SmartNews Announces 64 Certified Companies for 2026 in 'SmartNews Ads Partner Program'
On May 21, SmartNews Corporation announced the 64 partners certified for 2026 under its 'SmartNews Ads Partner Program.' Based on annual sales performance, partners are certified in one of five ranks and receive exclusive benefits, aiming to enhance value for advertisers and deepen business collaboration.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 22, 2026 at 20:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 22, 2026 at 11:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 23, 2026 at 09:52 (22h 20m after Collected)
Launched in April 2024, the 'Partner Rank System' certifies partner companies into one of five ranks—Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, or Bronze—based on their advertising sales performance. Since May 2025, the company has been providing new ad products in location-based advertising and sales promotion, while accelerating solution development for brand advertising under the new concept 'Deep Attention & Deep Moments.' It is also improving the environment for advertisers by supporting third-party measurement of ad effectiveness.
Under this program, ranks are determined once a year based on sales performance from April to the end of March of the following year. Partners with outstanding performance are offered exclusive benefits according to their rank.
Exclusive benefits include three types of award badges—'Top Sales Partner,' 'Top Growth Partner,' and 'Best Branding Partner'—and certified rank badges that can be displayed on websites and business cards. Other benefits include company name publication on the SmartNews Ads website, discounts on initial ad delivery for new accounts, and invitations to exclusive offline events.
The 2026 certified partner companies (64) and award badge recipients are as follows (in alphabetical order):
**Diamond (3 companies)**
- CARTA ZERO, Inc. | Dentsu Digital Inc. (Joint Award)
- CyberAgent, Inc. (Top Sales Partner)
- Hakuhodo DY ONE Inc. (Best Branding Partner)
**Platinum (4 companies)**
- WEB GRAM INC.
- Discovery Inc.
- DIGITAL HEARTS CROSS Singapore Pte. Ltd.
- boxXXX Inc.
**Gold (13 companies)**
- UN5UNG BUT Inc.
- Uwasa Inc.
- OPT, Inc.
- COCOSYS Inc.
- Slayers inc.
- Septeni Inc.
- NAKAI Inc. (Top Growth Partner)
- Neko Inc. (Top Growth Partner)
- Bleach Inc.
- Full. Inc.
- BlueVision Interactive Limited (Top Growth Partner)
- MAVEL Inc.
- Mugen Inc.
**Silver (17 companies)**
- Adways Inc.
- ADK Digital Communications Inc.
- Anymo Inc.
- KenTo Inc.
- CyberZ, Inc.
- Spectrum Inc.
- Souriant Inc.
- SOLD OUT, Inc.
- WPP Media Japan K.K.
- DATA-ONE Inc.
- BABOON Lab Inc.
FAQ
What is the SmartNews Ads Partner Program?
It is a certification program for SmartNews advertising agencies. Partner companies are certified into five ranks—Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze—based on their advertising sales performance from April to the following March.
How many partner companies were certified in 2026?
A total of 64 companies were certified. The breakdown is 3 Diamond, 4 Platinum, 13 Gold, 17 Silver, and others.
Which companies were certified as Diamond rank in 2026?
The three Diamond rank companies are CARTA ZERO Co., Ltd. and Dentsu Digital Co., Ltd. (jointly), CyberAgent, Inc., and Hakuhodo DY ONE, Inc.
What benefits do partners receive?
Benefits include limited-edition awards and certification badges for display on websites, discounts on account setup fees, and invitations to exclusive events.
What types of special award badges are there?
There are three types: 'Top Sales Partner,' 'Top Growth Partner,' and 'Best Branding Partner.' These are awarded to companies with the highest advertising sales, sales growth rate, and branding advertising performance, respectively.