"Data should always be in service of delivering better outcomes.": Q&A with Vincent Niou, Skeleton Key
by News
on 12th Dec 2024 in
Accompanying the launch of The State of Data and Tech Maturity for Brands in APAC, we speak to Vincent Niou, founder of Skeleton Key to discuss key findings from the report, how brands can take action upon these insights, and key trends set to impact the region through 2025.
What were you hoping to learn from this research into brand maturity across APAC?
We wanted to understand where brands in APAC currently stand in their data and tech maturity. The region’s diversity makes it particularly interesting to explore, and we were eager to understand how different brands across different markets approach, manage, and deploy data and tech for marketing. By doing so, we hoped to uncover areas of strength and opportunities for growth.

Skeleton Key
We were particularly interested in identifying what’s holding brands back. Are privacy concerns or high costs creating barriers? Are organisational silos or a lack of support from partners slowing progress? At the same time, we wanted to see what’s working well – what approaches are helping brands succeed and drive meaningful outcomes.
Another key focus was understanding how different factors impact data and tech maturity. Does it vary by market, brand size, brand coverage, or whether decisions are made locally or globally? These insights are critical to tailoring solutions that fit different organisations’ needs, particularly in a region as diverse as APAC.
On a personal level, this research was an opportunity to see how our experience working with brands in APAC aligns with the data. Are we seeing the same trends, or are there gaps in our perspective? We also wanted to deepen our knowledge of brands’ current challenges and needs so we can better support them. Ultimately, we hope this research provides actionable insights and helps brands in APAC benchmark their capabilities and advance with confidence in today’s digital environment.
What were the most interesting and surprising results?
While I wouldn’t say any of the findings were shocking, several insights stood out in the context of better understanding of how brands in APAC advance their data and tech capabilities. One of the most interesting takeaways was the diverse paths to maturity. Even though overall maturity scores are similar across markets, the paths brands take to arrive at these results are quite different. No single capability strongly drives overall maturity, highlighting the complexity and uniqueness of each organisation’s journey.
While this isn’t unique to APAC, measurement continues to lag behind other capabilities, which is both unsurprising and concerning. We found that many brands still rely on basic front-end metrics and inconsistent KPI tracking rather than methods that better reflect the incremental impact of their marketing. Without a clear understanding of this, marketers may struggle to justify and grow budgets regardless of how well their campaigns are planned and executed.
Another notable finding is that larger budgets and resources don’t necessarily translate to greater maturity. For example, large brands often face challenges in unifying data across fragmented structures, while smaller, locally-directed brands excel in alignment and execution due to reduced complexity. Brands with local directives also tend to thrive in areas requiring market-specific flexibility, while globally-directed brands benefit from centralised resources for foundational capabilities.
Finally, organisational silos remain a major barrier, particularly for larger organisations. This misalignment, compounded by the growing overlap between marketing and IT systems, limits agility and progress. Interestingly, smaller and micro brands report fewer barriers, suggesting that simplicity and local decision-making often work to their advantage depending on their objectives.
How can the study help inform companies in the APAC region and beyond? How can it be best utilised?
A good starting point for brands is to review the findings while considering how they align with their organisation’s own situation. Understanding the scoring criteria can help companies pinpoint where they currently stand across key capabilities and how this aligns with their broader marketing objectives.
It’s important to note that achieving high scores across all categories shouldn’t necessarily be the goal for every brand. The level of maturity an organisation should aim for depends on its unique priorities and objectives. Data and technology should always be in service of delivering better marketing outcomes — not treated as goals in isolation.
Based on this analysis, organisations can use the insights to develop a roadmap for advancing the capabilities that are most critical to their success. For those looking to kickstart the process, Skeleton Key offers a free, self-service data and tech maturity diagnostic. This tool evaluates current capabilities and provides actionable recommendations for improvement, helping brands get started on their advancement roadmap.
What was the inspiration behind Skeleton Key?
Skeleton Key was founded to address several gaps we observed in the industry across Singapore and the broader APAC region. The first was a lack of companies that could effectively connect data and tech solutions and traditional marketing approaches. We believe the industry can do more to ensure data and tech drive meaningful marketing outcomes, helping brands stay future-resilient in a digital landscape that’s evolving faster than ever.
Second, we observed a lack of understanding among brands about how data and tech can enhance marketing. Many simply don’t know what they don’t know. To address this, we want to raise the baseline knowledge of data and tech applications in the region by breaking down the complexity and making it easier for marketers to navigate and apply.
Finally, there’s a shortage of APAC-based voices contributing to the global conversation in this space. We aim to amplify the region’s perspective and expertise on the world stage.
Our mission is to address these gaps by combining deep technical expertise with tailored solutions and thought leadership. Through strategic advisory, hands-on implementation, and industry education, we help brands navigate and apply data and tech to enhance their marketing efforts. The name Skeleton Key — a key that can open all locks — reflects our ambition to unlock understanding and empower our clients to achieve meaningful marketing outcomes.
What are the trends that you’re seeing across APAC? Was this reflected in the report?
Our report reflects several key trends shaping how brands are advancing in data and tech. Some of the most prominent include:
Diverse market conditions and paths to maturity
APAC’s diversity means brands take different paths to maturity based on market dynamics, organisational structures, and resources. The report shows that even when brands reach similar overall maturity levels, their priorities can differ. For example, some brands focus on building localised execution capabilities to align with specific market needs, while others prioritise foundational capabilities like data unification and scalability to support regional or global strategies.
Balancing local, regional, and global directives
Brands in APAC often have to balance global consistency with local adaptability. The report shows that locally-directed brands perform well in areas like audience strategy and campaign execution, while globally-led brands are stronger in foundational capabilities like data strategy and measurement. Regional directives often act as a bridge, scaling strategies across markets while leaving room for local flexibility.
Measurement challenges
As is the case globally, measurement remains one of the biggest opportunities for growth. Our findings indicate that many brands rely on basic metrics or inconsistent KPIs, with nearly half of respondents at reactive or emerging maturity levels. This limits their ability to effectively connect marketing efforts to business outcomes.
Navigating privacy challenges
While privacy concerns are a global issue, APAC’s fragmented regulatory landscape adds complexity. Some markets, like Singapore, have advanced frameworks, while others are still catching up. The report highlights data privacy as a key barrier to scaling operations, especially for multinational brands operating across the region.
Talent and knowledge gaps
APAC faces a persistent talent and knowledge gap, with many organisations struggling to find the right balance of technical expertise and marketing know-how. Smaller or locally-focused brands, in particular, may feel confident in their capabilities but lack awareness of what’s possible, often missing growth opportunities. This issue extends beyond our findings and remains a broader challenge for the region.
Looking ahead, future studies could dive deeper into emerging trends like the influence of super apps, the growing role of e-commerce ecosystems, and the rapid adoption of AI-powered tools. These insights, alongside our current findings, could help brands better navigate APAC’s complex and rapidly evolving digital landscape.
What are your top industry predictions as we head into 2025?
Persistent industry fragmentation
Fragmentation will remain a defining characteristic of the industry, but in APAC, this is further amplified by the inherent diversity of the region. With varying levels of digital maturity, differing regulatory frameworks, and unique market dynamics, APAC brands must navigate an even more fragmented ecosystem than their counterparts in the West. While this creates challenges in scaling solutions, it also creates opportunities for localised innovation and tailored strategies.
First-party-data will remain a priority
Like in the rest of the world, the shift toward first-party data will continue and accelerate across brands and publishers as they adapt to stricter privacy regulations and the deprecation of third-party identifiers. This focus on customer data will become central to future marketing strategies across the region.
Retail, commerce, and CTV growth
These hotspot channels will see continued growth and maturity in APAC, but fragmentation will persist here as well. Unlike the West, where standardisation is more common, APAC’s regional and local nuances will (in the near/medium-term) drive varied implementations and incentives in these areas.
Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) become further embedded
PETs will increasingly integrate into platforms and industry workflows, moving from front-facing features to foundational protocol layers. In both forms, these technologies will help brands address the dual challenges of privacy compliance and interoperability in an increasingly fragmented ecosystem.
Data and technology ownership will be a challenge within organisations
Increasing integration between cloud platforms and mar/adtech tools will blur traditional ownership lines between marketing and IT teams. This will create friction in large organisations, but over time, should improve as organisational paradigms adapt and collaboration improves
Trend towards best-of-breed tech solutions
Brands will trend towards “best-of-breed” solutions over “best-of-suite” tools as they prioritise flexibility and performance. This will empower customisation but could add complexity in the short term.
AI transformations
Forward-thinking companies will invest in strengthening their data foundations to fully unlock AI’s transformative potential. As AI tools for creative generation and campaign setup continue to improve, marketers will increasingly rely on them, fundamentally reshaping existing workflows. AI-driven search tools like Perplexity and Google AI Overviews are poised to redefine the messy mid-funnel as their ad offerings are rolled out and evolve. While these shifts may feel gradual at first, we’ll wake up one day to find that AI has completely redefined how the industry operates.
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