For chief marketing officers, keeping up with the rapid changes in a dynamic field and building new knowledge and skills are key to continued success. 

Before the COVID crisis, trade shows and conferences were one of the best ways to keep up with new developments in marketing, find vendors and connect with colleagues. They still are. While some are still being held online only, in—person events are making a comeback and almost all are now hybrid, with sessions streamed online to those who can’t  — or don’t want to — mingle in person. 

Here are some of the events and programs on tap for 2022. Most are annual, so if you can’t make it in person in 2022, look for the next edition in 2023. 

Association of National Advertisers Masters of Marketing Conference

Hybrid  |  Oct 25-28, 2022 

The ANA brings together C-level executives from the largest brands to compare notes and consider the advice of the foremost thought leaders in marketing. The 2021 conference featured presentations from the CMO of the National Football League, CMO of Amazon Studios, Global Chief of Customer Experience for Johnson & Johnson and the CMO for Lowe’s. The 2022 edition will feature Marcel Marcondes, Global CMO for Anheuser-Busch, Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer for Procter & Gamble, Chris Brandt, CMO for Chipotle Mexican Grill, Tony Wells, Chief Media Officer for Verizon and many other top level marketing executives. 

Expect plenty of deep dives into the topics most crucial to marketers right now. The show will take place live in Orlando, FL at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, and you can attend virtually as well. 

Ultimate Customer Experience Conference

Virtual  |   Dec. 6-7, 2022 

Produced by The Conference Board, Ultimate CX brings offers a slate of powerhouse sessions. Customer experience is the sum total of a customer’s interactions with your brand. Beyond the recent changes in the overall environment, marketers are also seeing a fundamental shift in the way customers evaluate brands that reflects the overall shift away from products, services, jobs and experiences that don’t align with their values. This shift has been underway for some time, but it accelerated rapidly with the advent of Covid, and the apparent downturn in growth in the global economy is likely to accelerate it further as customers focus on core values and shift spending away from discretionary items. Sessions include: 

• The new psychology of customer values and priorities
• The rewarding and meaningful employee experiences that lead to great customer experiences
• The latest innovations on digital platforms and digital-physical integration
• Using data and insights to personalize at scale
• Rediscovering and reinventing the physical retail space
• Interactive networking with fellow attendees
• Curated virtual journeys to explore CX innovations 

Six Days With Kellogg

In person  |  May 15-17 and June 28-29 2023

This isn’t a traditional conference but a structured symposium designed to help CMOs — especially new CMOs — digest, react to and master the tectonic changes occurring in marketing. The program is divided into four major sections: Thinking Strategically, Innovation and Growth, Customer-Centric Organization, Leading In The C-Suite. It covers a gamut of topics including:

• Consumer Power and the Changing Role of Marketing
• Developing Competitive Advantage 
• Elevating Brand Purpose
• Building Effective CMO and R+D Relationships 
• The Promise of Strategic Alliances
• Managing Value with Customer Centricity and Advanced Analytics
• Advanced Analytics and AI for Customer Centricity 
• Values-Based Leadership
• Essential Business and Financial Metrics
• Resurgence: The Four Stages of Market-Focused Reinvention

DigMarCon

Hybrid  |  Multiple Dates 

This annual conference brings together the worlds of digital technology and marketing. The sessions are held in multiple cities on various dates. The focus includes topics such as behavioral and neuromarketing, data science and big data. Speakers range from C-suite heavyweights to the innovators in the trenches finding new ways to marry digital technology to marketing. With technology consuming an ever-larger share of the marketing budget, understanding what’s coming next is essential to all marketing leaders. Just a few of the things conferees will discuss include: 

Behavioral & Neuromarketing

• Content Marketing
• Conversational Marketing
• Conversion Rate Optimization
• Data Science & Big Data
• Email Marketing
• Native & Contextual Advertising
• Omnichannel Marketing
• Podcast & Webinar Marketing
• PR & Cause Marketing
• Predictive Analytics & Attribution
• Programmatic Advertising
• Sales & Marketing Automation
• Social Commerce
• Social Media Marketing
• Video Marketing
• Viral & Buzz Marketing

The virtual conference, which will likely be the largest, will take place on July 7 and 8. This takes place every summer, so if 2022 isn’t going to work, register for updates on the schedule for 2023. 

Gartner Marketing Symposium/Expo

Hybrid  |  May 23-25, 2023

Gartner is a leading business consultancy, and each year it presents its insights into how the role of marketers is changing and how marketers can utilize new technologies. The insights emerge from Gartner’s work with a vast array of corporate clients, and the ability to draw lessons from multiple industry leader helps build understanding of the challenges of today’s marketing environment: 

• Reasserting marketing’s digital orchestrator role
• Preparing for the future of hybrid marketing
• Integrating budgets, planning and activation
• Measuring marketing value shared with stakeholders 
• Rebuilding the marketing and communications engines for flexibility

The conference will be held in Aurora, CO (Denver area) and online. 

And More

There are a raft of other marketing events useful for CMOs, some large, some small, detailed at this link:

https://www.bizzabo.com/blog/marketing-events/

Get back out there and let the learning begin.

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