While the rapid growth of the global tech industry was hindered by the pandemic, the social aspect seems to be making a long-awaited comeback in 2022. Previous years brought a lot of uncertainty, as many digital advertising events were postponed, canceled, or moved fully online.
While there are plenty of benefits to digital meetups, there is no denying that live events provide unmatched networking opportunities. This year, thanks to loosening restrictions, many key organizers are gearing up to bring back the digital marketing events as we know them from before.
Media buyers, entrepreneurs, business owners, and agencies are all looking for insights, experience, and most importantly, networking opportunities. To ensure no deadline is missed, it’s best to make a list of potentially valuable events ahead of time.
To make it easier, we’ve listed summits, conferences, and expos that are not only relevant to the programmatic industry but also worthwhile to attend for anyone interested in growing a brand in a digital space.
NRF 2022 Retail’s Big Show
The NRF 2022 Retail’s Big Show conference brings together representatives from retail companies all over the world. This event is not limited to digital marketing. The sessions cover a wide range of topics, from entrepreneur and investment advice to innovation and opportunities. The NRF Big Show is an experience tailored to retail visionaries.
Since 2018, the event organizers have put greater focus on showcasing new technologies from both online and offline retail spaces. Consequently, a part of the event is dedicated to budding solutions that aim to revolutionize the retail space.
| What? NRF Retail’s Big Show 2022 |
| When? 16-18th January |
| Where? New York |
RampUp 2022
RampUp is a conference where marketing technology enthusiasts meet to discuss the future of the industry. The 1.5-day event encompasses sessions on dealing with the most pressing digital marketing issues as well as strategies on improving data handling, partnerships, and performance optimization strategies.
This year, RampUp will be happening in hybrid mode. What’s more, all participants will be given the possibility to access the sessions online, regardless of whether they participated live or online.
| What? RampUp Liveramp Summit |
| When? February 28 – March 1 |
| Where? San Francisco |
Mobile World Capital (MWC)
Mobile World Capital Barcelona is an annual event dedicated to the mobile communications industry. The participants usually include such technological giants as Facebook, Nokia, Ericsson, Intel, LG, or Vodafone. The theme for 2022 is Discover Connectivity Unleashed and the event is directed at business and marketing professionals from the mobile advertising sector.
While two previous editions encountered hiccups and presenter withdrawals caused by the pandemic, this year, the event is anticipated to meet the standard of the pre-pandemic editions, while offering the added benefits of the hybrid model.
| What? Mobile World Capital Barcelona |
| When? February 28th – March 3rd |
| Where? Barcelona |
The date of the MWC Los Angeles Edition is yet to be announced, while the MWC 2022 Shanghai Edition will be happening June 29th – July 1st.
Affiliate World Global
Affiliate World Global is the official offline meeting place for affiliate marketers from all over the world. The conference intends to focus on all things affiliate marketing, with special emphasis on Facebook ad tracking, lead generation, eCommerce, and additional sessions on pressing topics such as email marketing, native advertising, or chatbots.
This edition of the Affiliate World conference will actually combine two previously canceled events – Affiliate World Europe 2021 and Affiliate World Asia 2021. All attendees receive a special pass to replay sessions online for 3 months after the event.
| What? Affiliate World Global |
| When? February 28th – March 1st |
| Where? Dubai |
| What? Affiliate World Europe |
| When? Summer 2022, TBA |
| Where? Barcelona |
| What? Affiliate World Asia |
| When? TBA |
| Where? Bangkok |
Affiliate Grand Slam
Affiliate Grand Slam is yet another digital marketing event that brings together the industry leaders, innovators, affiliates, companies, and businesses operating within the sphere of online marketing. While the in-person gathering is about scouting for business opportunities in the world of affiliate marketing, search and programmatic enthusiasts can still benefit from the shared knowledge.
With two editions – one in Dubai and the other one in Europe, the event tackles such topics as digital ad tech and upcoming technological revolutions, marketing automation, market trends, e-commerce, social media marketing, content creation, and many more.
The 2022 editions are set to begin as planned.
| What? Affiliate Grand Slam Dubai |
| When? March 20th – 22nd |
| Where? Dubai |
| What? Affiliate Grand Slam Malta |
| When? November 28th – December 2nd |
| Where? Malta |
LeadsCon
LeadsCon is a meetup point for lead generation and performance marketing enthusiasts from all over the world. This digital marketing event offers its participants the opportunity to discover new business partnerships, gain strategic insights on performance marketing and lead generation as well as introduce practical solutions for dealing with the ever-changing market.
While most attendees of LeadsCon are lead buyers and agencies, this is an important event for agencies and marketing professionals from all corners of the online marketing industry.
| What? LeadsCon 2022 |
| When? March 21st – 23rd |
| Where? Las Vegas |
Affiliate Summit
Affiliate Summit is yet another conference with multiple locations. The conference revolves all around scaling online businesses in the fast-growing retail environment. The event is aimed at affiliates and media buyers working with the ecommerce industry but it’s also the perfect place to search for innovative ideas to grow your business.
The affiliate summit is split into 4 in-person events although not all of them are planned to take place this year.
| What? Affiliate Summit East |
| When? May 24th – 25th |
| Where? New York |
| What? Affiliate Summit APAC |
| When? TBA |
| Where? Singapore |
| What? Affiliate Summit West |
| When? February 7th – 9th, 2023 |
| Where? Las Vegas |
| What? Affiliate Summit Europe |
| When? June 30th – July 2nd |
| Where? Online |
Search and Performance Insider Summit
Search and Performance Insider Summit is the first conference on the list that focuses strictly on programmatic marketing. This is a must-attend digital marketing event for performance marketers, agencies, and business leaders in search of technology companies providing the latest trends in programmatic advertising solutions.
Previous editions of SPIS provided new insights into programmatic strategies after COVID-19. They also touched upon the ongoing changes in terms of growing privacy concerns. We can only expect the new edition to offer more valuable insights on the critical updates in the sphere of online privacy.
| What? Search and Performance Insider Summit |
| When? May 18th – 21st |
| Where? Charleston |
Digital Marketing Expo & Conference (DMEXCO)
The Digital Marketing Expo & Conference is an annual event gathering the best of the best from the digital marketing industry. This is the largest conference tackling the subject of digital advertising and the program is so varied as to appeal to any kind of audience. DMEXCO offers seminars, debates, expositions, and masterclasses. It also covers a wide array of marketing channels, including programmatic.
Last year’s event didn’t shy away from topics like privacy changes, brand safety, and upcoming cookieless revolutions. It’s safe to say we can expect a lot more of that this year.
| What? Digital marketing Expo & Conference (DMEXCO) |
| When? September 21 -22 |
| Where? Cologne |
Traffic & Conversion Summit
Traffic & Conversion Summit lasts 3 days and is packed with sessions straight from industry leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators. The agenda includes the staple of digital marketing, that is, future predictions, social and influencer marketing, content, email, automation, e-commerce strategies, and a corner for media buyers.
Whether you choose the in-person event providing an unmatched networking experience or the virtual digital marketing event that can be comfortably experienced from anywhere in the world, there is bound to be something valuable for all niches of the advertising community.
| What? Traffic & Conversion Summit |
| When? September 27th – 29th |
| Where? San Diego |
Digiday Publishing Summit
While the Digiday Publishing Summit is on the expensive side, the networking functions of the event are unlike any other. On top of three days of discussions and insights, attendees are granted two or four eight-minute sessions with publishing executives of their choice. The one-on-one meetings are what makes this digital marketing event special.
The publishing summit will be happening in person. The differently priced passes vary only in the number of one-on-one sessions available and the benefit of early access booking.
Note: September edition as well and the Europe edition are yet to be announced.
| What? Digiday Publishing Summit |
| When? March 28th – 30th |
| Where? Miami |
Brandweek
Brandweek is a conference from the leading source of digital marketing information – Adweek. The event, just like the rest of the platform, touches on topics from the advertising industry, such as innovative technology, content strategy, privacy issues, brand building, and anything in between.
While the organizational details for 2022 are still tentative, previous editions included attendees from just about every sphere of life e.g. sports, social media, food, fashion, technology, transport, and many more.
| What? Brandweek |
| When? September 12 – 16 |
| Where? TBA |
Digiday Media Buying Summit
Digiday Media Buying Summit is another digital marketing event hosted by the Digiday crew. This time, focused on media buying, the summit will deal with challenges and opportunities the mid-pandemic world will bring to agencies as well as business and marketing professionals.
Similar to the Digiday Publishing Summit, the event offers the unique benefit of accessing special one-on-one sessions with executives of one’s choice and the number of such sessions depends on the level of pass purchased.
What? Digiday Media Buying Summit
When? March 7th – 9th
Where? New Orleans
| What? Digiday Media Buying Summit |
| When? March 7th – 9th |
| Where? New Orleans |
Moscow Affiliate Conference (MAC)
While there is still little information on the 2022 MAC edition, last year’s event had around 3000 attendees and 2 full days packed with top agencies and media buying professionals. While the majority of attendees fall under the category of webmasters and marketers, programmatic newbies and gurus alike can benefit from the event.
The 2020 digital marketing event had to be postponed due to the Covid outbreak, however, the 2021 edition took place as planned and there are no issues anticipated for 2022 either.
| What? Moscow Affiliate Conference MAC |
| When? TBA |
| Where? Moscow |
Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit
Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit is yet another version of the previously mentioned events by Digiday. This time, the focus lies solely on programmatic strategies. While third-party cookies are dying, programmatic marketing is changing rapidly.
The leading experts of the industry will attempt to answer the most burning questions regarding the new programmatic landscape.
| What? Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit |
| When? May 4th -6th |
| Where? Palm Springs |
Web Summit
Web Summit has been called the world’s premier tech conference. In 2021, it brought together over 40k people including many senior leaders and technology pioneers of the vast webspace. The event is not limited to digital advertising but focuses on the whole online entertainment industry, including eCommerce.
Last year’s topics included such niches as advertising, crypto, gaming, investment, leadership, sport, social media, and many many more. In short, there is no company that wouldn’t fit the criteria to benefit from this conference.
| What? WebSummit |
| When? November 1st – 4th |
| Where? Lisbon |
eCom World
Ecom World is the largest e-commerce conference that comes exclusively in an online form. It deals with the topic of leading and growing an e-commerce business from the ground up. Consequently, the topics cover every aspect of such an operation, including customer service, store design, brand building, and advertising (including search advertising).
It’s possible to attend as a solution provider or a freelancer, brand, or e-commerce store. The difference between the kind of ticket is the option to get featured on the marketplace, plus prolonged access to conference benefits.
| What? eCom World |
| When? May 4th – 5th |
| Where? Online |
Hero Conf
Hero Conf is a meeting place for brands, agencies, and SaaS companies from all over the world. The event is aimed not only at professional-level enterprises but also at freelancers and affiliate marketers that are only getting into the business. PPC advertising is the theme of this conference.
Hero Conf comes in two editions. The schedule for the Austin event is already out and it includes such topics as Programmatic Advertising for PPC Experts. So, while this isn’t strictly a programmatic event, it will be useful for business and marketing professionals who want to expand their knowledge.
| What? Hero Conf Austin |
| When? January 31st – February 1st |
| Where? Austin |
| What? Hero Conf London |
| When? March 14th – 15th |
| Where? London |
Search Love Conference
The Searchlove Conference is a two-day event offering all kinds of skill-building workshops. Despite the name, the conference covers a much broader range of subjects than search. From SEO, analytics, and customer experience to email marketing, search and Google algorithm updates, Searchlove provides value to anyone from the digital marketing sphere.
Searchlove comes in three in-person editions. What’s more, all attendees can access the slides after the conference or opt to purchase a special video ticket that grants access to conference recordings.
| What? Searchlove San Diego |
| When? March 24th – 25th |
| Where? San Diego |
| What? Searchlove Philadelphia |
| When? June 20th – 21st |
| Where? Philadelphia |
| What? Searchlove London |
| When? October 17th – 18th |
| Where? London |
DigiMarCon
DigiMarCon is the largest digital marketing conference series in the world. The lineup of events includes 40 separate events in 18 different countries. When it comes to topics, there is no specific focus point. Everything connected to media, advertising, and marketing gets its fair share of attention.
While not all events will have their online counterparts, DigiMarCon enthusiasts who can’t or won’t be able to attend the events can still benefit from a special online edition.
We won’t be sharing the full lineup here due to a large number of events, but the full list of conferences with dates and locations can be accessed here.
MozCon
MozCon is a conference for SEO professionals that also touches upon other topics from the online marketing sphere. Agencies and executives looking to expand the outreach of their businesses are bound to benefit from this event. However, if your interest is purely in programmatic advertising, this event might be the most optional position on our list.
The agenda for 2022 is set to be announced in spring this year. Moz customers, however, are already able to purchase the early bird tickets.
| What? MozCon |
| When? July 11th – 13th |
| Where? Seattle |
Programmatic Summit Melbourne/Sydney
Marketing professionals from down under can’t miss the Programmatic Summit created in partnership with IAB Australia. The event is aimed at digital marketing professionals from both supply and demand sides of the programmatic industry.
There are two editions of the Programmatic Summit and while this is a large regional event, presenters are not limited to locals and the agenda tackles global marketing issues.
| What? Programmatic Summit Melbourne |
| When? February 24th |
| Where? Melbourne |
| What? Programmatic Summit Sydney |
| When? March 3rd |
| Where? Sydney |
Munich International Search Summit
The Munich International Search Summit focuses on global problems and challenges of working with search traffic. While Search engine marketing is the primary focus of this conference, search engine optimization is an area that won’t be omitted.
The 2022 agenda is not yet fully developed, however, sessions that are already planned include the latest trends in Google Ads, SEO content clustering, and practical solutions for search marketers.
What’s more, three additional editions are in the works. Search Summit London, Global, and Barcelona are all set to return in 2022, however, details are yet to be announced.
| What? Munich International Search Summit |
| When? March 15th |
| Where? Munich |
UnGagged London
The UnGagged London conference is advertised as an edgy, liberating event without the sales pitches and trivial bits. It’s aimed at intermediate to professional digital marketers and offers a broad program including programmatic marketing.
While in the previous years, Ungagged appeared in the US as well, in 2022 only the UK version has been announced so far. What’s more, there is no online coverage. The event organizers take pride in providing the attendees with practical solutions that have not yet been made common knowledge.
| What? UnGagged |
| When? July 11th – 13th |
| Where? London |
Programmatic I/O
Programmatic I/O is a strictly programmatic conference for both the sell-side and buy-side of the digital marketing industry. The event allows attendees to meet leading experts and decision-makers in the sphere of programmatic advertising. The two-day event is aimed at anyone operating in the new cookieless world.
While the 2022 agenda is yet to be announced, last year’s schedule covered all the key areas of programmatic growth (e.g. privacy changes, first-party data takeover, or new forms of performance measurement).
| What? Programmatic I/O |
| When? October 25th – 26th |
| Where? New York |
Programmatic Pioneers Summit
The Programmatic Pioneers Summit unites programmatic and marketing leaders from all over Europe. The event includes brands, agencies, technology providers, platform providers, and anyone else operating in the programmatic space.
With the key topics revolving around the cookieless future of digital marketing, this advertising conference provides all the strategic insights for brands planning to grow their business in 2022.
| What? Programmatic Pioneers Summit |
| When? May 24th – 25th |
| Where? London |
Inbound
The Inbound conference is not limited to programmatic media but encompasses the whole sphere of digital marketing. Apart from the latest trends and innovations, Inbound provides the fundamentals needed to immerse yourself in the world of online, e.g. meetups allowing you to connect with peers and exchange ideas.
Hosted by Hubspot, Inbound is gearing up to organize its biggest online event in 2022. All details are yet to be announced, however, Inbound has a proven track record of delivering one of the best virtual events amongst digital marketing conferences.
| What? Inbound 2022 |
| When? TBA |
| Where? Online |
Conclusions
There is no shortage of networking events available in 2022. In fact, many suspended events or online events are back to their regular in-person form. Marketers and agencies looking to discover new solutions are presented with a varied line-up with a focus on any sphere of affiliate marketing.
2022 will be a year of making connections and discovering new solutions.
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