The discussion explored how marketing effectiveness is being weakened by short-term optimisation, fragmented measurement, and over-reliance on AI-driven efficiency, while reinforcing the need for stronger brand building, long-term thinking, and clearer strategic discipline.

A reflection from Navigate: Now and Next (Hong Kong), shaped both behind the scenes and on stage. Drawing on planning discussions and the event itself, this piece explores where marketers are converging on what matters most - from AI and trust to the balance between brand and performance.

An event takeaway from Navigate: Now & Next 2026 Singapore, exploring why the biggest marketing challenge of the AI era is not the technology itself, but how marketing functions are designed to use it

The marketing leaders getting the most from AI aren’t the ones with the best tools or the biggest budgets. They’re the ones who are personally, visibly and continuously learning.

Fourteen senior marketing and business leaders across APAC share their honest perspectives on the tensions defining modern marketing leadership, from AI and measurement to brand building and organisational complexity, in partnership with Ekimetrics.

In a recent Global Conversation event, fraud victim Tracy Hall, argues that trust is being exploited at industrial scale by AI-powered scammers, and that marketers must treat trust as a measurable, designed-in feature of every customer touchpoint.

Marketing is embracing AI but with mainly surface-level usage. The reality of this means a function best placed to benefit from AI, is quietly missing it entirely. Joe Hildebrand explains.

Gen Alpha isn't just "skibidi" slang and screens. With nearly half of Gen Alpha in APAC, these savvy digital natives are already influencing household spending and developing dreams for the future. To win them over, brands must bridge the gap between virtual play and real-world aspirations.

When AI can generate content at scale, human experience, judgment and authenticity are our most powerful and irreplaceable competitive advantage, Allison Beattie explains why.

Discussing mental health is not always easy, but it’s better to have a clumsy chat than not have one at all. Mark Simmonds suggests pointers to help kick off that important conversation.