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.
C-Suite Panel
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.
Coffee Break
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 For Growth - How Quick Commerce Enables Future Shopping Behavior
Vietnamese shoppers have stopped planning and started needing. Demand no longer follows the promo calendar; it is triggered in the moment, and the brand that can be reached within minutes wins. Explore why quick commerce is not just a faster channel but a new demand curve, and why winning it means building marketing infrastructure rather than running more campaigns. You'll learn how to connect the ad, the shelf and the doorstep into one marketing system that turns moments of need into acquisitions & habits.
Morning Closing & Networking Lunch
Afternoon Welcome
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
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.
