StatSocial’s Marketing Conference Power Index shows business outcomes from events outweigh visibility, while brands, agencies, and vendors rank major industry conferences very differently
NEW YORK, June 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — StatSocial today released its inaugural Marketing Conference Power Index, a Digital Twins study of 2,000 senior marketers on how VP-level and above evaluate major industry events, why they attend, which formats they value, and where they believe momentum is building. Built on StatSocial’s patented PeopleGraph and KnowledgeGraph, spanning more than 100 million US adults, Digital Twins draws on real behavioral and social signals to anticipate how audiences will respond.
As thousands of marketers prepare to make their way to Cannes Lions this month, the industry flagship emerged as the sharpest divide in the study. Agencies placed it near the top of their ranking (No. 2), while brands placed it in the middle (No. 6) and vendors ranked it near the bottom (No. 11). For a conference often treated as a universal industry gathering, the gap shows how differently senior marketers judge the same room.
The Cannes split is part of a larger pattern: value is subjective, and today’s industry gatherings thrive by serving distinct needs rather than universal appeal.
- Brands ranked ANA Masters of Marketing as their No. 1 flagship event, reflecting a stronger pull toward peer access and long-term relationships.
- Agencies gave Advertising Week New York their top spot and placed Cannes close behind, aligning with their focus on relationships, client proximity, and creative credibility.
- Vendors ranked Advertising Week New York No. 1, with CES close behind, reflecting a stronger focus on business outcomes and efficient buyer access.
“The week before Cannes is the right moment to look at how senior marketers actually assign value to events,” said Michael Hussey, Founder and President at StatSocial. “A brand, an agency, and a vendor can walk into the same conference with very different expectations. The data shows why event strategy should start with the audience you need to reach and the outcome you need to create.”
Among the study’s other key findings:
- ANA Masters of Marketing moved into the top position when rankings were limited to CMOs, highlighting how seniority changes the event hierarchy
- Pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings and closed-door peer sessions were the most valued conference formats overall
- Vendors were the most likely cohort to prefer pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings, reinforcing their focus on efficiency and buyer access
- HumanX led the events that respondents expect to grow, reflecting rising interest in AI-focused conferences
- MAICON was named the most promising emerging conference by 15.8 percent of respondents, the strongest breakout signal in the study
Across the full sample, substance outweighed visibility. 67 percent of senior marketers cited relationships, business outcomes, or learning as the primary reason they attend conferences, compared with one-third who pointed to personal brand, FOMO, or lifestyle. As event budgets face closer scrutiny, the data points to a more practical test: whether a conference delivers the relationships, access, and business outcomes each audience needs.
Conducted using StatSocial’s Digital Twins, the Marketing Conference Power Index models audience responses using anonymized behavioral, professional, and demographic signals from StatSocial’s PeopleGraph and KnowledgeGraph. The study included 2,000 senior marketers across brands, agencies, and marketing technology companies, including CMOs, SVPs, EVPs, and VPs. Future editions of the Index will add newer gatherings gaining attention, including events such as Marketecture Live.
The full Marketing Conference Power Index 2026 is available here.
About StatSocial
StatSocial is the only platform that builds audiences from cross-platform public social signals at scale, powered by its patented PeopleGraph and KnowledgeGraph. By connecting social data with household and offline data, StatSocial gives marketers deeper audience intelligence, smarter influencer decisions, and more effective paid media programs. Learn more at StatSocial.com.
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