The marketing event industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. With mandatory stay-at-home orders throughout the majority of 2020, the events and conferences that we were all looking forward to attending either went virtual, got postponed, or were cancelled altogether. This year, many organizers are preparing ahead of time to host their event virtually, while others are making their return to live events with extra precautions added, as well as virtual components for those who feel safer at home but would still like to participate.
Though COVID-19 is sure to have long-lasting effects on the marketing event industry – with the biggest downside being that it will be much harder to meet potential clients in person – there is an upside to these changes. Because many are going virtual or adding virtual components, marketers may now be able to participate in events that before were too far away or too expensive to travel to in person. They can also interact with other professionals that they may not have otherwise, even if it is only virtual for now. Looking on the bright side will help marketers to stay motivated through all the changes. Don’t let this pandemic get in the way of your learning, networking, planning, and growing as a marketer!
Below is our list of the best marketing events and conferences to check out in 2021. Some virtual, some in-person, but all are great opportunities to stay on top of upcoming industry trends and changes. Make sure you check out the websites for each event you’re interested in to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information, especially since things can change last minute due to COVID-19:
January
- CMG Impact : January 19-21 & 26-28 – Virtual
- AMA The Year Ahead : January 26-28 – Virtual
- Kickstart Europe : January 21 in Amsterdam, Netherlands & Virtual
- MailCon : January 27-28 – Virtual
- Japan IT Week : January 27-29 in Osaka, Japan
February
- SUPERWEEK : February 1-5 in Budapest, Hungary
- MicroStrategy World : February 3 – Virtual
- Mobile Growth Summit : February 10-11 – Virtual
- Influencer Marketing Conference : February 17 – Virtual
- DX Summit : February 25 – Virtual
- Social Media Strategies Summit : February 25-26 – Virtual
- Global Conference on Business Management and Economics : February 27 in Vancouver, Canada
- Social Media Marketing World : February 28 – March 2 in San Diego, CA
March
- DX3 Canada : March 2-3 in Toronto, Canada
- Digital Analytics Hub : March 4-5 – Virtual
- Code BEAM America : March 10-12 – Virtual
- Digiday Media Buying Summit : March 10-12 – Virtual
- Venture Summit Virtual Connect West : March 16-18 – Virtual
- Global Hospitality and Tourism Conference : March 18-20 in Shillong, India
April
- Content 360 Week : April 6-8 – Virtual
- AI in Marketing Summit : April 15-16 in London, England & Virtual
- C3 : April 20-21 – Virtual
- EiQ: The Intelligent Email Gathering : April 21-22 – Virtual
- Adobe Summit : April 27-29 – Virtual
- Content Marketing Conference : April 27-29 – Virtual
May
- Confab : May 2-6 in Minneapolis, MN
- SiriusDecisions Summit : May 3-6 – Virtual
- Email Evolution Conference : May 5-6 – Virtual
- Brand ManageCamp : May 18-20 – Virtual
- Gartner Data and Analytics Summit London : May 18-20 – Virtual
- I-COM vSummit Experience Conference Part I : May 19-20 – Virtual
- B2B Marketing Leaders Forum APAC : May 26-27 in Sydney, Australia
- DX Summit : May 27 – Virtual
June
- I-COM vSummit Experience Conference Part II : June 1-3 – Virtual
- B2B Marketing Exchange : June 7-9 in Scottsdale, AZ
- ContentTECH Summit : June 8-10 – Virtual
- Future of Sales Festival : June 8-10 – Virtual
- Advanced Search Summit : June 9-11 in Napa Valley, CA
- Industry Impact Kansas City : June 14 in Kansas City, MO
- SMX Advanced : June 15-18 – Virtual
- Industry Impact Memphis : June 17 in Memphis, TN
- Industry Impact Orlando : June 21 in Orlando, FL
- Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity : June 21-25 in Cannes, France
- Industry Impact Austin : June 24 in Austin, TX
- Social Media Week : June 29 – July 1 in Los Angeles, CA
July
- Venture Summit Virtual Connect Global : July 6-8 – Virtual
- Affiliate World Europe : July 7-8 in Barcelona, Spain
- MozCon : July 12-14 – Virtual
- Affiliate Summit East : July 19-20 in New York, NY
- ANA Digital & Social Media Conference : July 19-21 in Carlsbad, CA & Virtual
- Product Marketing Summit Dublin : July 21-22 in Dublin, Ireland
- B2B Online : July 26-27 – Virtual
- DX Summit : July 29 – Virtual
August
- Pubcon Florida : August 3-5 in Miami, FL
- Digital Summit Minneapolis : August 5-6 in Minneapolis, MN
- Engage Marketing Conference : August 5-6 in Portland, OR & Virtual
- Digital Summit Atlanta : August 11-12 in Atlanta, GA
- Digital Summit Kansas City : August 17-18 in Kansas City, MO
- Social Media Strategies Summit First Responders : August 18-19 – Virtual
- B2B Marketing Leaders Forum Asia : August 19-20 in Singapore & Virtual
- Digital Summit Philadelphia : August 25-26 in Philadelphia, PA
- Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo : August 31 – September 2 – Virtual
September
- Digital Summit Washington DC : September 9-10 in Washington, DC
- Traffic & Conversion Summit : September 13-15 in San Diego, CA & Virtual
- Marketplace Risk Management Conference : September 14-15 in San Francisco, CA
- MarTech : September 14-15 – Virtual
- Super Niche Media Event : September 14-16 in Denver, CO
- DigiMarCon Asia Pacific : September 15-16 – Virtual
- Digital Summit Detroit : September 15-16 in Detroit, MI
- inOrbit21 : September 16-17 in Portorose, Slovenia
- Localogy : September 20-22 in Los Angeles, CA
- Digital Summit Portland : September 21-22 in Portland, OR
- eTail Virtual Summit & Expo : September 21-22 – Virtual
- The Social Shake-Up : September 22-23 in Atlanta, GA
- SocialAtHome: Thrive : September 23-24 – Virtual
- CommerceNext : September 28-29 in New York, NY
- Mumbrella360 : September 28-29 in Sydney, Australia
- Technology For Marketing : September 28-30 – Virtual
- Content Marketing World : September 28 – October 1 in Cleveland, OH & Virtual
- Fifteen Seconds Festival : September 30 – October 1 in Graz, Austria
October
- Digital Sales & Marketing World : October 5-6 in Hartford, CT
- Digital Summit Nashville : October 5-6 in Nashville, TN
- eTail Germany : October 5-6 – Virtual
- Experiential Marketing Summit : October 5-7 in Chicago, IL
- One-to-One Digital Marketing : October 5-7 in Biarritz, France
- Programmatic Pioneers Summit : October 12-13 – Virtual
- Inbound : October 12-14 – Virtual
- Digital Summit Tampa : October 13-14 in Tampa, FL
- MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum : October 13-14 – Virtual
- Nordic Gig & Sharing Innovation Summit : October 13-14 in Stockholm, Sweden
- Retail Week Live : October 13-14 in London, England
- Digital First : October 14 in Brussels, Belgium
- AdWorld Experience : October 14-15 in Bologna, Italy & Virtual
- Marketing Mania : October 17-20 in Dubai, UAE
- Advertising Week : October 18-21 in New York, NY & Virtual
- Festival of Marketing : October 18-21 – Virtual
- eTail Nordic : October 20-21 – Virtual
- LeadsCon : October 21-22 in Las Vegas, NV
- LavaCon : October 24-27 – Virtual
- Programmatic I/O : October 25-26 in New York, NY
- Marketing Leaders Summit : October 26-27 – Virtual
- Digital Summit Chicago : October 27-28 in Chicago, IL
- I-COM vSummit Experience Conference Part III : October 27-28 – Virtual
- AdWorld Conference : October 27-29 – Virtual
- DX Summit : October 28-29 – Virtual
November
- State of Search Conference : November 1-2 – Virtual
- Web Summit : November 1-4 in Lisbon, Portugal
- Digital Summit Miami : November 2-3 in Miami, FL
- Product Marketing Summit Sydney : November 3 in Sydney, Australia
- Affiliate Summit West : November 2-4 in in Las Vegas, NV
- Social Media Week London : November 2-4 in in London, England & Virtual
- Turing Fest : November 2-4 in Edinburgh, Scotland
- Beyond Tellerrand Dusseldorf : November 8-10 in Dusseldorf, Germany
- Search Marketing Summit : November 9-12 in Sydney, Australia
- Sharing Economy Global Summit : November 10-11 in London, England
- Product Marketing Summit Singapore : November 11 in Singapore
- Marketing Analytics and Data Science : November 15-17 in Nashville, TN
- Friends of Search : November 16 in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- The Marketplace Conference : November 16 – Virtual
- B2B Marketing Expo : November 16-17 in London, England
- Product Marketing Summit Chicago : November 17-18 in Chicago, IL
- Smart Data Summit : November 17-18 in Dubai, UAE
- Israel Mobile Summit : November 18 – Virtual
- Digital Summit Raleigh : November 18-19 in Raleigh, NC
- The Martech Summit : November 18-19 in London, England
- Advertising Week LATAM : November 23 – Virtual
- Digital Marketing World Forum : November 23-24 in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- DigiMarCon Australia : November 24-25 in Sydney, Australia
- Product Marketing Summit London : November 25 in London, England
December
- Product Marketing Summit Toronto : December 2 in Toronto, Canada
- International Conference on Marketing : December 2-4 in Tenerife, Spain
- Email Insider Summit : December 5-8 in Deer Valley, UT
- Expo! Expo! : December 7-9 in Philadelphia, PA
- Digital Summit Dallas : December 8-9 in Dallas, TX
- Product Marketing Summit New York : December 8-9 in New York, NY
- Digital Summit Charlotte : December 14-15 in Charlotte, NC
Which events look the most interesting to you? Tell us in the comments! If you know about another event that we missed in this list, please feel free to tell us about that too.
