Nicholas Kontopoulos, Vice President of Marketing, Asia Pacific & Japan at Twilio comments on the trends impacting digital customer engagement strategies in this catch-up with MarTechSeries:

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Hi Nicholas, take us through your tech/SaaS journey so far and your role at Twilio.

My journey into tech and SaaS hasn’t been linear, and that is also what fuels my passion today. I started out quite far from the world of marketing, working initially as an insurance underwriter, followed by sales roles. This mix of early exposure to people, process, and possibility is what seeded my fascination for crafting meaningful customer experiences.

Over time, I’ve been fortunate to work across Adobe (as the APAC Regional Head of Growth Marketing for Adobe DX), SAP (as Global VP for Fast Growth Markets Marketing), and some shorter stints at Magento (an adobe company), Capita, and other global firms. All of these deepened my understanding of how disciplined creativity can power business results.

Currently at Twilio, I serve as VP of Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan, a company I’ve long admired. Since joining in May 2022, I’ve been responsible for the overarching marketing strategy across APJ, with one guiding mantra: powering authentic engagement at scale. My role is to help the people behind the brands become effective drivers of change. We do this by enabling businesses to reimagine customer engagement, using tools that help integrate data, automate intelligently, and enhance personalisation, while keeping trust and transparency front and center.

We’d love to hear about some of Twilio’s recent enhancements and how they are set to impact end users?

At Twilio, our focus has always been on helping brands reimagine how they engage with their customers. I’ve seen first-hand the difficulties businesses face when data is fragmented in silos. That’s why I’m particularly excited about how we’re evolving our Customer Engagement Platform, bringing together tools like Twilio Segment (our CDP), messaging, voice, email, and our contact centre solution, Flex to unify data and channels so businesses can act in real time.

Recent enhancements like Twilio’s conversational AI  with Segment, allow brands to create what I call ‘brand utility.’ Imagine you call a support line, first you speak to an AI agent who resolves your query, and if it needs to be escalated, you’re seamlessly handed off to a human agent who already has your full context, without the need to repeat yourself. This is not just efficiency; it’s empathy at scale.

For end users, this means experiences that feel natural, contextual, and respectful. For businesses, this means stronger loyalty and more meaningful outcomes.

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What do most brands still get wrong about digital customer engagement in your view?

If there’s one pattern I’ve noticed throughout my career, it is that too many brands approach technology like a quick fix. They buy tools before they have defined the problem. The result? engagement feels disjointed. Channels still operate in silos, and data is underutilized. Gartner calls this “dark data,” information that exists but isn’t being activated. Customers notice. They’re sophisticated; they know when their data is being used in ways that don’t add value.

Brands need to think more about building utility-based relationships, one that are based on transparency, accountability, and respect for customer choice, rather than bombarding them with messages.

Can you share highlights on some brands who boast of above par customer engagement strategies?

My current brand crush is Boss. I really love their recent brand repositioning and feel that they deliver a strong engagement experience via both the Physical and Digital Channels they engage me with.

Within India, I’d call out Reliance Retail. They are leveraging Twilio Segment to unify its customer data across multiple brands. Their goal is simple yet powerful: use AI to deliver contextual engagement so customers get the right offer, on the right channel, at the right time.

Another example is Driva in Australia, a fintech company that is also using AI to do something similar in the mortgage and loans space. They are using AI to deliver hyper-relevant experiences, not just at one single touchpoint but across the journey

What sets these brands apart is not just the technology, but their mindset. They have invested in data maturity, built cross-functional teams, and focused on outcomes. It is this combination of people, process, and technology that takes customer engagement from good to great.

How can marketing teams make more optimized use of AI-powered martech to drive deeper customer engagement goals effectively?

AI is only as good as the strategy and data behind it.

My advice to marketing teams is to; first, start with the problem statement, not the tech. Don’t just buy martech for the sake of it, define what outcome you want to achieve. Next is to break down the internal silos. Build cross-functional squads that bring together marketing, sales, CX, and IT. Customers don’t live in silos; neither should your teams.

Then double down on first-party and zero-party data. This is where AI becomes powerful in predicting, contextualising and personalising customer experiences. And finally, be transparent. Let users know how data and AI are being used and give them the ability to switch to human interaction when they want.

AI is not magic, it’s a multiplier. When combined with human creativity and empathy, it can multiply impact.

Five thoughts on martech, AI, modern marketing you’d leave everyone with before we wrap up?

Here are my five key takeaways –

• Start with the customer, not the technology. Always work backwards from the problem you are trying to solve and the experience you want to deliver.
• Trust is your strongest currency. Create transparent, respectful experiences that drive brand value.
• AI is a co-pilot, not the driver. Use it to amplify human creativity and empathy, not replace it.
• Break the funnel mindset. Customer journeys are dynamic, so organise based on outcomes rather than old models to make customers feel deeply personal.
• Individualisation is the next frontier. Personalisation at scale is table stakes, the future lies in experiences tailored to each person’s unique context.

If brands can position themselves around these principles, they will not just keep up with change, but lead it.

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