By The Malketeer
When most agencies talk about integration, it’s a tagline; for GrowthOps Asia, it’s the business model.
While the rest of the region’s advertising market shrank in 2024, GrowthOps Asia bucked the trend —posting double-digit growth and lifting margins by more than half.
The magic is in a deliberate balance between strategy, creative, media, and technology—with artificial intelligence embedded in every layer.
Integration That Outlasts Disruption
“We’re doubling down on integrated strategy, creative, media, and tech—with AI in every step,” says Chris Greenough, General Manager of GrowthOps Asia in an exclusive interview with the Marketing Magazine.
“That’s how we balance services and act as a true marketing-transformation partner to the C-suite.”
In an era where holding companies are trimming costs and boutique shops are chasing viral fame, GrowthOps is quietly rewriting the agency playbook.
It’s not chasing every shiny new app or trend; it’s building AI-native workflows that actually work—practical, scalable, and deeply human.
That philosophy paid off handsomely.
Even as APAC ad revenues took a hit, GrowthOps strengthened its regional footprint—retaining more than 90% of its top-tier clients, many of whom have been with the agency for over six years.
Malaysia: The Beating Heart of GrowthOps
From its Malaysian base, GrowthOps fuels demand across Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines—and increasingly, the Middle East.
But rather than expanding for vanity’s sake, Greenough insists on depth over breadth.
“Our growth model is about retention and multi-market depth,” he explains.
“We’ve stayed sticky because our teams are designed around solving client problems, not chasing awards.”
Still, the awards have come thick and fast:
Add to that a Salesforce CRM build for Hong Leong Bank and a new website for Tennis Australia, and you see the shape of a truly regional player emerging.
The CelcomDigi Effect
One of GrowthOps’ biggest wins this year was the Creative, Digital, and Social remit for CelcomDigi.
To deliver at that scale, GrowthOps built a dedicated studio— merging once-fragmented functions into one seamless unit.
“It reflects a growing shift toward embedded creative models that prioritise agility, efficiency, and scale,” adds Greenough.
Internally, the agency has evolved too.
It now operates through three major hubs led by Michelle Hor (Creative Hub 1), Kelsey Rabindran (Creative Hub 2), and Farah Smurthwaite (Performance Media), while Adzam Bahrin has been elevated to Executive Creative Director, solidifying GrowthOps’ expanding creative leadership.
When AI Becomes Practical
If there’s one word that defines GrowthOps 2025, it’s practicality.
While others chase buzzwords, GrowthOps embeds AI where it matters most—in research synthesis, generative content, and media forecasting.
Its proprietary GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) tool is already redefining SEO, while a new machine-learning system sharpens media forecasts.
October 2025 marked a milestone: the launch of Opus by parent company Applied AI—billed as the enterprise standard for agentic automation.
Opus lets businesses rewire workflows into AI-native, human-supervised processes in minutes.
GrowthOps’ tech practice is now implementing Opus for clients and using it internally to automate its own processes.
“We don’t adopt AI for AI’s sake,” Greenough stresses.
“Without the right culture and ownership, technology won’t deliver results. Tools don’t deliver outcomes—teams do.”
Culture as the Secret Sauce
In an industry notorious for burnout, GrowthOps’ attrition rate of just 4% stands out.
More than a quarter of interns became full-time hires,with fifteen rising into leadership roles.
Its GOFlex hybrid model, which lets teams determine their own office rhythm, earned TalentCorp’s Life at Work 2024 Bronze.
“We believe autonomy breeds accountability,” says Greenough.
“Some teams come in once a week, others three times. There’s no one-size-fits-all.”
Nearly a hundred staff across Malaysia gained new certifications in Adobe, Salesforce, and other platforms—proof that GrowthOps is nurturing lifelong learners, not just executors.
A View from the Frontlines
Greenough is clear-eyed about the road ahead.
“AI is compressing the value chain and enabling disintermediation. The agencies that will win are those that pair adoption with culture and real integration.”
He believes a minimalist movement may soon sweep social media—a “decluttering” of feeds that pushes marketers back to trusted, high-attention channels and authentic storytelling.
“AI-generated content will flood the pipes,” he cautions.
“That sameness will push brands to rediscover what makes them human again.”
The Bigger Picture
For all its tech bravado, GrowthOps remains deeply human at its core.
Its leadership remains active in the 4As and IAA — advocating for ethical digital transformation while keeping client conversations practical and transparent.
As the agency deepens its collaboration with Applied AI, the next 12–18 months will see GrowthOps evolve into a marketing-transformation partner capable of helping enterprises become AI-native—without losing their soul.
Greenough sums it up neatly, “People still buy services from people. AI doesn’t change that—it just helps us do it better.”
So what can marketers learn from GrowthOps ascent?
Playbook for Sustainable Growth
As Malaysia’s marketing landscape prepares for another wave of AI-driven transformation, GrowthOps Asia stands as proof that technology alone doesn’t drive success—people do.
Its formula of deep integration, practical innovation, and cultural coherence has turned what could have been a buzzword-ridden experiment into a regional growth story.
In a market hungry for authenticity, that may just be the smartest growth strategy of all.
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