As the fourteenth ATS Singapore approaches, we give you a first glance at this year’s biggest topics, from retail media to attention.   

With ATS Singapore in just two months, we give you a first glance into some of the event’s hottest topics which will be delivered by experts from across the APAC ad tech landscape. The following speakers we shine the spotlight on today will be delving into the future of publishing, retail media networks, commerce, privacy, and attention. 

They’ll be sharing why their topic is important for industry members to discuss in 2025, some of the biggest challenges surrounding it, as well as what else they’re looking forward to at the event’s fourteenth run in the APAC region. 

Last week, we broke down what you can expect from ATS Singapore this year on 2nd July at Singapore’s Sands Expo & Convention Centre. We’ll be bringing you more than fifteen engaging stage sessions featuring more than fifty expert global and regional speakers. If you still haven’t got a ticket and you’re interested in joining us, you can register here. 

Kris Biti, Chief Activation & Global Solutions Officer, IPG Mediabrands APAC 

Topic: Shaping the future of publishing in a changing media landscape  

The critical question this panel raises is: As publishers in our diverse region harness tech for new content strategies and revenue streams, will this unlock more effective, culturally resonant advertising pathways for brands? Or will navigating their challenges and diversification efforts mean a more fragmented landscape? Clients are asking for increased scale, increased consistency, faster services, agile services, and a relentless focus on quality…all at a lower cost. 

The other part of the discussion is the appetite and autonomy for clients to truly embrace a continuous test-and-learn framework in the current environment and the speed in which they can act upon their vision. This tension highlights the challenges of balancing innovation with cost-efficiency in today’s climate.

Brian Gabriel del Val, Digital Media Leader, Oceania and Japan, HP 

Topic: Building privacy-first, resilient solutions for a safer digital future 

This conversation is more relevant than ever as the advertising ecosystem continues to navigate heightened privacy expectations and tightening regulations. After years of promises around cookieless, privacy-first solutions – and the rollercoaster of cookie deprecation delays – we're now at a crossroads. With third-party cookies back on the table, the question is: do we revert to old behaviours, or do we push forward and commit to building resilient systems that respect privacy while still delivering performance? 

One of the biggest challenges surrounding this topic has been translating ambition into action. Many players have talked about being “privacy-first”, but few have been able to truly implement solutions that balance compliance, performance, and scalability. The complexity of the tech stack, the fragmentation of ID solutions, and varying regional regulations – especially in APAC – make it difficult to find a one-size-fits-all approach. There's also the challenge of educating stakeholders across brands, agencies, and platforms on what meaningful privacy innovation actually looks like. 

Elsewhere, I'm particularly keen to learn more about the evolution of retail media, especially through the lens of APAC. We've seen explosive growth in retail media in the West, and China has already built its own powerful walled gardens. I’m curious to see how the rest of the countries’ markets are approaching this shift – what they’ll borrow, what they’ll reinvent, and how they’ll localise the retail media opportunity in their own way. 

I'm also looking forward to reconnecting with familiar faces in the industry, exchanging new ideas, and hearing where others see the future of media and ad tech going. ATS always brings together the right mix of insight, energy, and regional relevance – and it’s exciting to see how Singapore continues to play a key role in shaping conversations across the APAC ad tech ecosystem.

Dan Richardson, Director of Data and Insights, AUSEA, Yahoo 

Topic: Optimising commerce: Integrating retail media networks with advanced data analytics 

I look forward to diving into the crucial topic of retail media networks and how they can be optimised with a data-driven approach to really make a difference in customer engagement and omnichannel campaigns. Across APAC right now, where performance outcomes, customer experiences, and commerce media are highly interwoven, smart measurement and efficient targeting will power campaign and ROI success.

The reality is that brands and agencies are finding it challenging to convert large amounts of data into actionable insights and measurable outcomes. They’re playing catch up for various reasons – fragmentation within the ecosystem, lack of readily available tools, expertise, and time resources, amongst others. Additionally, while advancing, retail and commerce media is often siloed in nature and not fully leveraged. Off-site retail and commerce media is commonly bought within walled gardens, private marketplace (PMP) deals, and through single broadcasters or out-of-home (OOH) vendors, with the biggest buyers being endemic consumer packaged goods (CPG) or fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands.

With the increasing availability of accurate and scalable first-party retail data across more verticals, alongside the broader growth and activation of first-party data across the open web, there is a huge opportunity to take that single customer view and prove incremental value for brands. Imagine campaign measurement – sales lift, store visits, brand lift, search lift – consolidated and across a single group of users exposed to a campaign. That's the end goal here and something my team is intensely focused on across APAC.

What's also exciting is seeing non-endemic brands increasingly recognise the value of this data to build brand awareness with key shopper groups combined with a full-funnel measurement approach.

Uma Ranganathan, e-Commerce Solutions, dentsu 

Topic: Optimising commerce: Integrating retail media networks with advanced data analytics 

The panel topic of Optimising Commerce: Integrating Retail Media Networks with Advanced Data Analytics is particularly important for our industry this year. Firstly, retail media networks hold rich first-party data, and with advanced analytics, their full potential can be tapped. Integrating analytics enables real-time audience segmentation, personalised ad delivery, and full-funnel performance measurement. It transforms raw shopper data into actionable insights, driving higher ROI and smarter media spend. As privacy standards evolve, leveraging secure, consent-based analytics becomes critical. 

Secondly, the future of retail media isn’t just about reach – it’s about delivering measurable outcomes through intelligence. Retailers and brands that embrace this integration will gain a significant advantage in shaping the next phase of commerce and consumer engagement.

Ci En Lee, Media Strategist, Publicis 

Topic: Capturing the value of consumer attention 

There is an amazing range of topics for this year – if I had to decide on one I’m most looking forward to hearing about, it would be the topic of mastering AI. The AI race is accelerating so rapidly that staying on top of the latest developments can only be an ideal dream at best. I will be listening intently and putting on an ‘algorithm’ hat of exploring and exploiting – balancing between exploring undiscovered insights to broaden my exposure, and exploiting what I already know about AI to reinforce my understanding. 

ATS Singapore holds a special place in my heart as it was my first-ever marketing and advertising conference that I attended in 2022. From the keynotes to the provocative debates to the mic-drop moments, I’ve learnt so much on all things digital that built the foundations of my career, and I can’t wait to pay it forward and contribute as a panellist. Beyond the jargon and technicalities, I’m most looking forward to meeting people! Catching up with old friends from the industry, making new ones and taking lots of selfies. Sometimes we forget that we are not in the business of media, but the business of people.