This post has now been updated for marketing conferences in 2017.
In my past couple of years growing a company, I’ve learned that nothing gives me as much insight, knowledge, confidence, and renewed energy to lead my team through the latest trends and changes in the field as industry conferences — and connecting with the leaders who attend them. Meeting fellow attendees and speakers at conferences can teach you a lot about the industry, where it’s heading, and how you can lead your company there.
However, it’s difficult to identify exactly which events to look into. These conferences — which I have either attended, spoken at, or looked at closely — have helped me stay ahead of the latest trends:
1. B2B Content2Conversion Conference, Feb. 15-17 in Scottsdale, Arizona
This year’s B2B C2C conference will welcome more than 600 marketers and host more than 40 unique sessions and workshops in two focused tracks: demand generation and content strategy.
Each track will leave marketers with comprehensive understandings of the most effective tools and tech for demand gen and the skills to develop high-quality content strategies, respectively, and attendees can mix and match to best meet their needs. And with speakers like Forrester Research analyst Laura Ramos and Nasdaq Chief Marketing Officer Jeremy Skule, this conference is sure to set you and your team up for success through the rest of the year.
2. iMedia Brand Summit, Feb. 21-24 in Amelia Island, Florida
Powerful advertisers and leading agencies attend the iMedia summits to discuss industry shift points, collaborate with senior peers, and meet the top solution providers and publishers driving marketing innovation.
This year’s topics include how to grow ROI in a fractured marketing landscape, the modern agency’s survival guide, and the next wave of marketing and technology. Participation is invitation-only, which means that everyone in attendance — peers, session partners, and potential networking connections — is a qualified marketer.
3. High Five Conference, March 2-3 in Raleigh, North Carolina
High Five brings together marketing and creative professionals to learn from one another to improve innovation on their teams. Because marketing strategists and creative designers rely on one another in equal measure to communicate their messages and achieve their respective goals, this unique conference encourages insightful collaboration.
Optional half-day intensive workshops, five keynote speakers, and more than 20 breakout sessions provide marketers and designers ample opportunity to gain insight into one another’s processes and to work together to drive impressive results for their teams.
4. The CMO Club Spring Innovation and Inspiration Summit, April 5-6 in New York City
This has been one of my favorite events. To attend, you have to be a member of the club or be approved because it’s big on creating a “non-selling” event so senior marketers feel comfortable. CMO Club Founder Pete Krainik has a natural gift for entertaining and breaking down barriers to facilitate real conversations. Bringing together 200 senior marketing executives, this high-energy conference will empower attendees to tackle the biggest challenges facing CMOs and the marketing industry itself. With more than 50 top marketing executives from brands like Time Warner, Samsung, Neiman Marcus, and Sprint, this year’s summit will inspire attendees to continue innovating in this ever-changing industry.
5. Ad Age Digital Conference, April 5-6 in New York City
It’s the 10th anniversary of Ad Age’s Digital Conference, which brings together big brand, media, and tech experts to address head-on the newest trends shaping the future of digital marketing.
Tackling timely, pressing topics such as ad blocking, ad fraud, and even our understanding of what advertising really means today, this conference will surely induce marketers, advertisers, and their agencies to rethink the direction of the industry and innovate a new path forward. In a quick conversation with Rocquan Lewis, the event’s content manager, I could tell he wasn’t scared to address tough issues he knew the audience needed to hear.
6. Marketing United, April 18-20 in Nashville, Tennessee
This intimate, inspiring conference will host some of the biggest names in the industry for its second annual event at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. This year, Marketing United will welcome back keynote speakers such as Scott Stratten and Jay Baer, one of our clients, and will hear from leaders at a variety of content marketing companies about subjects including marketing strategy, content development, SEO, and more. Marketing United excels at delivering authentic brand and marketing stories that resonate at a high level with a savvy crowd — and it sold out in 2015.
7. Gartner Digital Marketing Conference, May 17–19 in San Diego
After a successful launch last year, the Gartner conference is back — this time with a focus on data-driven marketing, mastering customer experience, and integrating tech into marketing strategies. Featuring a mix of keynote speakers, Gartner’s own market analysts, and case studies directly from the most innovative marketers across the B2B and B2C spectrum, this event is great for senior digital marketing leaders, especially ones who rely on detailed data to support marketing decisions.
8. Content Marketing Conference, May 17-19 in Las Vegas
CMC is one of the newest conferences to appear in the past couple of years. If you have a hunger for content marketing knowledge but are intimidated by the size of a conference like Content Marketing World, then check out this smaller option. Writer’s Access CEO Byron White is really big on tactics for applying content, so be ready to hear plenty of actionable steps to take back to your company.
9. ITSMA Marketing Leadership Forum, May 24-25 in Napa Valley, California
This year’s forum will focus on enabling sales teams to better collaborate with thought leadership and improve marketing through better customer insight, greater personalization, targeted content, and the effective leveraging of new tools and tech. I’ve talked to ITSMA CEO Dave Munn several times, and he has a natural passion for getting the right topics and content for this audience.
This conference is designed for marketing, sales, and technology professionals at the director level and above to meet and to learn about topics and trends facing the marketing industry. And the smaller, more intimate setting of this forum facilitates easy communication and networking opportunities for established leaders to exchange actionable ideas.
10. PRSA 2016 Strategic Collaboration Conference, May 24-25 in Chicago
I spent a decent amount of time researching PR events, too, because public relations and marketing are converging, and if you don’t understand them both well, then you’ll miss out on maximizing the value that comes from them working together. Therefore, even though two conferences on this list focus on PR, marketers should still take a look at attending.
This conference will focus on the skills PR, marketing, and advertising professionals need if they’re looking to integrate digital and more traditional communication channels and advance in our new, collaborative environment. In a time when seamless integration and collaboration between departments and marketing initiatives is critical, participants will learn through extensive how-to sessions and case studies about the connection between traditional and digital communication and how to leverage it to achieve their goals.
11. PR News Digital PR & Marketing Conference, June 6-8 in Miami
PR News’ conference is an annual gathering of communicators and digital strategies and tactics led by engaging presenters who represent the entire spectrum, from B2B and B2C companies to nonprofit organizations and agencies.
Over the course of just a few days, you will get practical knowledge to increase the visibility of your brand, expand your reach on social media, put data at the heart of all your communications programs, work with influencers and manage crises, and tie digital communications efforts back to the bottom line. PR News specifically recruits speakers who work in the trenches of digital PR and marketing, so they can speak directly to your pain points and offer actionable tips for you to implement right away. Plus, you can receive executive summaries of the events you attend via email after the event, which is great for helping you focus more on listening, engaging, and networking than on scribbling notes.
12. MobileBeat, July 12-13 in San Francisco
MobileBeat is the premier Silicon Valley event focusing on major mobile trends that leaders need to know about. Why mobile? Because it’s where consumers spend most of their digital time. This year, the event is hyper-focused on the big shift toward AI, messaging, and bots, which is changing how brands engage consumers — and transforming apps as we know them.
MobileBeat is where you’ll get a significant head start on how forward-thinking brands are leveraging this new channel. Speakers will include top execs from Google, Airbnb, Expedia, Staples, Kik, Slack, Shopify, and Zillow. The bot revolution is here: It only makes sense to arm yourself.
13. Content Marketing World, Sept. 6-9 in Cleveland
Content Marketing World is the premier event for marketing professionals — from content creators all the way to vice presidents, directors of content and CMOs — to learn about trends and the direction of the industry from the company that’s setting the pace. I’m a big fan of the Content Marketing Institute team and how it integrates research and quality content into its events.
Thousands of attendees, more than 200 speakers, and a diverse lineup of sessions and workshops are practically guaranteed to leave you and your team inspired and prepared to develop, improve, execute, and track data-driven, engaging content that grows your business.
14. The Ascendant Gatherings — Digital, Sept. 8-9 in Silicon Valley
The Ascendant is an exclusive, nomination-based professional network for the most prominent and progressive senior executives at the forefront of marketing transformation. Along with hard-hitting content, what sets this conference apart is its strong focus on elevating member influence through a series of personal branding resources, one-on-one executive coaching sessions, and high-level networking opportunities.
Ascendant’s closed-door, off-the-record environment leads to deeper, more meaningful relationships with the change makers leading today’s marketing evolution. Past speakers have included heavy hitters like PepsiCo North America CMO Seth Kaufman; Taco Bell's then-chief brand engagement officer, Marisa Thalberg; and Marriott International Global Marketing Officer Karin Timpone.
15. MozCon, Sept. 12-14 in Seattle
MozCon is not your typical marketing conference. It’s three days of forward-thinking content and actionable advice from industry leaders in SEO, social media, community building, content marketing, brand development, conversion rate optimization, analytics, and more.
MozCon speakers share next-level advice on everything from building a loyal community to making data-driven decisions in marketing. You won’t find any stuffy networking events here — you can connect with industry leaders, chat with the speakers and Moz staff, pick up some cool swag, and even get a hug from Moz’s friendly robot, Roger.
16. Brand ManageCamp, Sept. 15-16 in Las Vegas
The Brand ManageCamp conference helps both large and small companies become profitable, strong brands. This event goes beyond the basic ideals of marketing and advertising and provides attendees with forward-thinking insights on customer behavior, strategy, metrics, leadership, and more from some of the top industry leaders.
Brand ManageCamp CEO Len Herstein typically brings together a solid group of experts and authors in specific verticals to engage the audience he knows so well. I’ve done webinars with him before, and he’s no slouch about ensuring the content matches what he knows his audience needs to hear.
17. Digital Marketing Innovation Summit, Sept. 15-16 in Los Angeles
The Digital Marketing Innovation Summit consists of C-level speakers, interactive keynote presentations, and a networking opportunity to connect with 600 other digital marketing leaders. This year’s conference in LA will help attendees — who work in roles ranging from CMO and director of marketing to SVP of social media and head of content — refine and strengthen their strategies to enhance customer engagement.
Bringing together more than 100 leading digital marketers as speakers, including the VP of product marketing at Vevo, head of marketing at Tumblr, VP of content creation at Huffington Post, and others from Google, U.S. Bank, and more, this summit will cover topics like omnichannel marketing, brand loyalty, social ROI, mobile marketing, and personalization.
18. Innovate! and Celebrate Conference Sept. 20-22 in San Jose
Consumer Technology Association, which produces CES, and Tech.Co are joining forces to put on Innovate! and Celebrate, a three-day global conference in Silicon Valley where the biggest names in tech intersect with cutting-edge startups from around the world.
The conference will offer inspiring speakers on the top trending technologies; unique off-site excursions; workshops; a global pitch competition, Startup of the Year Party; and more.
19. Percolate Transition Conference, Sept. 21-22 in New York City
Entering its third year, this young but ambitious conference explores the ways economic, consumer, and technology changes are transforming marketing and advises brand leaders on staying ahead of key trends. Described as “TED for marketers” by Oxford economist and 2015 speaker Max Roser, this conference challenges attendees to think big about their global impact and the professional opportunities that lie ahead.
I talked with Percolate marketing director Chris Bolman and could tell the event is focused on what’s truly educational for senior level marketers and isn’t stuck on being a cheerleader for the company's own tech, as is sometimes the case at events.
20. FutureM 2016, Sept. 21-22 in Boston
In its 7th year, FutureM brings together mid- and senior- level marketers from B2B and B2C brands to discuss the ideas and technologies fueling the future of marketing. For two days, attendees spend part of the day hearing inspirational ideas and the rest of the day discussing how to put those ideas into action.
FutureM speakers include star-studded marketers with incredible experiences, while others are quiet giants — leaders and boundary pushers. Speakers this year include Joi Ito, the director of MIT Media Lab; Sam Olstein, the global director of innovation at GE; and Andrew Bosworth, vice president of Facebook's ad and business platform.
21. Share16, October 24-26 in San Francisco
The Incite Marketing Summit attracts an enviable collection of major marketing leaders from some of the biggest brands in the world. This year, more than 60 senior marketing executives from companies like Adidas, Clorox, Mondeléz, Citi, Toyota, Hershey, American Express, Virgin America, Twitter, and HSBC will speak.
The 2016 agenda will focus on three core topics: personalization, content and storytelling, and marketing attribution. Through a series of keynotes, discussions, and case studies, attendees — 70 percent of whom are senior end-user marketers — will learn best practices and future strategies from in-house leaders across many industries.
23. INBOUND, Nov. 8-11 in Boston
Held annually in Boston, INBOUND attracts thousands of marketers from around the world to be inspired by remarkable content, ideas, strategies, and impressive peers. With more than 250 speakers and breakout sessions, marketing and sales professionals have no shortage of options to choose from.
In past years, keynote speakers varied from Brené Brown to Aziz Ansari — quite different in approaches, but both interesting. INBOUND also hosts a night of entertainment, which in 2015 included a comedy show by Amy Schumer. Members of the Influence & Co. marketing team attended last year and still tell me about implementing ideas they brought back from the conference to improve our inbound marketing efforts.
As the digital marketing industry continues to evolve, these dynamic, inspirational, and actionable conferences will continue be a must for any communication professional or business leaders looking to prepare themselves and their teams to take on this new, evolving industry. If you’d like to recommend an event I didn’t include, let me know in the comments. I’m always looking for opportunities to learn and grow as a leader and a marketer, and I’d love to hear what conferences you’re attending that help you do the same.
John Hall is the CEO of Influence & Co., a company that specializes in expertise extraction and knowledge management that is used to fuel marketing efforts.
