ithout a doubt, MarTech events—whether conferences or trade shows—are key sources for quenching your thirst for knowledge when it comes to marketing technologies, software, and tools, and for sharpening your view of upcoming developments. When else do you get the chance to dedicate one or several days of focused attention to your most pressing challenges in the field of MarTech and exchange ideas 1:1 with various experts? Despite ongoing digitization and the trend toward virtual formats, in-person events still are—and remain—irreplaceable.
Sure, there are the big trade shows and festivals like OMR, WebSummit, or dmexco, where MarTech is just one topic among many. Below, however, we’d like to recommend a few events where, without further ado, one thing applies: Tech is King.
The best-known MarTech conference has for several years been hosted by Third Door Media, the publisher behind martech.org, in cooperation with chiefmartec.com. Anyone with even a little familiarity with the MarTech scene will immediately sit up and take notice: after all, these are the two most important online media outlets for MarTech in the US.
And so the MarTech Conference promises the crème de la crème of MarTech expertise, the latest industry trends, and in-depth know-how transfer from pros for aspiring pros – or as the website puts it: “become a master of marketing in the digital age”.
The most recent editions have all taken place online. We were welcomed by Scott Brinker & Co. from the (free!) virtual event stage, which isn’t necessarily a disadvantage for us Europeans.
Since:
2014
Location:
currently virtual, otherwise: San Jose, USA
Duration:
2 days
Next date:
On the website
Participants:
2022 several thousand online participants
Speaker:
MarTech experts and MarTech providers
Targeted at:
Marketers with a relatively high level of MarTech know-how
Special features:
the world’s largest and certainly most important MarTech conference – many trends are set here, and the largest MarTech providers present their software.
CMCX is Europe’s largest content marketing event. Since 2019, the conference has been expanded to include a focus on marketing technology. At its core, it’s about the question of how marketers can use the latest technologies to better plan, create, distribute, and analyze their content. And there are plenty of options: from content management systems to newsletter and social media tools through to CDP, Sales Enablement Software, and much more.
One USP of CMCX is the high-caliber speaker lineup on the two conference stages: year after year, CMOs and marketing decision-makers pass the mic along. They exclusively present their cases and provide insights into their MarTech stack. In the expo area, a wide range of MarTech providers awaits visitors – and we at Matchilla will of course be on site too!
Since:
2011
Location:
Mülheim Harbor in Cologne
Duration:
2 days
Next date:
On the website
Participants:
Approx. 1,000 visitors
Speaker:
CMOs, marketing decision-makers and MarTech experts
Intended for:
Marketing decision-makers and marketers who operate at the intersection of content and MarTech
Special features:
CMOs of major brands share insights into their MarTech stack on the conference stage; MarTech workshops, MarTech providers in the expo area, and keynote talks on technologies in the Solution Area; further topics: influencer marketing, social media, B2B marketing, and marketing operations
The first German conference dedicated exclusively to MarTech is the Marketing Tech Summit. If any further proof is needed that the topic has also arrived in Germany, it is the existence of the conference, which has been taking place since 2019. Incidentally, it has its roots in the “Marketing Tech Monitor,” a study in which around 1,000 business decision-makers in the DACH region most recently took part.
In recent years, speakers from Volkswagen, the Schwarz Group, Obi, Flaschenpost, Commerzbank, and more have appeared at the one-day event in Hamburg. In addition, the Marketing Tech Award was presented (by the way, QIAGEN won—congratulations! 
).
Since:
2019
Location:
Opernloft, Hamburg
Duration:
1 day
Next date:
On the website
Participants:
Approx. 400 visitors
Speaker:
CMOs and marketing decision-makers
Intended for:
CMOs and marketing decision-makers/executive boards as well as those responsible for digital
Special features:
First German conference exclusively for MarTech, presentation of the Marketing Tech Awards, connection to the study “Marketing Tech Monitor”
Brand new to the MarTech event family: The MartechFestival in Utrecht lasts several days and promises an extensive and varied program with multiple conferences under the festival’s umbrella.
Next date: September 5 to 19, 2023
Since:
2023
Location:
Utrecht
Duration:
5 days
Next date:
On the website
Participants:
?
Speaker:
MarTech experts and MarTech providers
Intended for:
Marketers with a certain level of MarTech know-how
Special features:
Fresh and innovative event concept (including a canal boat tour). We’re curious to see how the first edition goes…
For marketing leaders on the corporate side, there is the exclusive conference format “Circlence” from Inner Circle: MarTech and AI are the event’s focus topics. The speakers are usually in leading marketing positions themselves, ensuring the content is guaranteed to come from real-world practice.
Since:
2011
Location:
Various cities (Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf)
Duration:
Day format
Next date:
On the website
Participants:
Speaker:
CMOs, martech leads
Intended for:
Marketing decision-makers (invite-only event)
Highlights:
Very open and honest communication on and off stage. From a networking perspective, one of the highest-caliber events in the DACH region.
Of course, the topic of MarTech has now become so extensive and multifaceted that it plays a more or less central role at almost all marketing events. Some focus only on sub-areas such as automation, AdTech, SEO software, etc. Others may not yet refer to MarTech in their program, but instead call it marketing software & tools.
The MarTech Summit in Berlin
Date: On the website
New Marketing Tech Summit in Hamburg
Date: On the website
Rethink! MarTech in Berlin
Date: On the website
In addition to the MarTech Conference, various events, conferences and expos will be taking place over the coming months, examining marketing technologies from every perspective. Here is a list of important international events:
AntiConLX in London and Sydney
The MarTech Summit in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok
TECHSPO in almost 20 cities, including Amsterdam and London
MarTech Nordic in Helsinki3
ContentTECH Summit in San Diego
Marketing AI Conference (MAICON) in Cleveland
Marketing Technology Expo in London
Vibe MarTech Fest in Dubai
Events are excellent for getting in touch with providers easily and directly and getting an initial overview: What solutions are even available? Who does what? Where can I get first-hand information about individual tools? How does the team behind the software work? Can I try out a tool at the event without any obligation?
However, the market is evolving so quickly and has become so complex that it is no longer enough to attend a handful of events in order to be able to give a well-founded answer to the question: Which MarTech providers are now the best for my marketing? A quick look at the MarTech Landscape is enough to see that this ever-growing landscape no longer fits on any conference stage in the world, no matter how big. You should always keep this in mind when scouting marketing technology providers in a targeted way.
This development is what gave rise to Matchilla’s matching platform: such a platform can never replace personal contact at a trade fair. However, it gives you the opportunity 365 days a year to find suitable partners for your marketing or to better evaluate the providers present there before or after attending an event – with significantly less time required. Matchilla is therefore an ideal complement to the various MarTech events. In addition, we map the personal contact of events on the platform: you communicate directly via the platform with real contacts for your needs and ask your individual follow-up questions.
Till Zier is CPO at Matchilla and reports as a MarTech expert in MatchZINE on news and trends in marketing, automation, analytics and data.
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