SMARTIES™ Vietnam Announces 2026 Shortlist, Celebrating 187 Standout Entries

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SMARTIES™ Vietnam has officially announced its 2026 Shortlist, recognizing 187 entries that have distinguished themselves through this year's rigorous judging process and moved one step closer to the coveted SMARTIES™ trophies. This year's award brings together 150 senior marketing leaders and industry experts across judging panels, reinforcing the scale and professional rigor behind SMARTIES™ Vietnam 2026.

187 Entries Making Their Mark in 2026

The SMARTIES™ Vietnam 2026 Shortlist, presented by the Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA), brings together 187 entries spanning a wide range of industries, each offering a distinct response to the increasingly complex challenges facing marketers today. Across creativity, data, technology and consumer engagement, the shortlisted work captures how marketing is being applied to create tangible impact for businesses.

This year's Shortlist features a strong showing from leading brands including Abbott, BYD, Coca-Cola, FPT Play, Google, Grab, Heineken, L'Oréal, MSD, Nestlé, Nutifood, Samsung, Suntory PepsiCo, Unilever and Vietnam Airlines, among many others. It also reflects the work of leading media and creative agencies including Dentsu Creative, Hakuhodo, LEO, MullenLowe Mishra, Omnicom Media, PMAX, Purpose.Ant, TMRW, WPP Media and Zenith.

Reflecting on the progress seen across this year's entries, Rohit Dadwal, CEO of MMA APAC and Global Head of SMARTIES Worldwide, shared:

"Vietnam continues to distinguish itself within the global SMARTIES™ community through its ability to combine technology and data with a deep understanding of local culture and consumers. This year's shortlisted work demonstrates how marketers are translating that combination into creative solutions that address real business challenges and deliver measurable impact."

4 Channels – 25 Categories: A Broader View of Modern Marketing

The range of work represented across this year's 187 shortlisted entries extends across 4 channels and 25 categories. From customer experience, technology and data to emerging platforms and new approaches to engagement, the awards offer a broader view of how marketing is adapting to a changing marketplace and rising consumer expectations.

Beyond the 25 award categories, SMARTIES™ Vietnam 2026 will also recognize excellence through 15 Industry Awards, extending recognition across campaigns, brands, agencies, technology enablers, publishers and other players that have made a notable mark on this year's awards.

The broader scope of SMARTIES™ also reflects the expanding role of marketing and the many ways it creates value for brands, businesses and the wider market, capturing a more complete picture of marketing excellence today.

13 Years of Celebrating Excellence and Shaping the Standards of Marketing in Vietnam

Over 13 years in Vietnam, SMARTIES™ has established itself as one of the country's leading international marketing awards, while growing alongside an industry undergoing profound transformation. Across each season, SMARTIES™ has witnessed the boundaries between creativity, media, data and commerce become increasingly interconnected, reshaping what marketing excellence means today.

Excellence is no longer defined by the ability to capture attention alone, but by the ability to turn ideas into solutions that contribute to sustainable business growth. This principle has remained at the heart of SMARTIES™ for more than a decade.

The credibility of the 2026 awards is further reinforced by 150 industry leaders and experts across the judging panels, comprising 100 Qualifying Jury members and 50 Grand Jury members. Their breadth of expertise and experience brings depth and perspective to the judging process, while ensuring that every campaign is assessed against the standards SMARTIES™ has upheld throughout its journey in Vietnam.

Each campaign is evaluated across strategy, creativity, execution and business impact, providing a comprehensive view of both the quality of the work and the impact it delivers.

Ms. Phan Bich Tam, Managing Director Vietnam and Cambodia & Board Member Vietnam, MMA Global - APAC, emphasized:

"For 13 years, SMARTIES™ Vietnam has celebrated marketing that turns creativity into measurable business value. This year's Shortlist reflects the growing ambition and strategic maturity of Vietnam's marketing community. It also shows how brands and agencies are applying innovation with greater discipline to address real business challenges. Congratulations to every team recognized."

SMARTIES™ Awards Gala

On October 29, SMARTIES™ Vietnam 2026 Gala Night will reveal and celebrate the outstanding campaigns, brands and agencies of this year's competition.

More than the moment when the SMARTIES™ trophies find their winners, Gala Night brings the marketing community together to celebrate the campaigns and teams that have transformed consumer understanding, strategic thinking and creativity into meaningful value for brands and businesses.

View the complete list of SMARTIES Vietnam 2026 Finalists

The industry will gather to celebrate the winners at the SMARTIES™ Vietnam 2026 Awards Gala on October 29, 2026, at GEM Center, Ho Chi Minh City.

Reserve your attendance at the Gala Night.

PR Newswire is the Official Press Release Distribution Partner of SMARTIES™ Vietnam 2026.

About the Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA)

The Marketing + Media Alliance is the global non-profit community of CMOs advancing marketers' ability to create value, with 825+ members across 16 countries. mmaglobal.com

About SMARTIES™

SMARTIES™ is the prestigious marketing awards program hosted by MMA, recognizing excellence in marketing effectiveness and innovation. The SMARTIES Awards celebrate campaigns that push creative boundaries while delivering measurable business impact. With programs spanning local, regional, and global markets, SMARTIES has become the industry's most respected benchmark for marketing that drives real growth.

Media Contact:
Ms. Ngoc Vu
Email: ngoc.vu@mmaglobal.com

MMA Vietnam
mmavn@mmaglobal.com

** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **

SMARTIES™ Vietnam Announces 2026 Shortlist, Celebrating 187 Standout Entries

FRANKFURT, Germany and AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Creality today announces the launch of the multi-color 3D printer SPARKX i8 on Indiegogo, at a super early-bird price of $289 (MSRP $399) starting from Sept. 21. Designed for ultimate user experience, the SPARKX i8 features a single-toolhead, four-channel extrusion architecture that delivers fastest color printing, zero external purge waste, zero prime towers and CMYK full-color printing, bringing multi-color 3D printing to the next generation.

Fastest Four-Color Printing Powered by QuarTeks™

At the core of the SPARKX i8 is Creality's QuarTeks™ Color Change System. The new architecture integrates four independent filament channels into one compact toolhead. Unlike systems that require multiple toolheads or external filament swapping, the i8 pre-loads filaments directly into the quad-channel toolhead to make color changes more efficient.

Near the nozzle tip, QuarTeks™ is equipped with an ultra-short shared filament path of less than 1 mm, or approximately 2 mm³. It is at least 30 times shorter than other shared paths widely used in the market. Powered by the ultra-short path, the i8 is able to switch color channels in less than 1 second, as it significantly reduces filament retraction, feeding and purging. Thus, switching between colors is made as quick and effortless as clicking a four-color ballpoint pen.

With no need to swap toolheads, nozzles, or motion platforms, the i8 greatly enhances the printing efficiency and cuts production time by simplifying the color change mechanism. According to Creality's lab tests of building a four-color tower with 3,000 color switches, the i8 completed the test in around 18 hours, 500% faster than printers with an external feed system.

Zero External Purge Waste

The QuarTeks™ is also built for reducing material waste. The less-than-1-mm shared filament path minimizes the amount of purge waste. Under optimal slicing settings, color transitions can be flushed directly into the model's infill or inner walls, bringing external purge waste down to 0 g*.

*0 g: No external purging during printing. Only a small amount of filament is flushed at the start.

Zero Prime Towers

SPARKX i8 eliminates prime towers by shifting color-change travel into the model's infill paths, without the need to print a separate tower for each color change. This significantly cuts color-transition time under prime-tower-free settings. Meanwhile, a dedicated clean wall isolates infill colors to keep model surfaces impeccable.

CMYK Full-Color Printing

SPARKX i8 also supports full-spectrum layered color printing, capable of creating richer ranges of colors by combining and mixing four base-color filaments across different layers. The layered color mixing* forms intermediate tones, gradients, and variations in brightness through different layer thicknesses and mixing sequences. With just four filament colors, the i8 can produce 16 or even 32 color combinations in a single print, unlocking unlimited possibilities of creations.

*Layered color mixing is not equivalent to precise color matching and cannot perfectly reproduce all specified colors.

AI-Assisted Monitoring

The 13 sensors built into the printhead with AI vision camera monitor four filament channels, switching mechanisms, and key printing statuses, detecting issues in real time such as an empty spool, filament runout, and air printing for faster troubleshooting. In addition, the standalone i8 features automatic filament refill, which allows up to four loaded spools of the same material at once and automatically switches to another when one runs out, enabling larger and more continuous prints.

Crowdfunding Availability & Best Price Ever

Now is the time to get the SPARKX i8 at its best available price by backing the crowdfunding campaign starting from Sept. 21.

Key sales information includes:

• Crowdfunding page link: www.indiegogo.com
• Super early-bird price: $289, with very limited availability, increasing to $399 when super early-bird slots are sold out.
• Free shipping and taxes: The 1,000 backers who order in the first 24 hours will receive a full refund of shipping and taxes, up to $50, after the campaign. The offer is limited to one i8 per backer.
• Shipping time: Orders are scheduled to ship from factories in October, with delivery expected in November, varying by region and local logistics during the Q4 peak season.

 

** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **

Creality Launches SPARKX i8 on Indiegogo at $289, Bringing Fastest, No-Purge-Waste Printing

Creality Launches SPARKX i8 on Indiegogo at $289, Bringing Fastest, No-Purge-Waste Printing

Creality Launches SPARKX i8 on Indiegogo at $289, Bringing Fastest, No-Purge-Waste Printing

Creality Launches SPARKX i8 on Indiegogo at $289, Bringing Fastest, No-Purge-Waste Printing