The adtech industry is moving fast – AI, programmatic innovation, privacy changes, connected TV (CTV), retail media, and customer-centric experiences are redefining digital advertising. If you want to stay ahead of the curve in 2026, adding high-impact adtech events to your calendar is one of the best ways to learn, connect, and grow.
Here’s our guide to the top 20 adtech, media and marketing technology events worth attending this year, complete with dates and locations.
Table of Contents
Top 20 AdTech Events In 2026
CES 2026: January 6–9
📍Las Vegas, NV, USA
Kicking off the year, the Consumer Electronics Show brings together global tech innovators, showing breakthroughs in AI, IoT, connectivity, and consumer trends that influence how advertising technology evolves. It’s a must-attend adtech event for anyone looking at the interplay of tech and media strategies.
Source: audioXpress.
IAB Annual Leadership Meeting (ALM): February 1–3
📍Palm Springs, CA, USA
A cornerstone adtech event for senior digital media leaders, IAB ALM sets the strategic tone for the year ahead. Expect high-level discussions on regulation, measurement, trust, privacy, and the future structure of the advertising ecosystem.
Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona: March 2–5
📍Barcelona, Spain
The world’s premier connectivity and mobile tech event is highly relevant for adtech because it showcases mobile trends, 5G monetization, AI, data ecosystems, and cross-device experiences that marketers must understand.
Source: MWC.
The MarTech Summit Berlin: March 5
📍 Berlin, Germany
A focused, English-speaking martech event bringing together marketing and technology leaders to discuss automation, AI, data strategy, and modern marketing stacks. Ideal adtech event for practitioners looking for tactical insights rather than hype.
Convergent TV World (CTV Connect): March 5–6
📍 New York, NY, USA
Focused entirely on connected TV and convergent video, Convergent TV World, formerly known as CTV Connect, explores cross-screen engagement, advanced measurement, ad formats, and monetization models. A strong choice for buyers, publishers, and adtech teams working in CTV.
TES 2026 Marbella: March 9–12
📍 Marbella, Spain
TES (Traffic & Conversion Summit Europe) focuses on performance marketing, traffic acquisition, monetization strategies, and growth tactics. Popular among affiliate marketers, growth teams, and digital entrepreneurs.
The MarTech Summit Singapore: March 10–11
📍 Singapore
A key Asia-Pacific martech event covering AI-driven marketing, personalization, customer data platforms, and marketing automation. Valuable adtech event for teams expanding into or operating across APAC markets.
d3con: March 17–18
📍 Hamburg, Germany
One of Europe’s most respected programmatic events, d3con dives deep into automation, data, AI, and transparency in digital advertising. A must-attend for agencies, publishers, and adtech providers in programmatic.
Digiday Publishing Summit: March 23–25
📍 Vail, CO, USA
A high-level retreat for media executives focused on publisher monetization, audience strategy, subscriptions, and advertising innovation. Known for candid discussions and strong networking.
IAB NewFronts 2026: March 23–26
📍 New York City, USA
The NewFronts showcase premium digital video and CTV inventory from major publishers and platforms. Essential for buyers and brands planning upfront-style investments in streaming and digital video.
New Video Frontiers by VideoWeek: April 15–16
📍London, UK
This specialised adtech event brings together video advertising and CTV leaders to discuss trends, measurement, monetization and creative formats in next-generation video experiences.
IAB Tech Lab Summit: May 28
📍 New York, NY, USA
A deeply technical event dedicated to standards, privacy-first architectures, interoperability, and adtech infrastructure. Ideal for product, engineering, and operations teams shaping the future of ad delivery.
Shoptalk Europe: June 9-11
📍Barcelona, Spain
Shoptalk Europe brings together the most forward-thinking retailers, brands, and technology providers shaping the future of how people discover, shop, and buy. With thousands of attendees and hundreds of speakers, it’s the go-to event for discovering trends, innovations, and transformative strategies in retail media, data, AI, and more.
Learn more about Shoptalk from Adtelligent team!
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity: June 22–26
📍Cannes, France
While a broader creativity festival, Cannes Lions remains impactful for adtech and martech professionals who want creative-driven innovation tied to brand technology, data storytelling, and future audience engagement.
Affiliate World Europe: July 9–10
📍 Budapest, Hungary
One of the largest affiliate and performance marketing events globally. Strong focus on traffic acquisition, partnerships, monetization models, and growth strategies across digital channels.
Affiliate World East: July 27–28
📍 New York, NY, USA
The U.S. edition of Affiliate World brings together global affiliates, advertisers, and tech platforms to discuss performance marketing, scaling strategies, and cross-channel growth.
Digiday Publishing Summit: September 14–16
📍 Miami, FL, USA
Another flagship Digiday retreat focused on media business models, advertising innovation, audience engagement, and publisher-platform relationships — with a strong strategic and executive focus.
DMEXCO (Digital Marketing Expo & Conference): September 23–24
📍Cologne, Germany
DMEXCO is where creativity meets cutting-edge technology. As Europe’s leading digital marketing and tech event, DMEXCO brings together business leaders, digital marketers, adtech vendors, and industry experts to explore the latest innovations, trends, and ideas shaping the future of marketing and advertising.
Get inspired by Adtelligent’s insights from its visit to DMEXCO as an exhibitor.
AdExchanger Programmatic I/O: Dates TBA
📍City TBA | USA
A top forum for programmatic advertising, Programmatic I/O explores AI-driven media buying, identity solutions, cross-channel strategies, and real-world implementations for programmatic growth.
The CTV Advertising Leadership Forum: October 20–22
📍 Seville, Spain
A senior-level forum dedicated to connected TV advertising, bringing together decision-makers to discuss strategy, measurement, monetization, and the future of CTV across markets.
How to Prioritise Events in 2026
- Business impact: Choose events aligned with your focus — programmatic, retail media, video and CTV, privacy & data strategy, or automation.
- Networking value: Major global summits (CES, DMEXCO, Cannes Lions) offer broad connections; niche summits provide targeted discussions.
- Location & timing: Spread learning throughout the year — and mix global events with local meetups to balance travel and ROI.
Final Thoughts
2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year in adtech. From AI-driven programmatic strategies and retail media acceleration to CTV monetization and next-generation measurement, these events offer unparalleled opportunities to stay informed, innovate and connect with peers across the ecosystem. Mark your calendar, plan ahead and make this year your most strategic yet.