If you think of boring beige conference rooms when you hear the words “marketing conference,” think again.
Attending a digital marketing conference today is comparable to attending a music festival. Imagine a Coachella for marketers!
Okay, maybe that’s a bit extreme, but increasingly more of these events are deciding to ditch the hotel conference rooms in favor of more unique locations, like an abandoned skatepark. (Yes, I’ve actually attended a digital marketing conference that took place in a skatepark. The seating was quite, well, interesting).
Besides thinking up unusual locations for their events, the planning teams behind these conferences are sourcing speakers from outside of the realm of marketing. For example, Will.i.am, Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling and a host of other celebrities have been added to conference agendas alongside familiar marketing industry experts, like Lee Oden or Neil Patel.
So, if you’re interested in experiencing what a modern-day digital marketing conference is like, here are our top picks:
Date: February 24-27, 2020
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Let’s face it: the future of digital marketing is mobile. So, if you want to learn more about mobile marketing and where the industry is headed, then book yourself a ticket to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress (MWC). MWC is the largest mobile event, however, the event’s agenda has been broadened to focus on showcasing all of the impressive innovations coming out of the broader tech industry. For example, this year’s has tracks dedicated to AI, 5G, and security & privacy.
Because the conference takes place in Europe, a large majority of the brands represented on stage may not be familiar to U.S. audiences, which may be the perfect way to discover new sources of inspiration.
Date: March 1-3, 2020
Location: San Diego, California
Sponsored by the Social Media Examiner this social media marketing conference offers attendees the opportunity to hear from veteran experts within the social space. Ann Handley, Mari Smith, and Jay Baer have spoken at the conference for the past several years.
And despite the name of the conference, the for Social Media Marketing World makes it clear that this conference addresses topics other than just social media.
Like the aforementioned speakers, many of the people at Social Media Marketing World have been attending the conference for years. The high number of repeat attendees has created a real sense of community around this event. So, if your objective is to brush elbows with industry experts, your odds are pretty good at this marketing conference.
Date: March 22 -23, 2020
Location: San Francisco, California
This one is for the PR pros out there! If you are interested in learning more about where the future of PR is headed and networking with other PR executives, then this PR conference could be the ticket. With a wide-ranging agenda, the topics covered during this event will touch upon both the positive and negative shifts taking place in the PR industry.
Date: June 18-19 2020
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Want to see how technology is evolving? Or, discover how we are evolving in response to technology? The Next Web is an ideal place to get inspired by and witness the innovations taking place in the tech industry. Described as a “Woodstock for innovators,” attending this conference is similar to going to a music festival—only with a bunch of marketing and tech futurists.
TNW offers multiple tracks all centered on technology: corporate innovation, the future of work, innovation within retail, sustainable societies, and many more. Leading these tracks are the founders and CEOs of companies like David Cancel (Drift), Tom Szaky (Terra Cycle) and Djamel Agaoua (Viber) that are changing the way we communicate, recycle and text.
Date: June 17-20, 2020
Location: Anaheim, California
Alright, VidCon may not qualify as a marketing conference, but that doesn’t mean marketers can’t learn a thing or two from attending this event. The event offers marketers the opportunity to see how younger generations are using video to connect with audiences around the globe. Anyone that loves watching or making YouTube, Instagram or TikTok videos is sure to walk away with several new insights on how to create better content, grow a YouTube channel’s audience, and maintain an online following.
Warning: the audience for the event does skew quite young as many of the attendees are fans of the famous vloggers hosting the different sessions.
6.
Date: July 6 -18, 2020
Location: Seattle, Washington
This one is for the SEO strategist (or content marketer that wants to improve their SEO skills) reading this list. MozCon is a three-day conference that focuses solely on search marketing. If you want to discover tactics that will help improve your ranking on Google, this is the place to do it. What this marketing conference lacks in terms of celebrity keynote speakers, it makes up for in terms of subject matter expertise. Clearly, the team responsible for planning this conference knows there stuff when it comes to SEO marketing because every year they curate a list of some of the in the space.
7.
Date: August 18-21, 2020
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Hosted by HubSpot, this marketing conference features over 250 sessions from inspiring marketers and influencers. In the past, people like Michelle Obama, Chelsea Handler, and Katie Couric have all spoken at INBOUND. And while the keynote speakers may not be marketers themselves, the breakout sessions are hosted by marketers from inspiring brands like SurveyMonkey, Drift, and, of course, HubSpot. With its nightly parties, this marketing conference does things a bit differently than most others—but that’s the goal. The diverse speaker line-up and informal atmosphere are more conducive to getting inspired.
Date: October 13-16, 2020
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
With over 125 sessions and workshops presented by the leading brand marketers, it’s a challenge for any content marketer to choose which sessions to attend at Content Marketing World. More than 4,000 marketers attend this marketing conference in Cleveland, Ohio looking to return back to their office with inspiring new content ideas and insights on how to improve their content marketing strategy.
The speakers at Content Marketing World are a mix of marketing thought leaders as well as marketing practitioners. The variety of speakers and session types ensures that attendees walk away inspired and with actionable advice. For many marketers, this event is the highlight of the year, which is why so many of the attendees return year after year. Always a good sign.
Date: October 7-8, 2020
Location: Chicago, Illinois
This one-day marketing conference is hosted by G2. Yes, it may sound odd that a review site is hosting a marketing conference, but so much of marketing today revolves around the customer journey, which is why this conference makes perfect sense for any marketers looking to adopt a customer-first approach.
More than 500 people attended Reach 2019, and unlike other marketing conferences, the audience was a mix of sales, customer service, and marketing professionals. Although this digital marketing conference only lasts 12-hours, it caters to modern marketers interested in understanding their customer’s journey from a more holistic perspective.
Date: November 2-5, 2020
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
According to Inc., this conference is “The best technology conference on the planet.” Over 70,000 people attended Web Summit last year—making it the largest marketing conference on the list. And given the number of attendees, it shouldn’t be surprising that the conference features over 1,200 speakers. From Huawei to Google, Microsoft to Amazon, all of the biggest names in tech (and the government officials trying to regulate them) were present in 2019.
Well, there you have it! Our list of the top digital marketing conferences to attend in 2020. Did we miss a conference your planning on attending? Let us know on .
And, if you see our booth at any of the conferences above, please feel free to stop to say “Hi”.