Vistar Media Expands SE Asia Team Amid Programmatic Digital Outdoor Boom
The appointments support the firm's expanding Southeast Asia footprint, which now includes Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
Vistar Media has appointed Kevin Smyth as Commercial Director and Cindy Lim as Demand-Side Platform Partnerships Manager for Southeast Asia, strengthening its regional leadership as programmatic digital out-of-home advertising gains momentum across the region.
For those less familiar, "digital out-of-home" is an industry term used to describe any digital screen you see outside your home (think billboards, mall screens, airport displays, or screens in elevators) showing ads that can change in real time. Often, it is used interchangeably with the phrase "digital outdoor."
The hires follow strong financial performance for the company, which saw 85% APAC digital outdoor revenue growth in 2023 and expanded its regional team by 50% in 2024. Southeast Asia's digital outdoor market is projected to reach US$816.79 million in 2025, up from US$725.7 million in 2024.
Smyth brings over 20 years of digital media and ad tech experience to his role. He previously led Southeast Asia sales at GumGum and worked on expanding connected TV and programmatic video at Magnite. His focus will be on enhancing targeting, planning, and measurement in digital OOH to maximize value for brands and agencies.
Lim joins from JCDecaux, where she spent a decade building expertise in outdoor advertising. As DSP Partnerships Manager, she will oversee relationships with demand-side platforms across multiple channels and provide strategic guidance to drive growth across the region.
"This year has been transformative. We're positioned better than ever to provide localized expertise," said Ben Baker, Managing Director of APAC at Vistar Media.
The appointments support Vistar's expanded regional footprint, which now covers nine markets, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The company opened a Bangkok office in 2024 under Sharin Chawla and added offices in Melbourne as part of its APAC expansion.
Southeast Asia's digital outdoor market growth reflects the broader regional digitization of outdoor advertising. The wider sector is projected to reach US$18 billion by 2028, up from US$8 billion in 2022.
Leighton Cosseboom
Vistar added 139,000 venues to its supply-side platform across APAC last year, including 2,000 sites in Thailand. The company's APAC team grew from 22 to 33 employees during the year, enabling localized client support across multiple markets.
Singapore leads the region in programmatic digital outdoor adoption, according to Franck Vidal, Director of Southeast Asia Sales and Partnerships at Vistar Media. "Singapore has led the charge in adopting programmatic digital out-of-home," he noted. Emerging markets like Indonesia and Vietnam are showing rapid inventory digitization as well.
Brand adoption is accelerating alongside infrastructure growth. Vistar reported 51% more brands used its DSP in Australia in 2024, reflecting broader momentum across Southeast Asia.
Vistar's expansion strategy includes educational initiatives to support market maturation. The company's Vistar Academy program educates clients on programmatic strategies, particularly important in emerging markets like Malaysia and Vietnam, where the space adoption is still developing.
The company's localized teams address regional challenges, including fragmented regulations, by providing on-the-ground expertise across its nine-market footprint. This approach aims to simplify cross-border buying and improve campaign efficiency for brands operating across multiple Southeast Asian countries.
The appointments position Vistar to capture growing demand for data-driven outdoor advertising campaigns as brands increasingly seek measurable results from their outdoor spending. With the regional market projected to add over US$90 million in spending in 2025 alone, the strengthened leadership team will focus on expanding DSP partnerships and inventory access across the region's diverse markets.
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