Best Events in 2020 to Improve Your Marketing Automation Game

When was the last time you took a break from customer journeys to invest in your professional journey as a marketer?

If you feel like your journey has been stunted because of the metrics, content curation and campaigns that have consumed your schedule, it’s time to make time for a marketing event this year. 

Marketing events are an excellent opportunity to learn about the latest trends, technology and big ideas across industries. You will be inspired by award-winning speakers and have the chance to connect with thousands of professionals on similar tracks like you. 

Whether you are interested in purchasing new technology, learning advanced skills for the tools you already use, or getting inspiration to improve your touchpoints with customers on their complex journeys, there are plenty of leaders who want to share their success stories with you.

Here are 7 must-attend marketing events in 2020 that are the right fit for mid-to-senior level marketing professionals who want to improve their marketing automation strategy. These marketing events are listed in order of date.

1. Adobe Summit

Date: March 29- April 2

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Price: $2095, Full Conference Pass

Adobe Summit is designed for the enterprise marketer who is reimagining complex customer journeys and experiences. If you are looking to improve your Adobe or Marketo skill set, this is a fitting marketing event for you.

There are over 400 sessions and labs across 11 content tracks. Sessions feature presentations from product experts. Labs give you hands-on training for new solutions, using computers with preloaded software. 

Session topics cover:

• Analytics and customer journey
• B2B Marketing and Account-based experiences
• Content and Asset Management
• Email and Campaign Management
• Personalization
• Platform, Machine Learning, and AI

There will be industry-specific sessions that offer relevant ideas and training for your unique line of work.

Industries represented include:

• Automotive
• B2B
• Consumer Goods
• Financial Services and Insurance
• Government
• Healthcare
• High Tech
• Media and Entertainment
• Retail and eCommerce
• Travel and Hospitality

For marketers who want advanced training, there are additional courses on Adobe and Marketo products that coincide with the conference. Marketo Imagine — a separate but simultaneous event — trains attendees on Marketo-specific use cases. Marketo Imagine participants have access to all Summit keynotes, sessions and labs. 

2. Traffic and Conversion Summit

Date: March 31-April 2 

Location: San Diego, CA

Price: Before March 3 – $1,995, While tickets last – $2,595

The Traffic and Conversion Summit is for professionals seeking to expand their digital marketing skills in their particular area of expertise. This conference — comprising of 80 speakers, 103 sessions and over 10,000 attendees — is broken down into seven smaller sub-events.

These tracks are organized by:

• Big Ideas (Aimed towards founders and executives)
• Agencies Only
• Digital Retailers
• Digital Advertisers
• Content Marketers
• Conversational Marketers
• Growth Hackers

Your ticket to the conference includes access to each track. 

Speakers for this year’s conference include:

• Ezra Firestone, Co-Founder & CEO BOOM! By Cindy Joseph
• Mari Smith, aka “Queen of Facebook”
• Mark Roberge, Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School and Former SVP of Sales at Hubspot
• Richard Lindner, President, DigitalMarketer

In addition to the high-quality presentations, attendees have access to more than 13 networking events and after-parties. This will be an intensive time to learn about the latest trends in your niche and to network with fellow professionals in the digital community.

3. IMPACT/Digital Sales and Marketing World

Date: April 5-7

Location: Hartford, CT

Price: Community Pass – $399, All-access – $1,699, VIP – $2,199, Team packages vary

Digital Sales and Marketing World, formerly IMPACT, is for teams who want leads across marketing, sales and leadership teams to attend an event together to improve cross-departmental alignment. Keynote speakers will cover topics such as content marketing, video strategy, and organizational alignment. Breakout sessions are organized by your specific role and industry. 

Role-specific summits include:

• Marketing Leaders & Strategists
• Content Managers
• Sales Leaders
• Business & Sales Leaders
• Videographers
• Solopreneurs / Small Business

Industry-specific summits include:

• Manufacturing
• Marketing / Digital Agencies
• Home Improvement / Construction
• Retail
• MarTech
• Financial / Professional Services

*More industries will be added as the conference approaches

Keynote speakers include:

• Marcus Sheridan, Author of They Ask, You Answer
• Ramon Ray, Founder and Editor of Smart Hustle Magazine
• Liz Moorehead, Director of Web and Interactive Content, IMPACT

The organization of this conference is unique —  leaders can build upon the lessons they learn from the keynote by attending the more industry and role-focused events.  

4. ContentTECH Summit

Date: April 20-22

Location: San Diego, CA

Price: Main Conference Pass – $1,499, Post-Show Video Access – $599

ContentTECH Summit is an intersection point for new ideas surrounding content, technology, and strategy. This conference is created for the enterprise-level marketer who is pushing customer experiences forward.

In March, ContentTECH Summit will release a mobile app that will enable attendees to schedule the sessions they plan on attending. Attendees can sort through sessions by pass type and track. 

Current speakers on the lineup include:

• Cleve Gibbon, Chief Technology Officer, Wunderman Thompson
• Alan Zweibel, Original SNL Screenwriter and best-selling author
• Wendy Richardson, SVP, Global Technical Services, Mastercard Worldwide
• Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Advisor, Content Marketing Institute

Sessions will cover topics such as:

• Building a Content Strategy
• Data Science Basics for Content Marketing
• Scaling Personalization: Adaptive Content for Omnichannel Delivery

This will be a great conference for mid to senior-level enterprise marketers reenvisioning how their content, personalization and omnichannel strategies can engage and convert customers. 

5. Gartner Marketing Symposium|Xpo

Date: June 1-3

Location: San Diego, CA

Price: Early-bird (before April 3) – $3,625, Standard – $4,075, Public-sector – $3,400

The Gartner Marketing Symposium is made up of over 1,600 CMOs and marketing executives who use trustworthy market research to drive their customer experiences. This conference dives into what Gartner analysts have to say about changing markets and industries.

In addition to the 100+ research-driven sessions, attendees can meet with over 50 exhibitors at the exposition.

Gartner’s six tracks include:

• Lead and Innovate in Marketing
• Inform Decision Making with Insights, Data, and Analytics
• Deliver Exceptional Customer Experiences
• Drive Results through Multichannel Marketing
• Generate Revenue through Sales Channels
• Explore Emerging Trends and Technology

Speakers consist of key Gartner experts:

• Christi Eubanks, Managing Vice President
• Andrew Frank, Distinguished VP Analyst
• Maureen Murphy, L-2 Co-founder, CSO 
• Christopher Ross, VP Analyst
• Jennifer Polk, VP Analyst
• Jay Wilson, VP Analyst

This is for data-savvy marketers who want to apply the latest research to their business strategies.

6. INBOUND

Date: August 18-21 

Location: Boston, MA

Price: $199 (Community Pass), $599 (1-day pass), $1,699 (All-access 4-day), $2,199 (Power Pass)

Hubspot’s INBOUND conference is one of the largest, most energetic and most highly anticipated marketing events all year. More than 26,000 professionals gather to think about big ideas, take home actionable insights, and have a ton of fun along the way.

Past speakers included:

• Katie Couric, Award-winning Journalist, Founder of Katie Couric Media
• Jennifer Garner and John Foraker, Co-Founders, Once Upon a Farm
• Sal Khan, Founder & CEO, Khan Academy

In addition to learning from major business and marketing leaders, attendees have access to parties and world-class entertainment every night. Past stand-up comedians have included Trevor Noah, Amy Schumer, Ali Wong and Sarah Silverman. 

Due to the large nature of INBOUND, it is best to reserve your sessions in advance. Without reservations, attendees must wait in stand-by lines before each session. Community passes do not grant reservation privileges.

7. DigiMarCon

Dates and Locations vary

Over 20 annual events in the US, abroad and online

Price: Main Conference – $797, All-Access – $1,197, VIP $1,297, Virtual – $495

DigiMarCon conferences attract senior-level marketers, innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders in digital marketing. Leaders discuss important topics that surround digital strategy, emerging technology, SEO, paid digital advertising, mobile, customer loyalty and more. 

Speakers are primarily digital marketing experts and business leaders who share their real success stories. 

Past speakers have included:

• Christi Olson, Microsoft
• Jason Falls, Cornett
• Rand Fishkin, Moz
• Loni Stark, Adobe
• Allen Gannett, TrackMaven

TECHSPO New York accompanies DigiMarCon East (May 7-8). This is the perfect combination for marketers who want to mix theory and tech learning. DigiMarCon East also features Master Classes to equip marketers with advanced practices and hands-on training.

All of these marketing events provide expert knowledge and success stories to inspire your next marketing automation campaign. To learn more about marketing automation, download our free Buyer’s Guide to Marketing Automation.