out there, we\u2019ve got your back as well, with our vodcasts on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLwc3y-2KtvQ2CxzacP79CF8euUANnhNR2&amp;feature=shared\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">YouTube<\/a>.<br \/>Related articles:\u00a0<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketing-interactive.com\/in-conversation-are-we-forgetting-what-makes-marketing-work\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">In Conversation: Are we forgetting what makes marketing work?<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketing-interactive.com\/fifa-world-cup-blackout-fears-fade-but-broadcast-rights-in-my-shifts-hands\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FIFA World Cup blackout fears fade, but broadcast rights in MY shift hands <\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketing-interactive.com\/can-a-kampung-rivalry-ruin-raya-astro-s-film-puts-it-to-the-test\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Can a kampung rivalry ruin Raya? Astro\u2019s film puts it to the test\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The media landscape is evolving at \u201cbreakneck speed\u201d, and for Astro Malaysia Holdings chief sales and marketing officer&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[22563,219957,219964,219959,139746,1664,98808,219963,85,46,219962,219960,219961,24564,31307,9028,219958,125],"class_list":["post-473349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-analytics","tag-astro-malaysia","tag-astro-marketing-strategy","tag-astro-one","tag-audience-engagement","tag-digital-marketing","tag-experiential-marketing","tag-fandom-marketing","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-malaysian-media","tag-marketing-connected","tag-marketing-interactive","tag-media-industry","tag-ott","tag-streaming","tag-tai-kam-leong","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}