Digital Marketing Summit Seoul 2025 - Day One Insights

Attending the Digital Marketing Summit in Seoul offered a treasure trove of insights on current marketing trends, AI integration, and immersive experiences.

I recently attended the Digital Marketing Summit (DMS) 2025 in Seoul for a single day in April. Having been on the lookout for marketing conferences in East and Southeast Asia that align with my interests, DMS seemed like a perfect fit. The event was held at the COEX Grand Ballroom, a venue I'm familiar with from past PyCon events, though COEX's massive size means I still get lost trying to navigate it.

Note to self: If I'm getting to the Grand Ballroom in COEX, get down at the Bongeunsa Station on Line 9, exit from Exit 7, and aim for the North Gate.

DMS 2025 was actually a two-day affair (April 10-11, 2025), but I could only attend the first day. Even with just one day's attendance, I came away with numerous valuable insights that I'll share across a series of blog posts.

The entrance to Digital Marketing Summit 2025 in Seoul sets the stage for two days of transformative talks, technology showcases, and strategic networking.

I managed to catch the final two morning keynotes, a thought-provoking panel discussion before lunch, and several other fascinating tracks.

Morning Keynotes: Creating Meaningful Brand Connections

Expanding Beyond Music To Fan Culture

The first keynote I attended featured Jan-Paul Jeffrey, Head of Marketing for Spotify. He presented Spotify's initiatives to promote artists and bands on their platform:

He showcased how Spotify promoted Seventeen (and their fan base Carat) by creating fan spaces outside concert venues
Presented a video of their "Wrapped" feature launching globally in Thailand
Demonstrated Spotify's Playlist Event coinciding with Taylor Swift's Singapore concert

What struck me most was how Spotify has evolved beyond just being an online streaming business to creating in-person experiences as their marketing strategy. The core message was clear: you need to create moments that excite fans and inspire them to share. When fans talk about Spotify organically, it's far more powerful than Spotify talking about itself.

Technology, Emotion And Immersion In 2025

The second keynote came from Mariam Asmar, VP for Strategic Consulting at Braze. With experience working with major brands like Nestle, she advocated for leveraging the entire team's creative skills rather than focusing exclusively on data, numbers, and revenue-based deliverables.

Mariam showcased examples from brands including PedidosYa, Burger King, and Chipotle, demonstrating how they executed highly effective marketing campaigns with minimal spending by creatively leveraging events like Argentina's World Cup victory and everyday situations like traffic jams.

Her keynote summed up beautifully with: "Speak to people, not data, and creativity unites."

I found it particularly enlightening to see how brands leverage societal events to connect with customers, such as PedidosYa's fake notifications campaign.

Panel Discussion: Marketing 6.0 and the Future of Global Marketing

One of the most interesting sessions before lunch was a panel discussion featuring Stephan Czypionka (Global CMO for CJ Foods) and Iwan Setiawan (CEO for Marketeers & MARKPLUS Inc). Iwan is co-author of the Marketing x.0 Series, with his latest book being Marketing 6.0: The Future is Immersive.

The panel explored the convergence of immersive experiences and AI-driven personalization in global marketing, with a particular focus on Korean brand globalization and emerging marketing technologies.

Here are some of the key points shared during this rich discussion:

From Stephan Czypionka (CJ Foods):

Korea provides a fast-paced, highly efficient business environment ideal for innovation and growth
CJ Foods, as Korea's largest food exporter, is rapidly expanding globally with its BBGo brand
He compared their journey to Coca-Cola, noting how Coca-Cola's success comes from consistent product quality, widespread availability, and strong brand marketing
Korean teams at CJ are described as highly motivated "Hakuchabi" (goal-getters)
Their strategy emphasizes R&D and quality manufacturing, focusing on taste and adaptability
BBGo's versatility allows experimentation with local cuisines, enhancing its global appeal
They leverage food trends, pop-ups, and cultural integrations to drive engagement
AI helps them with translation efficiency, insight generation, and scenario modeling
BBGo's global market is in early stages, allowing flexibility and innovation
He emphasized that combining AI with human intuition creates powerful marketing strategies

From Iwan Setiawan (Marketeers & MARKPLUS):

Marketing 3.0 introduced human-centric marketing beyond basic customer data
Marketing 4.0 and 5.0 predicted trends in digital marketing and AI's rise
Marketing 6.0 focuses on immersive brand experiences across both digital and physical platforms
Immersive marketing blends digital personalization with live experiences to engage Gen Z
While AI enables mass personalization, it risks homogenizing creative output
Brands should preserve storytelling and cultural authenticity to stand out amid AI marketing
AI should enhance, not replace, human creativity and strategy in marketing
Marketers must balance analytical and artistic skills for impactful campaigns
Understanding local culture remains critical for successful global marketing
Today's marketers risk becoming too tool-centric, losing touch with emotional storytelling
Human emotion, cultural understanding, and uniqueness remain vital brand differentiators

Areas where both panelists found common ground:

Physical experiences can significantly amplify digital impact and social reach
Fast-paced marketing today demands rapid idea generation (where AI can help with testing)
Gen Z and Alpha expect brand interactions that are both digital and tangible
Korean pop culture integration (food, music, fashion) offers substantial global appeal
One-size-fits-all strategies have limited effectiveness; cultural nuance is key to expansion
Companies should invest in immersive branding to build deeper customer relationships

I noticed a clear difference in perspectives regarding AI in marketing:

Iwan cautioned about overreliance on AI, suggesting it might cause marketers to lose the human touch and lead to homogenized creative output. He specifically warned there is "a risk of AI self-reinforcing and stifling originality in marketing content" and emphasized that younger marketers must avoid overreliance on prompts and algorithms.

Stephan took a more positive view, highlighting how AI helps with efficiency in translation, insight generation, and modeling scenarios. He noted that "personalization at scale is now feasible due to AI" while acknowledging it must be meaningfully executed.

Key takeaways from this session

These are some short points which I made after the session.

Focus on extending immersive experiences into physical retail for Gen Z consumers
Encourage playful cultural fusions (like BBGo products in Western markets)
Develop campaigns integrating K-pop and food to leverage cultural synergy
Use AI for operational efficiencies, but maintain human-driven creative strategy
Balance marketing education to include emotional storytelling alongside technical tools
Immersive personalization is the strategic direction for Marketing 6.0

The panel discussion ended the plenary sessions for the 1st day of the conference, and we went into lunch break.

A packed hall listens to Spotify’s keynote on youth engagement at Digital Marketing Summit 2025, highlighting major trends in audience targeting and content strategy.

Full house for the morning keynotes session

More Talks From Digital Marketing Summit 2025

There were three other talks sessions that I attended and managed to get notes from. Each of them packs enough content for a post on their own, so I invite you to read more here. The final part of this series introduced the dinner for guests and also my summarized thoughts for the conference.