Loyalty & Engagement Awards HK 2026 winners unveiled

MTR Corporation and DigiSalad took top honours at the seventh edition of MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Loyalty and Engagement Awards Hong Kong 2026, claiming Best of Show - Brand and Best of Show - Agency, respectively.

Designed to honour the pinnacle of customer connection and brand devotion in North Asia, the awards brought together industry experts at the Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel on 30 April to see which companies would take home the top accolades. All entries were carefully evaluated by a high-profile panel of 25 professionals.

See the full list of winners here.

See the full jury here. 

Standing out from the crowd and impressing the jury was MTR Corporation, which took home 11 trophies in total, including four golds, five silvers, and two bronzes, along with a number of thought-provoking campaigns: “MTR Mobile 3.0”, “Chiikawa Days in MTR: Small Surprises, Big Impact”, and “The 18-year-old ELEMENTS CLUB: Growing High Quality Customers during Hong Kong’s Retail Winter”. 

The "Chiikawa Days in MTR: Small Surprises, Big Impact" campaign impressed judges by turning efficiency into emotion. MTR moves 4.5 million daily passengers with 99.9% on-time performance, yet the brand felt functional rather than memorable. Running from 12 July to 31 August 2025, the campaign transformed commutes into joyful local experiences as cross-border travel options grew.

To bring emotion into MTR's railway network, the campaign chose the Japanese manga and anime series Chiikawa. Beneath its cuteness lies “iyashi”, the Japanese philosophy of healing through gentleness. The characters face everyday struggles such as work pressure and failure, yet they keep going. MTR saw an opportunity: spread Chiikawa's healing power across the city through its network.

The campaign brought “iyashi” to life across multiple touchpoints, each designed to create surprise and delight for fans. It started with a small but powerful change: at East Tsim Sha Tsui Station, the usual gate beep was replaced with Chiikawa's signature chime. In a crowded station, that unusual sound made people stop and look up.

Once they looked, Chiikawa characters appeared everywhere — peeking from pillars, greeting passengers at service counters. These unexpected moments turned a routine commute into something worth sharing on social media. 

The campaign also featured Chiikawa-themed trains across the Light Rail and Tuen Ma Line, offering passengers a calming escape. Riders could also join a digital quest on MTR Mobile to collect station-themed badges, turning commutes into missions. A weekend fan train let Chiikawa enthusiasts gather onboard with plush toys, spreading joy to non-fans and making MTR part of pop culture through exclusive merchandise and memorable experiences.

On the other hand, DigiSalad won the esteemed Best of Show – Agency award. The agency took home 10 trophies in total: four golds, five silvers, and one bronze, with two thought-provoking campaigns. They include “Together For Your Health – Blua Health AI-powered Loyalty Mobile App” for Blua Health, and “Abbott CRM-Powered Loyalty Platform & Website Development” for Abbott Nutrition VIP Club.  

Impressing the judges the most was the campaign "Abbott CRM-Powered Loyalty Platform & Website Development" for the Abbott Nutrition VIP Club. Launched in January 2025 and still ongoing, it targets individuals and families with health and nutrition needs by centralising Abbott's scattered digital content and customer data into a single customer relationship management (CRM) driven platform.

Built on a CRM-first approach, the programme has provided an intuitive user experience (UX) and user interface (UI), a seamless online-to-offline (O2O) scan-and-earn journey, and personalised engagement to turn everyday purchases into long-term loyalty for both adult and pediatric users.

Given that Abbott products are purchased through major retailers such as Mannings, Wellcome, Watsons and HKTVmall, the campaign has built a closed-loop O2O loyalty programme where consumers upload receipts via the app to earn points. To bridge offline purchases with digital engagement, an AI-powered receipt scanning journey automatically reads and verifies in-store receipts, enabling accurate O2O conversion.

Through a centralised CRM platform, Abbott has consolidated customer data across WhatsApp, email, SMS, and digital channels into a single, real-time view. This enables personalised health and nutrition engagement, including triggered health content and WhatsApp one-on-one consultations, supporting deeper engagement and long-term retention beyond rewards. The platform applies the three-click rule for registration and receipt upload, uses clear navigation and buttons, and works well on both mobile and desktop devices.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE would like to thank the distinguished panel of judges for their time and dedication in reviewing over 320 submissions across 36 categories. We would also like to congratulate all the deserving finalists on their outstanding achievements. A total of 113 trophies were presented to the top brands and agencies in the region. We hope this year's awards will inspire future initiatives across the industry.

Mark your calendars for 24 June! #Content360 Hong Kong returns with a dynamic, one-day event dedicated to pivotal trends—from the silver economies to breakthrough IP collaborations, sports, and beyond. Let's dive into the art of curating content with creativity, critical thinking and confidence!

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