How Brew Interactive Uses AI to Localize Performance Marketing Across Southeast Asia and the United States

Localization in digital marketing goes beyond the simple translation of text from one language to another. In 2026, localization in digital marketing will need to be effective and nuanced, moving beyond simple translation to cultural, behavioral, and digital contexts. Brew Interactive, a digital marketing agency based in Singapore and founded in 2009, has adopted and integrated these new approaches to localization, using AI and other technologies to provide effective localization solutions for its clients.

Brew Interactive was founded by entrepreneur Marcus Ho, who learned the ins and outs of digital marketing through running his own small business and learning about SEO, display advertising, and social media marketing firsthand. Ho learned that, unlike many entrepreneurs, he didn’t need to focus on activity but instead focus on systems, discipline, and outcomes, which is part of the basis for their current approaches to localization and AI adoption.

Founded as Digimetric, the company has since grown to serve clients like Unilever and 3M, and now also serves brands like Guerlain Paris and Samsung SDS AP, which indicates their ability to support multinational brands and their need for performance metrics in multiple markets. However, they also learned the hard way about the need for standardized processes and outcomes, which was one of the key reasons for Marcus Ho to start over and refound the company.

Brew Interactive’s approach to localization is based upon its belief that, in today’s digital marketing environment, simple translation of text from one language to another is no longer sufficient. Localization now needs to be about ensuring that the target audience feels understood, emotionally and contextually, and not just about translation.

Instead, Brew incorporates cultural understanding and data analysis into its workflow to ensure that campaigns, content, images, user experience, and timing resonate with how people in each market think, behave, and interact online.

Content development is perhaps the greatest challenge to scalability in regional marketing campaigns. Brew’s AI-powered workflows enable it to create localized content quickly and efficiently. However, its team of strategists ensures that cultural relevance and brand voice consistency are maintained. The agency’s use of AI-powered workflows to create localized content is perhaps one of the greatest examples of localization, as it combines AI translation drafts with human oversight.

AI is perhaps one of the most important technologies Brew leverages to successfully execute performance media campaigns in each market. Performance media campaigns enable Brew to understand how each market is responding to its campaigns. The AI-powered system analyzes each market’s engagement, conversion, and overall audience interaction. Brew can then refine its creative elements, strategies, and timing to improve its campaigns. AI-powered systems do not replace strategists at Brew; instead, they enable the agency to make data-driven decisions to execute successful campaigns in each market.

By using AI-powered systems to execute performance media campaigns, Brew ensures that localized campaigns not only adapt to each market but also drive performance.

While the primary focus is on language, localization also involves adapting to the way users consume the platform in each market. Brew’s approach to localization involves creating content that is relevant to the way users behave on the platform. This is an understanding by the agency that localization extends beyond the language and into the way users engage with the platform.

As Brew works in Southeast Asia and the United States, the agency faces challenges in governing the data and messaging consistency while measuring the performance of the campaigns. Brew uses AI to monitor the overall quality and consistency of the campaign through a centralized system. This ensures that the localized campaign meets the client’s needs and complies with the relevant laws and regulations.

Brew Interactive’s use of an AI-powered localization framework is an embodiment of the agency’s overall philosophy in running its operations. Brew’s overall philosophy is an extension of Marcus Ho’s early entrepreneurial days and his focus on performance systems. The use of AI in the overall content creation, media optimization, CRM systems, and campaign reporting ensures that the final product is relevant to the users and meets the overall needs of the clients.

As Brew works with clients such as Guerlain Paris and Samsung SDS AP, the use of an AI-powered localization framework ensures that the campaign reaches the users while the client maintains control over the campaign’s performance. The use of an AI-powered localization framework is not a luxury, but a necessity in the digital marketing space.