MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In a time when the marketing world is racing to outpace the death of the cookie, and brands are scrambling to decode a fragmented consumer journey, Grab and WPP Media are already playing a different game.
Last June 16, 2025 at the Ascott in BGC, the two brands held an immersive workshop titled, “Unlocking Growth and Innovation.” This was a masterclass in how brands can use the Grab superapp ecosystem to supercharge full-funnel marketing strategies in the post-cookie, retail media age.
More than a workshop, it was a wake up call to the fact that first-party data is no longer a “nice to have” — it’s the new currency which insights are built on.
Why Now: The digital surge of Southeast Asia
The global marketing machine is currently entering a pivotal transition. Third-party cookies are on their way out and consumer attention is fractured across screens. But Grab, with its daily touchpoints across transport, food, payments and deliveries, has quietly built one of the region’s most data-rich, high-intent ecosystems. And WPP Media is wasting no time putting it to work.
Carol Tay, Grab Regional Head, Agency Partnerships in an exclusive comment to adobo Magazine said that, “The Philippines is in a very good position, where people are willing to try new things and explore new ways of communicating.”
This three-year regional partnership doesn’t just give WPP agencies early access to new formats and ad products. It also gives brands a front row seat to how real Southeast Asians live, move, eat, and spend all in one superapp.
From Superapp to Super Advantage
The event kicked off with interactive displays that brought Grab’s ecosystem to life, from mobility and food, to logistics and cashless payments, illustrating just how naturally brands can integrate into everyday decision points. Attendees were invited to engage and snap a photo, all while exploring Grab’s seamless integrations.
During opening remarks, Crisela Cervantes, CEO of WPP Media Philippines, cut straight to the point by discussing how unique the ecosystem of services that Grab offers is and how brands could leverage that more, not just to understand consumers better, but also to solve their pain points and bring better return on investment.
And that’s the key shift. In an era where traditional marketing funnels are flatlining, Grab flips the model from passive awareness to active engagement and conversion, all within a single app.
Growth Hack 101: Where transactions speak loud
Noah Arota, Client Partner at GrabAds, took the floor to break down the next-gen framework for data-led storytelling. In “Growth Hack 101,” he made it plain that “transactions are a better reflection of the real you.”
While old-school campaigns rely on what consumers say they like, Grab knows what they actually do — what they order, when they move, how they pay. That real world behavior turns into refined, behavioral segments, enabling hyper-targeted campaigns that go beyond just reaching their audience.
The numbers speak: campaigns running on Grab’s platform are generating up to 5X ROAS. With over one third of users being early adopters and more than 44% acting as social referrers, it’s clear that Grab’s users are willing to engage and be adventurous.
Beyond insights, GrabAds also rolled out two standout features:
- Splash Ads: Full screen, high-impact mobile placements shown during in transit moments on the app. Perfectly positioned to grab attention and drive clicks.
- 2W Driver Sampling: A creative use of Grab’s motorcycle fleet, delivering physical product samples directly to consumers, bringing back real world engagement with trackable results.
Together, they blur the line between digital and physical — a rare feat in a marketing world still learning how to stitch together experiences across touchpoints.
Campaign tactics: The new age of predictive media planning
On the WPP side, attendees got hands-on with Campaign Tactics, a reimagined planning tool within the WPP OMS suite. Formerly known as NGP, this tool uses a mix of first-party and geo-based intelligence to create scenario-based campaign simulations.
For marketers, it’s not just about media placement — it’s about precision planning with real-time feedback loops.
Mathieu Cuny, Head of Investment at WPP Media Philippines commented, “Grab started as one app with one focus area and it became a superapp. Naturally, our clients are in need of performance and awareness so it’s natural that the data and insights evolve with them.”
At its core, the Grab x WPP Media partnership isn’t just about new formats or flashy features. It’s about redefining the rules of engagement. It proves that when you combine first-party data, omnichannel access, and real world consumer moments, you get more than impressions — you get impact.
And in a region as mobile-first and data-hungry as Southeast Asia, that’s not just timely. It’s transformative.
Reimagining possibility, backed by partnership
As the day wrapped, the energy in the room was less about what had been shared and more about what could be built next. For Crisela, this isn’t just about smarter marketing; it’s about empowering teams to think bigger, act bolder, and know they’re not alone in the process.
“We want to make sure that teams know they have proper support to drive innovation,” she told adobo Magazine. “And collaborating with our partners helps us identify new ways to connect with our audiences. But more than just providing tools or data, Crisela emphasized the real goal: inspiration backed by execution.
“Events like these are important to encourage innovative pathways to engage with customers, but more importantly, to inspire all of us to go beyond the usual..”
In a time when the rules of marketing are being rewritten in real time, that reminder couldn’t come at a better moment.
