Thought Leadership
Open for Registration
Opening Remarks
Driving Growth in an Insurgent Driven Environment
Growth today is increasingly being shaped by insurgents: brands that move faster, stay closer to consumers, and challenge the conventions of established categories. In this environment, scale alone is no longer an advantage. Winning requires incumbents to combine the strengths of scale with the speed, obsession and mindset of an insurgent. This session explores how leaders can build that mindset to unlock real, sustainable growth.
The New Luxury: Human Connection in an AI-Driven World
As AI increasingly acts, decides, and transacts on our behalf, businesses are racing to automate every interaction. But in removing friction, are we also removing something people increasingly value: genuine human connection? This session explores the emerging tension between efficiency and empathy, and why the next frontier of innovation may not be more automation, but designing experiences that make people feel understood, valued, and genuinely connected.
CMO Panel
What CMOs and CFOs Get Wrong About Profitable Growth, and How to Fix It
CMOs and CFOs often evaluate marketing through different time horizons, evidence and definitions of value. Marketing may focus on customer demand and brand growth, while finance prioritises margin, risk and financial return. This debate examines how both functions can align on investment decisions, measurement and resource allocation. Speakers will discuss which marketing metrics belong in the boardroom, how to evaluate long-term brand investment and what both functions must change to create profitable growth.
Break & Networking
CEO Panel
The Next Growth Bet: Where CEOs Will Invest and What They Will Stop
How CEOs choose between new customers, innovation, new channels, and existing businesses; what earns investment; what they stop funding
Architect Marketing System to Capture New Growth Trend: How Marketers Lead the Quick Commerce at Scale
The Retention Dividend: Turning Experience, Loyalty and Community into Lifetime Value
Acquisition creates a customer. Retention creates durable value. This panel examines how brands can connect customer experience, loyalty, first-party data, service and community to reduce churn, increase repeat purchase and grow customer lifetime value. Speakers will explore how marketing leaders can move beyond campaign-based engagement and build customer relationships that contribute to sustainable revenue and long-term business growth.
Lunch Break
Afternoon Welcome Speech by MC
Vietnam’s New Discovery Journey: Search, Social, Creators and AI Answers
Vietnamese consumers no longer follow a linear discovery journey. They move between search engines, social feeds, creators, marketplaces and AI assistants that can surface, compare and recommend brands in real time. This panel explores the moments that shape consumer preference and how AI is transforming discovery, consideration and decision-making. Speakers will discuss how brands can strengthen visibility, relevance and credibility across these connected journeys while balancing personalisation, human judgment and consumer trust.
Showcase: SMARTIES Vietnam - Best Campaigns in 2026
Coca-Cola Celebr-Ate: Rewiring the 5-Minute Meal
Beyond AI: Building Connected Intelligence for Customer Growth
Marketing intelligence is bigger than artificial intelligence alone. It is the ability to connect consumer insight, media signals, customer journeys, commerce data and human judgment to make faster and more effective decisions. This panel examines how brands can move beyond fragmented tools and isolated data sources to build a connected intelligence system for customer growth. Speakers will discuss how connected intelligence can improve audience understanding, personalisation, journey design, customer experience and retention while keeping technology aligned with business priorities.
Showcase: SMARTIES Vietnam - Best Campaigns in 2026
Không Một Mình - We Got You
What Do Not Change in a Changing World – SMILES Marketing
We live in a world that is changing faster than ever: technology, consumer behaviors, media channels, and market dynamics continue to evolve at an incredible pace. Yet amidst all these changes, some fundamentals remain timeless. So “What Does Not Change in a Changing World” and how the SMILES Marketing framework helps us stay grounded in the fundamentals that continue to create more value for consumers, brands, and businesses.
SMARTIES AWARDS VIETNAM 2026: Knowledge Partner Analysis
Powered by Toluna, SMARTIES Insights 2026 dives deep into the data and stories behind Vietnam’s most outstanding marketing cases — revealing the trends shaping the next wave of creativity, technology, and consumer connection.
