300+ marketing leaders gather at MMA IMPACT Philippines 2026 to redefine marketing's business value

Manila, Philippines — October 9, 2026 - Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA) brought together more than 300 marketing professionals and over 30 speakers at MMA IMPACT Philippines 2026, held on October 6 at Shangri-La The Fort, Manila, to explore one of the industry's most pressing challenges: how marketers can demonstrate and accelerate their contribution to business growth.

Under the theme "Advancing Marketers' Ability to Create Value," the full-day summit explored how evidence-led decision-making, artificial intelligence, commercial creativity and consumer intelligence are reshaping marketing's role as a driver of growth, profitability and long-term enterprise value.

Opening the summit, Rohit Dadwal, CEO of MMA APAC and Global Head of SMARTIES™, challenged marketers to move beyond opinion-led decisions and embrace a more evidence-based approach to creating measurable business impact. "Marketing's value can no longer be defined by creativity or campaign performance alone. It must be demonstrated through measurable business outcomes. At MMA, our mission is to equip marketers with the evidence, intelligence and capabilities to drive growth, influence business decisions and strengthen marketing's position as a strategic growth engine."

Throughout the day, industry leaders explored how marketing can translate innovation into tangible commercial outcomes. Dhiren Amin of Income Insurance APAC examined how commercial craftsmanship transforms creativity into sustainable growth, while Wence Wenceslao of Unilever highlighted the role of AI-powered orchestration in connecting people, technology and creativity. Kay Veloso of L'Oréal Philippines explored the evolving attention economy, where media, creators and commerce increasingly converge. A discussion on marketing intelligence beyond AI, moderated by Vivek Saxena of InMobi, further explored the role of intelligence and evidence-led decision-making in driving marketing effectiveness.

The afternoon moved to the customer journey and the proof behind it, with Vishnu Mohan of Avyan Holdings and DEPT, Dave Yang of LinkedIn and Dheeraj Raina of Mastercard, panels on the Filipino advantage and on creator-led connection, and a closing panel, Proof Over Opinion, moderated by Gladys R. Basinillo of Intersections Communications Inc.

MMA IMPACT Philippines 2026 was supported by InMobi Advertising as Gold Partner; Belo Medical Group, Century Pacific Food, Inc., GMA Network and PepsiCo as Supporting Partners; and Certified Digital Marketer as Education Partner.

View the IMPACT Philippines 2026 agenda.

SMARTIES™ Philippines 2026 Celebrates Marketing Excellence

The day culminated in the SMARTIES™ Philippines 2026 Gala Night, held at Shangri-La The Fort, Manila, recognizing outstanding marketing campaigns that combined creativity, innovation and measurable business impact.

The awards celebrated the brands and agencies setting new benchmarks for marketing effectiveness in the Philippines, reinforcing MMA's commitment to advancing the value marketing creates.

View the complete list of winners.

About Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA)

Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA) is the global, nonprofit alliance of CMOs and senior marketing leaders working to advance marketers' ability to create value. SMARTIES™ is the only global awards program that measures marketing innovation through business impact. mmaglobal.com

This is a paid press release from the Marketing + Media Alliance.