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While your competitors are running on autopilot, the marketers driving real results are the ones who invest in staying sharp. They're learning how emerging trends are reshaping customer experience before those trends become table stakes. They're connecting with the practitioners who've already solved the problems you're facing.

This is where the right conferences become part of your competitive edge. With hundreds of marketing events, the question isn't whether to attend, it's deciding which ones will give you the best ROI and translate into better performance.

Whether you're setting up new workflows with AI, or are just curious to see if you're following best practices, there's something here for you.
2026 and 2027 is packed with marketing events that can help you sharpen your skills, solve current challenges, and connect with thought leaders. Check out the list below.

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Best Marketing Automation Conferences Shortlist

Here's a shortlist of the best marketing automation conferences I think are worth attending in 2026-2027:

  1. The MarTech Conference - Virtual (September 2 or November 4, 2026)
  2. UNBOUND - Boston, MA (September 16-18, 2026)
  3. DMWF: Digital Marketing World Forum - Multiple locations and dates
  4. Email Conference Europe - Amsterdam, Netherlands (September 24, 2026)
  5. Marketing Artificial Intelligence Conference - Cleveland, OH (October 13-15, 2026)
  6. DigiMarCon World - Las Vegas, NV (November 4-6, 2026)
  7. GURU 2026 - Virtual (November 12-13, 2026)
  8. Adobe Summit 2027 - Virtual (March 22-25, 2027)

Overview of the Best Marketing Automation Conferences of 2026-2027

Below are my summaries of the best marketing automation conferences on my shortlist. My reviews offer a look at each event's dates, location, pricing, and unique offering.

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1. The MarTech Conference - Virtual (September 2 or November 4, 2026)

The MarTech Conference 2026 webpage
Marketing teams discuss strategy and innovation at The MarTech Conference 2026 Online.
  • Dates: September 2 or November 4, 2026
  • Location: Virtual
  • Pricing: Free
  • Social Media: Facebook, LinkedIn

The MarTech Conference is a leading event for marketing technology professionals, offering insights into the latest tools and strategies. Organized by Third Door Media, it caters to marketing leaders and innovators seeking to enhance their technology stack and improve marketing efficiency. The conference features expert speakers from top companies sharing their experiences and knowledge.

Why attend? The MarTech Conference provides a unique platform to explore cutting-edge marketing technologies and strategies. With a focus on practical applications and real-world case studies, you and your team can gain valuable insights to drive your marketing efforts. The virtual format ensures accessibility to global attendees, fostering a diverse and enriching experience.

2. UNBOUND - Boston, MA (September 16-18, 2026)

Attendees networking at the UNBOUND Conference exhibition area
The HubSpot's UNBOUND Conference creates space for conversations across the event floor.

UNBOUND is an annual event that brings together professionals working in marketing automation, CRM, lifecycle marketing, and revenue operations. It has become a key conference for teams focused on building smarter automated workflows, improving customer journey orchestration, and connecting marketing tools into a more efficient digital ecosystem.

The event is especially relevant for marketing automation specialists who want to stay updated on workflow strategy, CRM integration, lead nurturing, behavioral data, segmentation, and campaign performance. Sessions often explore how automation can support stronger customer engagement, better handoffs between marketing and sales, and more scalable growth operations.

Why attend? You and your team can expect technical sessions, platform deep-dives, operations meetups, and tool activations focused on automation strategy. UNBOUND is a strong fit for marketing automation teams looking to improve their tech stack, streamline campaign execution, and understand how emerging trends in AI, CRM, and behavioral data are shaping the future of automated marketing.

3. DMWF: Digital Marketing World Forum - Multiple locations and dates

Attendees at the Digital Marketing World Forum
The DMWF brings digital marketers, MarTech leaders, and CX professionals to explore AI, automation, CRM, personalization, data, and digital marketing strategy.
  • Dates: Multiple dates (see table below)
  • Location: Multiple locations (see table below)
  • Pricing: Register to see current pricing
  • Social Media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram

DMWF: Locations, Dates, & Pricing

LocationDatePricing
New YorkSeptember 9-10, 2026Starts at $599
AmsterdamNovember 24-25, 2026Starts at €399
LondonMay 6-7, 2027Starts at £299
SingaporeTBATBA

Digital Marketing World Forum, also known as DMWF, is a global digital marketing conference and expo series for senior marketers, MarTech leaders, digital teams, and customer experience professionals. The series covers marketing automation, AI, CRM, data, insights, personalization, social media, search, advertising, content, and digital brand strategy.

Why attend? DMWF is useful for marketers who want to connect automation with a broader digital strategy. Attendees can explore how AI, CRM data, personalization, content, and digital channels work together to improve campaign performance, customer engagement, and marketing efficiency.

4. Email Conference Europe - Amsterdam, Netherlands (September 24, 2026)

Panel discussion at the Email Conference Europe 2025
The Advanced Email Conference Europe 2025 features a panel discussion and QA on personalization and engagement.

The Email Conference Europe 2026 is a one-day email, CRM, and marketing automation conference for email marketers, CRM leaders, lifecycle marketers, digital teams, and customer engagement professionals. The event focuses on advanced email strategy, AI-powered personalization, automation, data, deliverability, loyalty, retention, and omnichannel marketing.

Why attend? The Email Conference Europe is useful for marketers who want practical email automation ideas rather than broad marketing theory. Attendees can learn how to improve lifecycle campaigns, personalize email journeys, strengthen deliverability, use AI more effectively, and connect email with wider CRM and omnichannel strategies.

5. Marketing Artificial Intelligence Conference - Cleveland, OH (October 13-15, 2026)

Attendees listening to a speaker at MAICON
MAICON highlights practical discussions on AI’s role in modern marketing.

MAICON is a premier event for marketers looking to integrate AI into their strategies. Since its inception, it has focused on demystifying AI and making it accessible for marketing professionals. The Marketing AI Institute organizes the conference and features speakers such as Paul Roetzer and other AI experts who share insights on leveraging AI for marketing success.

Why attend? The conference attracts senior marketing professionals and influencer voices shaping how AI is applied in modern marketing organizations. The event offers a unique opportunity to learn from AI pioneers and case studies, and to network with peers facing similar challenges. It's ideal for marketers eager to embrace AI and gain a competitive edge.

6. DigiMarCon World - Las Vegas, NV (November 4-6, 2026)

Speaker presenting to attendees at DigiMarCon World
The DigiMarCon World features expert sessions on trends shaping digital engagement.

DigiMarCon World is a premier digital marketing conference held annually in Las Vegas that attracts over 35,000 attendees. It features more than 1,000 speakers, including industry leaders, and offers sessions on AI, content marketing, and social media strategies. DigiMarCon organizes the event and includes extensive networking opportunities, as well as the TECHSPO Technology Expo.

Why attend? At DigiMarCon World, you and your team can explore the latest digital marketing trends and technologies. The conference offers a diverse range of sessions and workshops that provide practical insights to enhance your marketing strategies. Networking opportunities with global professionals make this event an ideal way to expand your connections and knowledge.

7. GURU 2026 - Virtual (November 12-13, 2026)

Landing page of the GURU Conference 2026
The GURU 2026 Virtual Conference
  • Dates: November 12-13, 2026
  • Location: Virtual
  • Pricing: Free
  • Social Media: LinkedIn

GURU Conference 2026 is a free virtual email marketing conference focused on digital trends, email best practices, emerging tools, and practical tactics for improving email performance. The event is designed for email marketers, lifecycle marketers, CRM teams, digital marketers, and businesses that want actionable strategies they can apply quickly.

Why attend? GURU is useful for marketers who want focused email marketing and automation guidance without the cost or travel of an in-person conference. It is especially relevant for teams improving automated journeys, triggered campaigns, lifecycle emails, segmentation, and customer engagement workflows.

8. Adobe Summit 2027 - Las Vegas, NV (March 22-25, 2027)

Shantanu Narayen and Jensen Huang on stage at Adobe Summit 2025
Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe Inc., and Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, on stage during a featured discussion at the Adobe Summit 2025.

Adobe Summit is Adobe’s annual digital experience conference for marketers, customer experience leaders, creative teams, data professionals, developers, and business leaders. It focuses on marketing, creativity, AI, customer experience, personalization, content at scale, and digital experience management.

The summit is where attendees discover what’s next in marketing, creativity, and AI, including how Adobe’s AI-native platform can help teams create content at scale, personalize experiences, and accelerate growth.

Why attend? Adobe Summit is a strong fit for marketing automation professionals because it connects automation with customer journey orchestration, AI-powered personalization, content workflows, analytics, and digital experience strategy. It is especially useful for teams using Adobe Experience Cloud or exploring how enterprise marketing platforms can improve customer engagement and campaign performance.

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Breanna Lawlor

As Editor & Podcast Host for The CMO Club, Breanna connects with B2B marketing leaders to uncover concepts, tactics, and strategy that drive loyalty and value for brands. By sourcing and sharing expertise from accomplished CMOs, VPs of Marketing and those who've built high-powered marketing teams from the ground up, you'll find insights here you won't discover elsewhere.

Interested in being reviewed? Find out more here.