As part of our Inside the Jury Room series, we caught up with Dinali Rajapakse, Head of Brands for Uber Eats, to hear her perspective as a judge this year for the Festival of Media APAC Awards 2026.
In the discussion, she shared insights on the key opportunities shaping media across the Asia Pacific region, the shift from awareness-driven activity to influencing real consumer behaviour, and how brands are using AI more intelligently to drive meaningful impact.
What do you see as the biggest opportunity for media in the Asia Pacific region over the next 12 months?
In my opinion, the biggest opportunity in APAC lies in media becoming truly commerce connected and culturally intelligent at scale.
I believe that the next 12 months will reward brands that combine data driven precision with deep local relevance using data, retail media, and partnerships with platforms that sit closest to the point of transaction, while still respecting privacy and regulatory diversity across markets.
How has the role of media evolved in shaping consumer behavior in recent years ?
I think media has shifted from being just a channel for reach to becoming a powerful driver of behavior. Today, especially in APAC, media sits much closer to moments of intent within social platforms, super apps, retail media and creator ecosystems. Where discovery, influence and purchase often happen in the same space. With better data, AI and contextual signals, brands can show up with relevance rather than volume, shaping not just what people think, but when they act and how they buy. As a result, I believe media now plays a much more active role in driving both brand impact and real business outcomes.
How are brands leveraging AI in smarter ways to create more impactful campaigns?
We can see that teading brands are using AI to enhance decision making across the media lifecycle: from predictive audience planning and dynamic creative optimisation to real-time performance learning.
What I find especially exciting is how AI is enabling creative at scale. Which is allowing brands to adapt messaging to local languages, cultural cues, and consumption moments without losing consistency. I truly believe the smartest campaigns still start with human insight; AI simply helps deliver that insight faster, more efficiently, and with greater relevance.
Which campaigns or brands do you think have set new benchmarks recently in the APAC media industry?
In the past year, APAC has produced a wave of work that not only broke through culturally but also connected brand storytelling with commerce, community engagement, and measurable business impact.
Some examples that come to my mind are:
FCB India’s Lucky Yatra
FCB India’s Lucky Yatra reimagined a common experience: train travel, by turning train tickets into lottery tickets to drive paid ridership. Demonstrating to us all how media, product and culture can be integrated to change behavior, not just awareness.
Spotify Wrapped 2024
Spotify’s Wrapped 2024 continues to be a benchmark in APAC for personalised media experiences. Showcasing how data-driven personalisation can build huge earned media and cultural impact across markets.
What excites you most about this year’s Festival of Media APAC Awards entries?
What excites me most is seeing APAC increasingly define its own media playbook. Entries are becoming bolder, more culturally nuanced, and more results led.
I’m looking forward to work that balances creativity, technology, and effectiveness in meaningful ways.
What advice would you give to entrants of the Festival of Media APAC Awards who want to impress the jury this year?
My advice would be to start with the problem, not the channel. The strongest entries clearly articulate the business challenge, the human insight, and why media was the most powerful lever to solve it.
I would also advise entrants to be specific about what was different, why it mattered, and what changed as a result. Jurors will be looking for work that is not only innovative but also scalable and effective. Most importantly, don’t overcomplicate the story as clarity, honesty, and impact will always stand out.
