What Malaysia's media players see in store for 2027

As the media landscape continues to evolve, the question for media players is no longer simply where audiences are spending their time, but how to reach them meaningfully and turn attention into measurable outcomes.

Heading into 2027, changing consumer behaviours, the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) and rising expectations around media accountability are reshaping how brands and publishers approach the business of media.

From data-driven out-of-home (OOH) advertising and AI-powered content discovery to more audience-led media planning, the industry is being pushed to rethink how it creates value.

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A+M asked media players what will define the year ahead, from audience-led planning and AI discovery to media accountability and the next phase of the creator economy.

Suzanne Chai, director, business at Brandavision  

The future of media is about orchestrating the entire consumer journey, from connecting digital influence with physical brand experiences to building trust, shaping decisions and converting attention into sales. The objective is no longer simply to win an impression, but to win the consumer’s trust, preference and purchase.

Advertisers and brands want stronger evidence of incremental sales, customer acquisition, brand impact and return on advertising investment.

Brands will keep investing in data-verified digital media, while complementing it with data-verified Out-of-Home (OOH) and digital OOH in retail environments, including programmatic OOH buys. A growing demand for large, bold and high-impact OOH formats is also emerging. Expect spend to decline for traditional TV, radio, print and non-data-verified OOH.

Ultimately, the future of media investment will be about combining the accountability and measurability of digital media with the physical impact, scale and emotional influence of OOH, premium content and brand experiences.

Nicholas Sagau Tony Ngimat, COO, REV Media Group

For me, the biggest shift is AI changing how people discover content, not just how we create it.

For the last 15 to 20 years, publishers have largely optimised for traditional Google search, social and platforms. By 2027, discovery will increasingly happen through AI search, assistants and recommendation engines.

Our journalism, content and data need to be authoritative, structured and useful enough that AI platforms can understand, surface and reference them.

Publishers also cannot just be in content and advertising anymore. Increasingly it will be content, audience, data, creators and commerce. I don’t necessarily think budgets suddenly become much bigger. Clients will simply expect much more from every ringgit, and what gets squeezed is generic inventory with very little differentiation or measurable value.

AI should help us get more value out of original journalism, not replace the need for original journalism. When AI can generate unlimited content, credible local journalism, trusted personalities and communities become the scarce part.

Sailendra Kanagasundram, founder, Visual Retale

For me, the biggest change is quite simple: we need to stop starting with media and start with the audience.

Traditionally, media planning has worked the other way around. We look at the available media, buy it, and then work backwards to understand the audience it delivers. Technology and data are increasingly allowing us to reverse this. This is particularly important for OOH, which has traditionally been very location-led.

The question changes from “Which screens should I buy?” to “Where is my audience and how do I reach them?”

I also think marketers will become much more demanding about media accountability. Not necessarily because budgets will fall, but because there will be greater scrutiny over how much of every ringgit reaches the consumer. 

Wanting to target an audience doesn’t automatically mean DOOH needs to be bought programmatically. Technology should improve either the effectiveness or efficiency of the media, preferably both. Otherwise, we risk adding cost without adding consumer impact.

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