Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) live and breathe at the crossroads of innovation and execution, striving to uncover unique ways to surpass their competitors and stay on top of the latest industry trends, all while managing expansive teams and campaigns. That’s a lot to juggle, and the dynamic nature of marketing demands continuous learning and adaptation.
Attending leading CMO summits and global marketing conferences can address these challenges with access to groundbreaking keynote speeches, cutting-edge industry insights, unparalleled networking opportunities, and even employment opportunities.
The top marketing conferences are perfect for gaining new ideas and inspiration. Plus, read on for the 15 more specialized events I highly recommend.
How I Made My Selection For This List
There are a lot of factors I had to consider when putting together a list of CMO conferences to attend in 2024. A few questions I ask myself are:
- Is the conference and its topics relevant to current trends or challenges plaguing Chief Marketing Officers and their teams?
- Are the keynote speakers themselves Chief Marketing Officers, EVPs or SVPs of Marketing, Global Head of Marketing, or similar titles? How relevant are their insights to my audience?
- Do the organizers actively facilitate networking or partnership opportunities for attendees? This is especially important if you're looking for a job, with 85% of jobs filled through networking and 70% never posted publicly (Apollo Technical, 2023).
- And of course, budget. When you add up the costs of travel, accommodation, and other expenses, does it blow your conference budget out of the water or do you feel like a billionaire at a garage sale?
With all that considered, 15 checked off my criteria boxes and made the list:
1. DigiMarCon
Multiple Dates | Multiple Locations
DigiMarCon is the world's largest digital marketing, media and advertising conference & exhibition series for business and marketing professionals. It's held at more than 40 locations across 18 countries year after year. Think of this as a digital advertising conference for CMOs
What you'll experience: Learn about all the latest digital marketing trends, strategies and tactics other digital marketing experts have used successfully, with case studies to back it up. It’s also a great place to network with other CMOs and meet industry leaders showcasing the next generation of technology and innovation for internet, mobile, AdTech, MarTech and SaaS.
Location: Multiple cities in North America, Europe, and the Caribbean. If you prefer virtual, DigiMarCon also has an online conference you can attend.
How to register: Visit the DigiMarcon website and search for a region near you to find tickets.
DigiMarCon brings together some of the greatest minds in digital marketing to interact, engage and learn from each other. I highly recommend it.
Simon Kelly, CEO, Story Worldwide
2. Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo
June 3-5, 2024 | Denver, Colorado
Gartner's Marketing Symposium/Xpo™ is designed entirely for marketing leaders, with 2024’s conference focused on how CMOs can lead through disruption. The best part? They have Ask the Expert sessions, which are topic-driven sessions moderated by a Gartner expert.
What you'll experience: If you want a more intimate discussion that allows you ask your burning questions, this is a must-attend. Of course, the conference will also have insightful keynotes and engaging peer conversations that broaden your perspective and unlock new ways of looking at your marketing strategy.
Location: Denver, Colorado.
How to register: Visit the Gartner website for tickets.
Join us in 2024 to ensure you’re maintaining the human side of marketing leadership to help your team demonstrate strategic value and achieve your growth objectives.
Brianna Lux, Conference Chair and Director, Advisory, Gartner
3. ANA Masters of Marketing Conference
October 21-25, 2024 | Orlando, Florida
The largest CMO event of 2023 according to AdAge, ANA Masters of Marketing Conference 2024 is a hybrid event in the USA for those focused on sharing creative brand strategies and marketing tactics.
What you'll experience: Some of the biggest marketing leaders and CMOs will share how they meet and exceed their customer needs, drive growth, and inspire change. You’ll get three days filled with networking, events, and inspiring stories of success from C-suite leaders from P&G, United Airlines, Ford, and many more! Think of it as a growth marketing conference for CMOs.
Location: Orlando, Florida.
How to register: Visit the ANA website for tickets.
4. Reuters Events: Strategic Marketing
May 8-9, 2024 | Los Angeles, California
Ready to master data-driven creativity in the time of AI? The Reuters Strategic Marketing conference is a great choice with over 50 speakers, 20 sessions, and more than 250 marketing leaders such as yourself in attendance.
What you'll learn: Enjoy insightful roundtables, mind-expanding keynote speeches and panels, and the chance to network with marketers, Executive Directors, and CMOs from some of the world’s biggest companies such as PepsiCo, Ebay, Chegg, and Razorfish.
Location: Los Angeles, California.
How to register: Visit the Reuters events website for tickets.
Participating at Reuters Strategic Marketing isn't just about keeping pace; it's about setting the pace. It's where leaders come together to share transformative insights and cross-pollinate ideas on how to stay ahead in the ever-evolving marketing landscape.
Francisco Bram, VP, Marketing & Customer Insights, Albertsons Companies
5. OnConferences
October 21-22, 2024 | Virtual
ONCON isn't your usual CMO conference, as the annual summit targets the whole C-suite and other job functions such as DEI, Supply Chain & Procurement, and Talent Acquisition. This probably helps make a good budget case as you can get more members of your business to attend and increase the expected ROI to the business.
What you'll learn: Topics include generative AI for marketing, mastering content creation and demand generation with the help of AI tools, and the future of work. Participants can access all tracks if there's a crossover of interests.
Location: Virtual.
How to register: Visit the OnConferences event page for tickets. There is a cap of a 100 attendees for each track, so make sure to book your spot in advance.
There are many conferences, roundtables, boards, and discussion groups on Marketing Leadership and CMO activities. OnCon stands out because it's peer led, free of sales pitches and allows us to learn from each other and make connections that are lasting and useful.
Michael Margolies, VP, Marketing + Creative, Leggett & Platt
6. MozCon
June 3-4, 2024 | Seattle, Washington
MozCon—described as the summer camp for marketers by the organizers—is a 2-day annual event for marketing leaders, founders, content leaders and anyone looking for top tips on overcoming the challenges marketers face today. It's a great conference for content marketers.
What you'll learn: 2024's theme will be all about the future of digital marketing. Expect insights on ChatGPT, Google's latest algo updates, E-E-A-T, and more. The lineup of speakers include Andy Crestodina, Co-founder/CMO of Orbit Media Studios, Bernard Huang, Co-founder of Clearscope, Crystal Carter, Head of SEO Comms at Wix, and even more heavy hitters.
Location: Seattle, Washington.
How to register: Visit the MozCon event page for tickets.
Whether you’re a beginner looking to gather information to get started or a seasoned veteran hoping to gain new perspectives and insights, MozCon delivers year-after-year. The speakers include some of the best names in the industry and they've clearly polished their presentations before getting on stage as they're virtually flawless leaving us to simply soak in the knowledge.
Dave Davies, CEO, Beanstalk Internet Marketing
7. Traction Conference
On-Demand | Virtual
Traction Conferences happen throughout the year. All speaker sessions are recorded and can be watched on-demand on the Traction website.
What you'll learn: They bring together founders/CEOs of fast-growing companies and Fortune 500 executives to share the latest trends and insights on marketing leadership, growth marketing, brand building, and revenue generation. Some past speakers include leaders from Lucidchart, Smartsheet, and SurveyMonkey.
Location: Hybrid.
How to register: Visit the events page regularly for the upcoming events, since they add them every couple of months.
8. Adobe DITAWORLD
June 11-13, 2024 | Virtual
Adobe DITAWORLD is the biggest online conference for marketing and technical communication professionals. It's not your usual communication conference, and it’s definitely one worth marking on your calendar.
What you'll learn: While the conference itself focuses on DITA©, Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe’s DITA CCMS for Adobe Experience Manager, and Adobe RoboHelp, content and marketing professionals from all over have the opportunity to get inspired through a variety of topics presented by the top leaders and practitioners in the fiel. Since you’re combining content and intelligent customer experiences, you could probably also classify this as a MarTech conference.
Location: Virtual.
How to register: Visit the Adobe DITAWORLD event page for tickets.
The session line-up was incredible! Every topic was a goldmine of insights. I’m literally on the edge of my seat!
a DITAWORLD 2022 attendee
9. Global Conference on Digital Marketing and Technology
June 7-9, 2024 | New York, New York
The GCDMT conference is an esteemed event hosted by the Global Conference Alliance Inc. Its purpose is to assemble digital marketing professionals worldwide, enabling them to discuss the latest trends, strategies, and tech in the industry.
What you'll learn: Sit in on inspired keynote speeches delivered by leaders in the digital marketing field, and attend expert-led panel discussions to gain a deeper understanding of the topics under discussion. There will also be interactive workshops where you can engage in hands-on learning experiences, and a networking platform for attendees to connect with each other.
Location: New York, New York
How to register: Visit the Global Conference Alliance website for tickets.
At Global Conference Alliance Inc, attending our conferences is an investment in one’s personal and professional development. We invite you to join us to gain new insights, establish valuable connections, and broaden your knowledge.
Global Conference alliance
10. DMO Advanced
TBD | Napa Valley, California
DMO's flagship event provides newer CMOs with an access to exceptional industry experts, large agencies, and in-house digital marketers to collaborate on solving business-critical challenges. It's also a great place to go network if you are looking to bring on a fractional CMO.
They haven't announced dates for 2024's CMO conference just yet, but it’s sure to be as value-packed as the one in 2023. Expect a great lineup of speakers and networking opportunities, all within the beauty of the famed Napa Valley wine country.
Location: Napa Valley, California.
How to register: Check the DMO event page for dates and ticket sales.
The DMO is truly a community-first organization for digital and search marketers to learn and contribute as peers. In a dynamic and challenging industry, Jim and team are cultivating deeper relationships that lead to actionable advice and connections to grow your career and business.
raj nijjer, chief marketing officer, refersion
11. BrandSmart
April 25, 2024 | Chicago, Illinois
BrandSmart is the longest-running brand marketing conference in the United States. 2024's theme is focused on sharing insights, strategies, and proven marketing software that drive brand building in an experience-driven economy.
What you'll learn: Expect to share the venue with over 300 brand marketers like CMOs, marketing directors, agency leaders, creative directors, entrepreneurs, and non-profit marketers. The conference is hosted TED Talk-style, and the speakers ensure you leave the AON Grand Ballroom with one tactic or strategy you can implement right away.
Location: Chicago, Illinois.
How to register: Visit the BrandSmart website for tickets.
BrandSmart brings together noteworthy speakers and future-forward brand marketers—a who’s who of decision-makers and influencers—to share proven tools, smart ideas and inspiring stories.
Brandsmart
12. Product Marketing Summit
May 22-23, 2024 | Las Vegas, Nevada
In May, the Product Marketing Summit will descend once again upon Las Vegas. It's a great gathering for product marketers from the world’s largest companies and most exciting startups.
What you'll learn: Speakers and participants share product marketing success stories, experiences and challenges of those positioned at the intersection of product, marketing & sales. Previous speakers include marketing leaders from Shopmonkey, VMWare, Virgin Pulse, and Amazon Music.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada.
How to register: Visit the Product Marketing Summit website for tickets.
I’m glad I attended the Product Marketing Summit; it's rare I get an opportunity to focus solely on the functions of Product Marketing outside of the day-to-day. I’m walking away with a plethora of ideas I want to implement across my team.
Director of Product Marketing, Trimble Inc.
13. Social Media Marketing World
February 18-20, 2024 | San Diego, California
Social Media Marketing World is a 3-day conference created with online marketers in mind. It’s a great place to network as thousands of the world's most experienced marketers throng to beautiful San Diego, California for the yearly event.
What you'll learn: Practitioners share business-building ideas that you can implement in your marketing programs right away. This is a great CMO conference for marketing executives looking to learn the latest trends in organic social marketing, paid social, social strategy, and content marketing.
Location: San Diego, California.
How to register: Visit the Social Media Marketing World website for tickets.
I came to San Diego hoping to learn valuable strategies and left with knowledge I didn't even know I was looking for that will completely transform the way I approach social media strategy.
Elena Griffo
14. SEMpdx Engage Conference
October 17-18, 2024 | Portland, Oregon
Engage Marketing Conference is a 2-day digital marketing conference with a combination of keynotes, panel sessions and an educational learning track.
What you'll learn: The speakers share the latest strategies and insights in digital marketing, paid media, advertising, creative, SEO, and more. Participants also qualify for 25 Professional Development Units as Online Search Marketing Professionals. This is one conference that's guaranteed to provide a healthy dose of education and practical knowledge.
Location: Portland, Oregon.
How to register: Visit the SEMpdx website for tickets.
SEMpdx is an amazing and talented regional organization.
Todd friesen, salesforce
15. Digital Marketing Europe
March 20-21, 2024 | Vilnius, Lithuania
Digital Marketing Europe is an international conference for content creators, advertisers, digital marketers, and anyone who's working in the digital marketing space. The 2024 edition will have over 34 speakers from all over the world getting together in person, and 3+ tracks.
What you'll learn: Expect speakers to cover topics like chatbots, user-generated content, social media advertising across platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, social media influencer marketing, interactive content, video content, and more. You'll also get a lot of opportunities to network, considering they expect to host over 500 attendees.
Location: Vilnius, Lithuania.
How to register: Visit the Digital Marketing Europe conference page for tickets.
The conference fulfilled my high expectations–strong keynote speakers, valuable information that gave additional inspiration to explore more about AI and its applying. This conference is really worth to attend and I am planning to do that next year.
Estera Kaminskaite, Digital Lead Generation Manager, Fabricair Ltd.
Ready, Set, Register
That's some list, and we've got everything covered. If you're looking to improve your product marketing chops as a CMO, the Product Marketing Summit is a great pick. If you wanna talk brand, Gartner's Marketing Symposium or the BrandSmart conference are your go-to.
It's really all about what your biggest challenges are for the year, and which conference has speakers that share the best insights on those topics. Now, go pick one (or more), and register.
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