MarTech Interview with Laura Quigley, SVP of APAC at IAS

Laura Quigley, vice president of APAC at IAS, shares some thoughts on how digital advertising will evolve in 2025 in this March interview:

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Hi Laura, walk us through your IAS journey and highlights from your years in marketing/advertising?

I started in advertising sales at a New Zealand TV company where I worked my way up through broadcast media and TV advertising. I then took on a digital role at New Zealand Media & Entertainment, furthering my enthusiasm for the possibilities of digital. To broaden my horizons, I moved to the UK and got a job at global media agency ZenithOptimedia, working on huge integrated campaigns for big brands.

Soon after, I joined Google, which was a turning point in my career as I jumped into programmatic advertising. As digital technology continued to evolve, so did the learning, fueling my desire to dig deep and excel in my role. This led me to Infectious Media – the world’s first and only programmatic agency.

In 2016 I moved to Sydney and took on the role of Head of Business Development at IAS where I helped IAS successfully expand their presence in the region. In April 2019, I was appointed Managing Director for Southeast Asia. Continuing my success story at IAS, I was promoted to Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific within a year. I am currently based in Singapore where I am tasked with building strong partnerships with clients, agencies and publishers and helping them solve their pressing business challenges with IAS’s cutting edge technology solutions.

What do you think are the current trends shaping digital media and what trends will dominate the landscape in 2025?

The digital advertising landscape in Asia Pacific is dynamically changing, fueled by a surge in social media and video ad consumption. Some of the key trends will include:

The constant advancement of AI and machine learning will increase targeting accuracy and real-time ad optimization, ensuring that ads reach the right audience at the right time.

More emphasis on media quality – Brands, agencies and publishers must work together to ensure media quality is transparent by aligning to shared standards and goals. Partnerships with measurement and optimization companies like IAS will strengthen these efforts by providing independent data-driven insights on ad viewability, brand safety and ad fraud. IAS solutions help ensure that ads appear in the right environments and deliver higher media quality.

Video advertising will continue to grow, and Connected TV (CTV) is emerging as a significant trend in Asia Pacific, driven by its appeal for customized viewing experiences and growing smart device ownership, growing at 6.5% annually. This shift led 57% of APAC marketers to allocate at least 40% of their advertising budgets to CTV.

Can you talk about some of the marts and adtechs that are coming to the fore to influence new trends?

Programmatic advertising has seen a rise in Asia Pacific and according to recent reports APAC report from WARC, 77% of digital advertisers use programmatic advertising. 92% of respondents see this as vital to the future of digital advertising, and both buy-side and sell-side respondents believe that programmatic advertising can deliver more effective and efficient advertising campaigns. However, IAS research found that threats to media quality and lack of transparency still need to be addressed in this area 19th edition of the Media Quality Report (MQR) reveals that programmatic inventory poses nearly twice the risk to a brand (1.9%) than direct purchases (1%).

Advertisers are pushing for more transparency in their programmatic buys and want to ensure they’re getting quality inventory and results from their ad spend. The expansion of access to programmatic trading has meant that the same ad inventory is offered through multiple channels, which means more complexity for advertisers.

IAS Overall visibility enables advertisers to gain unique insight into the performance of their programmatic campaigns, including media quality, media cost, bid path and now performance metrics, all in one place

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How will CTV ads become more important to the overall marketing and advertising mix?

CTV represents a game-changer for advertisers, enabling brands to scale household reach while personalizing ads. WITH 73% media experts who expect the shift from linear TV to CTV to continue. According to MPA EstimatesThe 5.5% growth of the Asia-Pacific video industry in 2023, reaching USD 145 billion, highlights this dynamic, with revenues expected to exceed USD 165 billion by 2028.

Ad-supported streaming tiers provide access to highly engaged audiences, while innovations such as first-party data, contextual targeting and shoppable video formats improve personalization and privacy compliance. IAS research shows that tone-aligned ads improve brand perception by 82% on repeat viewings and foster a deeper emotional connection.

However, CTV’s fragmented ecosystem and growing user-generated content require advanced solutions such as multimedia classification technology. These tools ensure transparent campaign performance, reduce ad fatigue and improve user experience, positioning CTV as the critical advertising platform of the future.

Can you talk about the measurement tactics that marketers and advertisers will need to adopt to ensure better data-driven processes in 2025?

In 2025, marketers and advertisers must adopt sophisticated measurement tactics to thrive in an increasingly data-driven ecosystem. Attention metrics will emerge as a cornerstone, providing detailed information on ad viewability, user engagement, and contextual relevance. These insights go beyond traditional performance metrics and allow marketers to fine-tune ad placements, formats and creative strategies for maximum impact and higher ROI.

Privacy-focused solutions, including first-party data strategies and predictive modeling, will redefine personalization while ensuring regulatory compliance. Advanced contextual targeting will further increase ad relevance, promote greater brand safety and align with audience expectations.

Cross-channel attribution will become indispensable, offering a unified view of campaign performance across platforms and clarifying the complexity of the customer journey. AI-based analytics will provide real-time information, allowing marketers to anticipate changes in consumer behavior and respond flexibly.

By integrating these advanced approaches, marketers can increase transparency, increase campaign performance, and achieve sustained growth in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

Before we wrap up, some thoughts on the future of AI and marts/ad tech?

AI typically excels at analyzing large amounts of data, identifying patterns, and summarizing content, which can aid in the initial assessment of brand safety in complex environments. However, IAS Threat Lab notes that generative artificial intelligence can be used to create misleading websites, profiles and views, highlighting the importance of ongoing human oversight in brand safety efforts.

As the digital landscape evolves, brands must navigate a complex ecosystem to ensure their ads appear in safe and relevant environments. Ad fraud and poor quality content pose significant risks that can damage brand reputation and increase advertising spend.

Consumer preferences are constantly evolving. It requires adopting a granular approach to gain valuable insights into consumer perceptions that enable them to tailor their messages to specific contexts and maintain a competitive edge. Additionally, the rampant rise in ad fraud will lead to a surge in pre-bid verification solutions that filter out low-quality content and place ads in premium, branded environments.

Overall, increasing performance while maintaining brand value will be a key priority for advertisers and publishers, which will support partnerships with measurement and optimization companies that help advertisers avoid ads near risky content and increase campaign effectiveness.

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