The #1 Media and Publisher Events Guide for 2020
Bizzabo Blog Staff
Your guide to media events and publisher events in 2020. Check out these great digital media, print media, television and broadcasting events and more.
Publishers are now at the intersection of multiple industries including marketing, tech, and advertising. It is now more important than ever to maintain a high-level, synthesized understanding of the media world – especially given the scrutiny the industry has received in recent years. Attending in-person events is one of the best ways to do that.
As Bizzabo Co-founder and CMO Alon Alroy recently put it, “Events for publishers are one of the best opportunities to form relationships with readers, sponsors, media partners, and advertisers.” (See: Event Planning Advice for Publishers & Media Outlets).
Here are the top 80+ publishing conferences of 2020 that all publishers should attend in order to excel in this dynamic and swiftly-evolving industry.
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2020 January Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| NRF Retail’s Big Show | New York, NY | 1/11/20 – 1/14/20 | At the world’s largest retail conference and expo, attendees span the entire business universe allowing you to make more connections for maximum impact. |
| Marketing Politics the Conference | Washington, DC | 1/16/20 | MediaPost’s annual Marketing Politics will be the first post-mortem on what was learned in Campaign 2018 and the first preamble to how those lessons will be applied to Campaign 2020. |
| MediaPost’s Online All Stars | New York, NY | 1/23/20 | MediaPost’s Online All Stars celebrate the stars in the online media, advertising and marketing industry, who have pushed the business to new levels of excellence through their outstanding achievements and thought leadership. |
| MailCon | Las Vegas, NV | 1/26/20 | MailCon is your chance to join 500+ email marketers, entrepreneurs, and technology leaders spanning some of the largest sectors of the economy from financial services, healthcare, home services, professional services, and travel, among many others. |
| Affiliate Summit West | Las Vegas, NV | 1/27/20 – 1/29/20 | More than 6,000 Digital Marketers will gather at Paris Las Vegas for this premier performance marketing global event. |
| AdExchanger’s Industry Preview | New York, NY | 1/28/20 – 1/29/20 | Two days focused on what to expect in the next 12 months in marketing technology. |
| Media Post’s Forecast | New York, NY | 1/29/20 | MediaPost’s annual Forecast gathering of the media leaders reviews how agencies and their clients have allocated spending for the current year and where they are placing their bets for the next five. |
| NamesCon Global | Austin, TX | 1/29/20 – 2/1/20 | NamesCon will connect you to all aspects of the domain industry, from registrars, registries, web hosting companies, attorneys, brand managers, domain name investors, start-ups, affiliate marketing companies, parking companies, financial service providers, individual end-users, and everyone else in between. |
2020 February Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| Digiday Hot Topic | New York, NY | TBA | At Digiday Hot Topic, hear how publishers have built new commerce brands, integrated subscriptions into their organizations and gotten their readers to open their wallets. |
| Email Insider Summit Europe | Kitzbühel, Austria | 2/3/20 – 2/6/20 | Join us as we explore how leading brands are developing customer life-cycles in email and how collaboration, testing, optimization and automation are helping email marketers accomplish these goals. |
| The Gathering | Banff, Canada | 2/19/20 – 2/21/20 | The annual coming together of the world’s most coveted brands to share secrets and learn from the courageous leaders and trailblazers who are reaping the benefits of unbreakable brand affinity and loyalty. |
| Forbes/SHOOK Top Advisors Summit | Las Vegas, NV | 2/24/20 – 2/26/20 | A two-day event that brings executives and leading figures together. |
| Crisis & Measurement Summit | Miami, FL | 2/25/20 – 2/26/20 | This event brings together the top minds in crisis avoidance/management and brand leadership to share with you the strategies and tactics to keep your brand or organization’s reputation intact. |
| Digiday Media Buying Summit | Palm Springs, CA | 2/25/20 – 2/27/20 | At the Digiday Media Buying Summit, we’ll discuss the makings of the modern media buying operation: We’ll cover everything from how consultancies are approaching the industry, to hiring the right talent for a smarter media buying strategy, to new technologies from artificial intelligence to blockchain that will transform the industry over the next decade. |
2020 March Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| The DRUM: Agency Acceleration Day | London, England | TBA | CEOs from some of the UK’s fastest growing agencies will give candid insights on everything you need to know on how to create a successful business. |
| Digiday Publishing Summit Europe | Dubrovnik, Croatia | 3/3/20 – 3/5/20 | At the Digiday Publishing Summit Europe, we’ll bring together hundreds of senior leaders from Europe’s top publishers for a candid discussion on the biggest issues facing the industry. |
| MediaPost’s TV & Video Insider Summit | Austin, CA | 3/9/20 – 3/12/20 | MediaPost’s TV and Video Insider Summit applies to the “oppor-challenge” its unique and intimate format of bringing a tight group of leading media buyers and planners together for three days of sharing their best practices and ideas. |
| The Economist: World Ocean Summit | Tokyo, Japan | 3/9/20 – 3/10/20 | The World Ocean Summit will bring a critical eye to the vital issue of how to finance a sustainable ocean economy. |
| Engage Conference | Portland, OR | 3/12/20 – 3/13/20 | A two-day digital marketing conference, presenting multiple informative learning tracks and panel sessions designed to provide expert insight into the latest strategies and technological advancements in digital marketing, including social media, content, UX/design, creative, advertising, SEO and paid media. |
| SXSW | Austin, TX | 3/13/20 – 3/22/20 | Celebrating the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. |
| Strata Data Conference | San Jose, CA | 3/15/20 – 3/18/20 | Strata Data Conference is where thousands of innovators, leaders, and practitioners gather to develop new skills, share best practices, and discover how tools and technologies are evolving to meet new challenges. |
| Antimicrobial Resistance | London, UK | 3/19/20 | Join 120+ health policy leaders, academics and other experts across the industry for a frank discussion to catalyze progress in bringing AMR under control, before it is too late. |
| WSJ Women In Series | San Francisco, CA | 3/19/20 | The Wall Street Journal presents “Women In”, an event series that examines and addresses the challenges and successes that women face today. The series gathers prominent executives and global leaders from a variety of industries and discipline. |
| Super Niche Media Event | San Antonio, TX | 3/23/20 – 3/25/20 | This 3 day learning conference will deliver actionable growing strategies for your media company. |
| Digiday Publishing Summit | Vail, CO | 3/25/20 – 3/27/20 | At the Digiday Publishing Summit, we’ll discuss how publishers are keeping up with these changes and how they’re diversifying their revenue. We’ll be covering everything from measurement and data, to consumer revenue and even how publishers are transforming into platforms. |
| SearchLove: San Diego | San Diego, CA | 3/26/20 – 3/27/20 | Power up your skills over two days, with cutting edge digital marketing presentations. From analytics and optimization, to content and paid promotions, all the crucial topics are covered. |
| Sustainability Summit | London, UK | 3/26/20 | The Economist’s Sustainability Summit will marshal the evidence to measure past progress, and assess where and how policymakers, financial institutions and business leaders should act. |
| Adobe Summit | Las Vegas, NV | 3/29/20 – 4/2/20 | The premier event for digital marketing professionals, Summit has the latest insights from the world’s leading digital marketing experts. |
| Traffic and Conversion Summit | San Diego, CA | 3/31/20 – 4/2/20 | Bringing together the world’s smartest marketers to discuss the most effective and implementable solutions in marketing. |
back to top 2020 April Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| Digiday Retail Summit | TBA | TBA | At the Digiday Retail Summit, we’ll hear from industry executives who are using customer data and technology to drive innovation and improve experiences across the board. |
| Strata Data Conference | London, UK | 4/20/20 – 4/23/20 | Strata Data Conference is where thousands of innovators, leaders, and practitioners gather to develop new skills, share best practices, and discover how tools and technologies are evolving to meet new challenges. |
| WSJ Health Forum | Washington, DC | 4/24/20 | The editors of The Wall Street Journal will again convene influential business leaders, policy makers and experts from across the health and health-care industries to focus on the innovations transforming this critical sector. |
2020 May Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| BizBash Live | TBA | TBA | Packed with incredible new activations, innovative new vendors, and inspiring new education, this once-a-year experience is the perfect opportunity to connect, collaborate, and create long lasting relationships. Click the link to add yourself to the newsletter and receive updates as they become available! |
| Glossy Summit: Future of Fashion and Luxury | Miami, FL | 5/4/20 – 5/6/20 | At the Glossy Summit: Future of Fashion and Luxury, the biggest fashion and luxury brands meet to address the changing industry landscape. |
| EMS 2020 | Las Vegas, NV | 5/11/20 – 5/13/20 | Meet the most innovative marketing agencies at the world’s only conference on using social media and technology to optimize live experiences. |
| Programmatic I/O | San Francisco, CA | 5/11/20 – 5/12/20 | The world’s largest event focused on programmatic media and marketing. |
| WSJ The Future of Everything Festival | New York, NY | 5/11/20 – 5/13/20 | Join top Journal editors and an extraordinary group of thinkers, makers and doers as they explore the exciting changes transforming our world. From art to artificial intelligence, it’s the definitive look ahead. |
| The Social Shake-Up Show | Atlanta, GA | 5/12/20 – 5/14/20 | The Social Shake-Up Show is the premier social media conference where Shakers will overthrow the status quo and redefine what social media means for their business, brand and future. |
| Book Expo America | New York, NY | 5/27/20 – 5/29/20 | BookExpo is evolving to lead the global publishing industry to its consumer driven future and celebrate storytelling in all its forms. |
| MEDCOM | Sardinia, Italy | 5/28/20 – 5/30/20 | The Conference will bring together a range of academics, independent researchers, artists and activists at one place to share the research findings, innovations, and experiences in the field of Mass Communication. |
2020 June Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| Ps/Ai: The Photoshop + Illustrator Conference | Seattle, WA | 6/1/20 – 6/3/20 | Learn the top techniques of the Photoshop and Illustrator masters in this two-day in-depth event. |
| Click: The Presentation Design Conference | Seattle, WA | 6/3/20 – 6/5/20 | Click: The Presentation Design Conference is a two-day event focusing on “how to” use PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides to build engaging, informative, and persuasive presentations. |
| PepCon: The Print + Publishing Conference | Seattle, WA | 6/4/20 – 6/5/20 | PepCon brings together over twenty of the leading experts in publishing using tools from Adobe, Apple, Amazon, the open source community. |
| MediaPost’s Publishing Insider Summit | Pine Hurst, NC | 6/10/20 | At the annual Publishing Insider Summit, media companies share the many ways they are getting beyond chasing scale and instead building engagement. |
| The Next Web | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 6/18/20 – 6/19/20 | Join 15,000 entrepreneurs, marketing managers, CEOs and developers as they discuss the future of tech, marketing, and innovation. |
2020 July Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| MozCon | Seattle, WA | 7/6/20 – 7/8/20 | Three days of forward-thinking, actionable sessions in SEO, brand development, CRO, the mobile landscape, and more. |
| Digiday Brand Summit | TBA | TBA | At the Digiday Brand Summit, you’ll hear from the smartest brands about customer relationships, meaningful marketing, and much more. From new ways to advertise to new ways to organize, brands will present tactics and tools that’ll move the industry forward. |
2020 August Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| Digiday Hot Topic | TBA | TBA | Digiday Hot Topics are a trusted source for under-the-hood looks at the industry’s most pressing topics. Attendees leave with expert insight, proven strategies and new connections — ultimately leading to better business outcomes. |
| Digiday TV Leaders Dinner | TBA | TBA | The Digiday Future of TV Summit brings together top brand and agency executives to discuss the evolution of video and television advertising and how leaders in the industry are making their TV investments work. |
2020 September Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| Artificial Intelligence Conference | New York, NY | 9/14/20 – 9/17/20 | The AI Conference delivers an unsurpassed depth and breadth in technical content—with a laser-sharp focus on the most important AI developments for business. |
| LeadsCon | Boston, MA | 9/16/20 – 9/18/20 | LeadsCon is the definitive conference for online lead generation and direct response marketing. |
| Programmatic I/O: NY | New York, NY | 9/29/20 – 9/30/20 | This conference helps publishers gain valuable knowledge about programmatic media and its implications on the rest of the industry. |
| Online News Association | Atlanta, GA | 9/30/20 – 10/3/20 | ONA will provide a space for inspiring conversations about the latest trends and best practices in digital media. |
2020 October Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| FOLIO:SHOW | New York, NY | TBA | Two days of thought-provoking sessions, unparalleled networking and enlightening keynotes will immerse you in a deep dive of where media is heading. |
| New Yorker Festival | New York, NY | TBA | New Yorker Magazine’s annual festival that celebrates art across several mediums such as film, literature, books, and visual art. |
| The LavaCon Conference | New Orleans, LA | TBA | A gathering place for content strategists, documentation managers, and content professionals who are willing to share their best practices and lessons learned. |
| Content Marketing World | Cleveland, OH | 10/13/20 – 10/16/20 | The one event where you can learn and network with the best and the brightest in the content marketing industry. |
| WSJ Tech D.Live | Laguna Beach, CA | 10/19/20 – 10/21/20 | At this event, The Wall Street Journal brings together tech’s most ambitious minds — from the investors, founders and C-suite executives disrupting the status quo to the industry giants fostering innovation and driving growth. |
2020 November Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit Europe | TBA | TBA | The Digiday Programmatic Media Summit brings together hundreds of senior leaders in media to discuss the opportunities and challenges of programmatic in the new era of digital media. |
| Dreamforce | San Francisco, CA | 11/9/20 – 11/12/20 | An annual user conference hosted by Salesforce, bringing together thought leaders, industry pioneers and thousands of IT professionals. |
2020 December Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| ICDMIMT 2020 |
London, UK |
12/10/20 – 12/11/20 | The International Research Conference is a federated organization dedicated to bringing together a significant number of diverse scholarly events for presentation within the conference program. |
2019 November & December Media and Publisher Events
| Name | Location | Start Date | Description |
| Midwest Independent Publishers Association’s (MIPA’s) “Self-Evaluating Your Publishing Program” | Minneapolis, MN | 11/12/19 | Whether you are new to publishing or have been publishing for many years, you’ll find helpful information ranging from industry standards for creating your books to determining if niche publishing is right for your press. |
| Niche CEO Summit | Charleston, SC | 11/12/19 – 11/13/19 | The Niche CEO Summit offers you maximum interaction and focused discussion specific to your model and market. |
| Programmatic Pioneers Summit | Los Angeles, CA | 11/13/19 – 11/14/19 | Programmatic Pioneers is a two day programmatic advertising conference for brands, publishers and agencies. The conference will feature executives from innovative brands like Macy’s, AT&T, Disney, Samsung, Nestle and many others to teach you how to optimize your data to deliver the most accurate audience segmentation across channels through programmatic spend. |
| NYTimes: Cities for Tomorrow | New Orleans, LA | 12/6/19 – 12/7/19 | This conferences will convene the world’s foremost thinkers in urban design to identify and assess the winning formulas that leads to flourishing cities. |
| St. Louis Publishers Association’s (SLPA’s) “Pitchapalooza: The One-Minute Book Marketing Challenge” | St. Louis, MI | 12/11/19 | Authors will have a unique opportunity to practice their book-pitching skills and get valuable feedback from professionals. Learn how to hone your “elevator speech” at this special book marketing session hosted by SLPA past president and marketing master Bob Baker. |
Wrapping Up: Your Media and Publishing Conference
These media and publishing events provide the perfect opportunity to meet, learn from, and network with others who are equally passionate about bringing industry leaders and experts together! We hope this list will help you find the relevant conference that best suits your personal and professional goals.
You might also want to take a look at:
If you think we missed an event and or would like to feature a media and publishing conference of your own, click below to apply!
Editor’s Note: This directory was originally published on January 3, 2018 and has since been updated.
