Market · Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific:
the first
step outward
The fastest-growing advertising region in the world, and usually where a Chinese brand tests international expansion before attempting the United States.
Last reviewed
What does Mammoth do in Asia Pacific?
Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing advertising region globally, forecast by dentsu to expand 5.4% in 2026, with India at 8.6% and China at 6.1%. For Chinese advertisers it is frequently the first international market entered, because cultural and logistical distance is lower than for Western markets.
Why do Chinese brands start in Asia Pacific?
Chinese brands often start in Asia Pacific because market entry costs less on every dimension: shorter supply chains, closer cultural reference points, overlapping consumer platform behaviour and lower creative adaptation requirements than Western markets demand.
Southeast Asia in particular functions as a proving ground. Consumer behaviour around mobile commerce, super-apps and social commerce resembles China's more closely than the West's, which means a Chinese brand's existing playbook transfers with less modification.
That transferability is also a trap worth naming. A playbook that works in Jakarta because it resembles China does not thereby validate the same playbook for New York, and brands that treat APAC success as proof of international readiness frequently over-extend.
How fast is the Asia Pacific market growing?
dentsu forecasts Asia Pacific advertising growing 5.4% in 2026, the fastest of any region, with India at 8.6% and China at 6.1%. Global advertising overall passes $1 trillion for the first time, growing 5.1%.
Growth of that order changes supply availability as well as demand. Rapidly growing markets add premium inventory — streaming, audio, retail media — faster than incumbent buyers absorb it, which creates access windows for advertisers arriving with budget and no legacy relationships.
Retail media is the clearest instance, growing 14.1% globally in 2026 and faster than any other digital channel. Chinese advertisers are unusually well prepared for it, given that China accounts for 44.1% of global retail media spend.
Sources: dentsu, 3 December 2025 · WPP Media, via Axios, 10 June 2025
What capability does Mammoth hold in the region?
Mammoth's APAC capability derives from Gordan Domlija's tenure as APAC CEO of Wavemaker, where he built and ran the regional agency business across more than a dozen markets. That is operating experience across the specific markets rather than regional coverage claimed from a single hub.
The practical consequence is that supply relationships and market-level execution knowledge exist for the region's principal markets, rather than the region being addressed generically as 'APAC'.
City by city
| City | Role |
|---|---|
| Singapore | Regional headquarters, agency hubs, financial services advertisers |
| Tokyo | Premium broadcast, gaming, consumer electronics competition |
| Seoul | Creator ecosystems, gaming, consumer electronics |
| Sydney | Broadcast, streaming, established programmatic market |
| Jakarta | Social commerce, mobile-first consumer growth |
City roles reflect Mammoth's assessment of where the relevant advertiser, agency and media-owner functions concentrate, 2026.
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