Nobody needs another branded keychain. But they do need authentic, in-person connections, real stories, and opportunities to build their personal brand—which is where these marketing conferences come in!
A lot of marketing conferences can be a let down.
You sign up because you want to learn something useful, meet people doing cool things, maybe even leave feeling inspired. But sometimes you end up in a beige hotel ballroom listening to a panel of guys named Chad argue about AI… before awkwardly standing at the networking hour holding a warm prosecco, wondering if it’s too soon to sneak out.
And look, some of these conferences are well-run. Some are even great. But too many feel like the Fyre Festival of marketing: big promises, no real substance.
Still, when they work, conferences can be career-making. The right event can lead to:
- Important connections that become job offers
- Establishing new partnerships or strengthening existing ones
- Landing a new client
- Strengthening your network and community
- Inspiring a new idea or a complete strategy overhaul for your business
The trick is to choose the right conferences for you.
That’s why we put together our expert-recommended list of marketing events to attend in 2026—some have been confirmed, while others are still in the works. We recommend keeping an eye on their respective websites for the most up-to-date information.
Why attend (or speak at) a marketing conference?
There are five great reasons to attend a marketing conference in this digital day and age.
In-person networking just hits different.
The truth is, people are zoomed out. Conferences are a perfect place to strengthen bonds with teammates, meet possible future colleagues, and make a name for yourself—in person, where you can actually build a solid connection with people.
Plus, if you’re able to pre-plan meetups with folks you know or have only worked with online previously—bonus points.
Your work deserves a stage.
How often do you get to summarize all the hard work you’ve been doing, the insights you’ve been creating, and the kudos you’ve been collecting?
Speaking at a conference can elevate your personal brand and help you see your worth simultaneously (which is important when it comes to finding jobs, clients, or unlocking other opportunities).
Our expert tip? Don’t overthink the topic. You can use webinars that you’ve run as a testing ground for what resonates with your audience—and repurpose it for a big stage.
Free stuff is fun.
There’s not much more to this. Enjoy the hotels, the food, and the swag. If your company has a budget for this, use it—it’s part of your salary.
Lessons straight from the horse’s mouth.
Whether speakers are hand-picked or applied, there’s so much value in hearing real-life-play-by-plays from industry leaders who have stories to share about campaigns that went sideways, launches that blew people away, and things you could do different or better than then.
At the very least your creativity wheel will start clicking.
Network with new people.
Introvert, extrovert, neurodivergent or not—conferences should offer plenty of opportunities to meet marketers from different companies, areas of the world, and interests… in different ways.
The best conferences create intimate but structured places to connect with those who are interested in the same things—whether that’s PPC, brand marketing, craft beer, or public speaking.
9 Marketing conferences that will be worth your time in 2026
1. Annual Event Pass from Growclass
You know what’s better than flying somewhere for a single conference? Buying one pass that gives you access to multiple virtual marketing events throughout the year! The Growclass Annual Event Pass unlocks hands-on virtual workshops and full-day summits designed to help you level up your marketing skills from the comfort of your home.
In 2026, we have events planned around community building, virtual brand building, social growth, and much more. And as a bonus, every pass purchased does a little good too—$25 from each sale goes to the Growclass Scholarship Fund, helping provide free access to career-advancing education for Indigenous, underrepresented, and LGBTQIA+ Canadians experiencing financial vulnerability. Come join us!
Dates:
- February (TBD): Extra Credit — Community Building (Bootstrapped Edition)
- March 12, 2026: Brand Camp — A Virtual Brand-Building Summit
- May (TBD): Extra Credit — AEO Explained (with Tiffany DaSilva & Brendan Hufford)
- September (TBD): Extra Credit — Social Growth
- October 1, 2026: Peak Season Playbook — A Virtual Holiday Prep Summit
- November (TBD): Extra Credit — Data & Reporting (but make it fun)
Location: Virtual
Topics covered: Community building, brand building, AEO and search, social growth, peak-season and holiday planning, data and reporting, and practical marketing strategy.
Who should attend: Marketers, team leads, freelancers, and growth-minded professionals looking for hands-on learning without fluff.
What sets it apart: A unique opportunity to score not one, not two, but multiple events for one fixed price.
Cost: $450.00 CAD
2. Content Marketing World by Content Marketing Institute
In its 15th year, CMW is the largest content marketing event out there—which is something to appreciate. CMW is run by the Content Marketing Institute and hella trustworthy in that regard, and probably has some of the biggest variety of topics out there. If you want to be able to bounce around different topics and see how different companies tackle content marketing, this is the place.
Date: October 5-7, 2026
Location: Denver, Colorado
Topics covered: Strategy, optimization, team building, tech tools, and AI transformation—amongst a million others.
Who should attend: Content writers, marketers, social media managers, and more.
What sets it apart: The size of the conference and how long it’s been running!
Cost: Starting at $1,799 USD for the main conference, and up to $2,749 for all access.
Apply to speak: Apply to speak here!
3. INBOUND by Hubspot
Look: INBOUND is massive. But it’s also massively valuable. If you live anywhere in the space between marketing or sales—or have no issues striking up conversations with conference-goers yourself and putting yourself out there—this is the place to be.
Date: September 16-18, 2026
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Topics covered: Latest trends and tactics in marketing, sales, and AI.
Who should attend: Everyone and anyone from founders to content strategists to product marketers and RevOps specialists.
What sets it apart: You’ll find everything you need here in terms of education—both general and special track-based sessions, with group-based networking options.
Cost: Starts at $799 all the way to $1,999 USD for a VIP pass.
Apply to speak: Fill out the form to learn when the call for speakers at INBOUND 2026 opens.
4. MozCon by Moz
Our favourite copywriters and business owners swear by MozCon as the key to the start of their business exploding. This year MozCon is back on the road, with conferences planned in New York and London.
Date: July 14, 2026 in New York & November 13, 2026 in London
Location: New York, New York & London, UK
Topics covered: The future of digital marketing, SEO, analytics, content, and branding.
Who should attend: SEOs, marketers, leaders, and UX folks.
What sets it apart: It’s run by Moz, which automatically makes it a digital marketing powerhouse of a conference. Also, lunchtime networking groups!
Cost: Super early bird pricing starts at $649 USD for in-person tickets.
Apply to speak: Pitch to speak here.
5. Women in Tech SEO Fest
#WTSFest is a one-day conference featuring 10 topics, and 10 speakers, and comes highly recommended by our SEO colleagues. They tend to run their conferences both in the US and Europe, making it easy to attend from either side of the Atlantic.
Date and Location: February 5, 2026 in London, England
Date and Location: May 7, 2026 in Portland, Oregon, USA
Date and Location: October 1, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Topics covered: WTSFest divides their talks into Analyze, Advance, Innovate, and Empower, and topics depend on the event.
Who should attend: Women in tech, SEO, or similar.
What sets it apart: WTSFest keeps their ticket prices as accessible as possible, have scholarships, pay their speakers, vendors, and suppliers, and offer lower-priced post-event recordings for cheaper! Equity FTW.
Cost: Early bird tickets are $299 USD, going up to $399 full-price.
Apply to speak:Submit your application here.
6. Toast Summit
Toast is flipping the hiring dynamic in favor of women in tech. While finalized details for the 2026 Toast Summit haven’t been announced yet, last year’s event was an absolute blast, setting a very high bar for what’s to come.
The 3rd Annual Women in Tech Summit took place on September 25, 2025, at Platform Calgary, bringing together founders, operators, investors, and tech-curious attendees for a full day of honest conversations, expert-led panels, and genuinely refreshing conference experiences.
Date: Likely September, 2026 (TBC)
Location: Calgary, Canada
Topics covered: Venture capital, women entrepreneurs, and leadership in the tech sector.
Who should attend: Aspiring entrepreneurs, tech professionals, or those simply passionate about advancing gender equality in tech.
What sets it apart: Toast Summit focuses on creating a thoughtful, community-driven space for women in tech, with programming that blends career growth, leadership, and real conversations about the industry.
Cost: Previously around $250 CAD + taxes (2026 pricing TBC)
Apply to speak: Join the email list at the bottom of this page.
7. Camp re:Connect
Camp re:Connect is exactly what it sounds like: a marketing conference that deliberately pulls you away from screens and into real conversations. Set at a lakeside camp in Ontario, it combines thoughtful marketing discussions with soft-skills learning, creative workshops, and classic camp activities. While there’s no date set for 2026 just yet, the waitlist to attend this year’s conference is up!
Date: Likely September 2026 (previous camp ran September 22–24)
Location: Camp Wenonah, Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada
Topics covered: Marketing strategy, crisis communications, agency–brand relationships, AI in marketing (without the hype), creativity, soft skills, and industry trends.
Who should attend: Marketers and advertisers who want to slow down, think more clearly, and connect with peers in a genuinely human setting
What sets it apart: A true retreat-style format that blends learning, discussion, and camp activities, with an emphasis on creativity, wellbeing, and meaningful peer connection.
Cost: $625 CAD
Apply to speak: Join the waitlist.
8. POSSIBLE Marketing Conference & Expo
POSSIBLE brings together leaders from brands, agencies, media, technology, and culture for three days of programming designed to spark real conversations—not only about marketing, but also about business, creativity, and leadership at scale.
In 2025, it featured speakers like Martha Stewart, Gary Vaynerchuk, Alexis Ohanian, Katie Couric, Mark Cuban, and senior marketing leaders from brands including Google, LEGO, Visa, Unilever, and Pinterest.
Date: April 27–29, 2026
Location: Miami Beach, Florida
Topics covered: Brand and growth strategy, creative and culture, media, marketing innovation, AI, leadership, and the future of the industry.
Who should attend: Senior marketers, brand leaders, agency leads, creators, and teams working at the intersection of marketing, media, and technology.
What sets it apart: A strong focus on intentional connection, diverse programming formats, and a dual-campus setup that encourages movement, conversation, and collaboration throughout the event.
Cost: Ticket pricing varies by role and pass type. However, the cheapest pass starts at $809 USD.
Apply to speak: Submit your application here.
9. Spryng 2026 by Wynter
“Events are not about presentations, but who’s in the room.” That idea is the foundation of Spryng—a B2B SaaS marketing event geared toward senior marketers and practitioners.
In a world where everyone has access to the same AI tools, Spryng zeroes in on what still creates advantage: messaging, positioning, and story.
Date: March 24–25, 2026 (Pre-party: March 23)
Location: Austin, Texas
Topics covered: Brand and messaging in an AI-saturated market, B2B storytelling, positioning, AI SEO, go-to-market strategy, and what’s actually working for SaaS teams right now.
Who should attend: Senior B2B SaaS marketers, heads of marketing, product marketing leaders, and growth leaders.
What sets it apart: Peer-to-peer learning done properly. Small, curated table discussions (6–8 people), role- and company-matched groups, live workshops, and moderators who guide conversation instead of lecturing.
Cost: $1,200 USD for B2B marketers and $3,000 USD for agencies.
Apply to speak: Speakers and moderators are hand-picked by the Wynter team.
A short list of honorable mentions
There’s a million and one specialized conferences you may be interested in for various reasons:
- Career changes or shifts
- Stretch goals
- Networking purposes
- Finding new clients for freelance work
- And more!
One of our faves that’s not quite a marketing conference, but a fabulous event nonetheless?
Fuckup Nights Toronto (or Global)
Fuckup Nights Toronto is a speaker series and community that shares stories of professional failure. Failure is a part of any success story, but we don't talk about it enough. What FUN does is break down stigmas around failure—and make you feel better about being human.
Here are some other, specialized marketing (and near-marketing) events for different disciplines and industries:
- For social media marketers, International Social Summit
- For designers: AIGA
- For product people: Lenny and Friends Summit or Product-Led Summit
- For marketing operations: MOps-Apalooza or LeadsCon
- For email marketers: MailCon
- For marketing researchers and executives: Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo
- For creative freelancers or small business owners: The Failure Ball
- For revenue operations: RevOps Alliance or RevCon
- For eCommerce: eTail East or Lead Generation World
And remember: there’s no right way to network.
Go out there, find something that excites you, and put yourself out there in an authentic way. You’ll find your people.
And if you don’t: join us in the Growclass Certification—in our completely unbiased opinion, the best growth marketing community (with sporadic events) that there ever was.
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