What happens when a Zomato hustler-turned-retail media leader decides to take on Asia Pacific’s ad tech game?

On this episode of Trillion Dollar Ads, I sit down with Prashant Kala, who started his career in the early days of Zomato and now runs the ads business for Agoda across Asia Pacific. From building teams at ShopBack to shaping how travel brands, marketplaces and even non-endemic players think about retail media, Prashant has seen it all. We talk about his journey, the shifts in ad tech since 2011, and why Southeast Asia is now hitting its retail media hockey stick moment.

If you’re curious about retail media growth, AI-driven ads, and the future of ad tech in Asia, this one’s for you.

IN THIS EPISODE
(00:00) Zomato to Agoda: Retail media’s wild journey
(03:06) Is Southeast Asia the next retail media boom?
(04:59) Why e-commerce ads don’t always kill user experience
(07:05) The hockey-stick moment for retail media growth
(10:08) Three moves shaping ad tech’s future right now
(12:22) Offsite advertising: The hottest play in digital marketing
(14:32 DSP dilemma: Build in-house or partner smart?
(16:12) Four secrets to scaling ad businesses successfully
(20:52) Can single-country retail media reach massive scale?
(22:37) Retail media vs Google, Meta, TikTok: Who wins?
(24:39) Clean rooms: Why conversions aren’t adding up
(27:32) Attribution trap: Why CMOs still struggle with measurement
(29:22) Non-endemic brands cracking travel advertising campaigns
(34:06) What keeps retail media leaders awake at night
(36:12) AI precision ads: The future of digital marketing
(37:48) Why the next two years decide retail media

Host

Jayesh Easwaramony
APAC Digital Advertising & Martech Specialist | Founder, Spectra Global
Jayesh is a leading expert in APAC’s digital advertising and martech landscape and founder of Spectra Global, a consulting firm that helps media, telcos, and retailers accelerate adtech transformation and monetize data through cost-efficient platforms, growth marketing automation, and personalised CX strategies. Previously, he scaled InMobi across APAC, positioning it as a bold alternative to Big Tech by securing deals with top advertisers, agencies, and publishers, while executing over $400M in ad campaigns. He also led the award-winning Capstone team, which won over 60 awards for pioneering advancements in AR, chatbot, and location-based ads, blending data and creativity.

Guest

Prashant Kala
Commercial leader with 15+ years of experience scaling e-commerce, retail media and digital platforms across APAC. Currently leading Agoda’s media solutions, driving growth through innovative advertising strategies globally. Passionate about the intersection of technology, travel, advertising and building high-performing teams that thrive in multicultural environments.

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Trillion Dollar Ads podcast
Welcome to the Trillion Dollar Ads podcast, where we explore the key trends and challenges in the advertising industry, especially in Asia Pacific. We discuss the unique characteristics and challenges of this diverse region with successful ad-funded business model leaders, including publishers, agency professionals, and ad tech players. Additionally, we examine the high percentage of ad dollars going to big tech in Asia Pacific and strategies for local publishers to compete. Tune in now!