Notable Affiliate Marketing Events in 2016

The following are leading affiliate marketing events in 2016. All are worthwhile to attend, but their benefits and specialties vary. Some are focused on the affiliate marketing industry in general; others offer an opportunity to meet and recruit new affiliates.

Industry Wide

Affiliate Summit West
Date: January 10-12, 2016
Location: Las Vegas
Purpose: Learn about affiliate marketing and meet affiliates

Affiliate Summit was launched in 2003 to educate affiliate managers and affiliates about industry issues, and to provide a productive networking environment for both. The first of two shows, Affiliate Summit West, takes place in early January in Las Vegas. Affiliate Summit East will take place in New York later in 2016. Both are three-day events that bring together affiliates, merchants, vendors, and networks, and provide multiple tracks of educational sessions covering the latest trends and developments in affiliate marketing.

Keynote speakers include Kerri Pollard, former president and current advisor of CJ by Conversant, and Greg Gifford, director of search and social at DealerOn, a software company that provides websites and online marketing to new car dealers.

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Affiliate Management Days
Date: April 3-5, 2016
Location: San Francisco
Main Purpose: Learn about affiliate marketing

Launched in 2012, Affiliate Management Days is for affiliate managers and marketing executives. Topics include affiliate recruitment techniques, affiliate marketing analytics, and affiliate marketing fraud. On April 3, there is also a half-day crash course on affiliate marketing led by conference chair Geno Prussakov, who will present an interactive, case-study-based workshop through the entire process of researching, setting up, launching, managing, and building an affiliate marketing program.

Keynote speakers include Tim Ash, C.E.O. and founder of SiteTuners; and John Toskey, global director of eBay Partner Network.

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BlogHer
Date: August 4-6, 2016
Location: Los Angeles
Purpose: Meet affiliates

BlogHer is one of the largest conferences for women in social media. Following a 2014 acquisition by SheKnows, a female-focused digital-media company, BlogHer formed an advisory board with members that represent a cross-section of participants in the conference. The 2016 board includes Angela Chambliss, director of marketing at Best Buy; Bea Perez, chief sustainability officer at Coca-Cola; and Carole Diarra, vice president of U.S. marketing at L’Oréal.

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Affiliate Summit East
Date: July 31-August 2, 2016
Location: New York City
Purpose: Learn about affiliate marketing and meet affiliates

Like Affiliate Summit West, the objective of Affiliate Summit East is to educate affiliate managers and affiliates about industry issues, and to provide a productive networking environment. The three-day conference features two tradeshow floors and multiple tracks of educational sessions covering the latest trends and information from affiliate marketing experts, as well as several networking opportunities.

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Type-A West
Date: July 7-9, 2016
Location: Santa Fe
Purpose: Meet affiliates

The seventh annual Type-A Parent Conference brings together moms and dads who blog and the brands who want to engage them. Type-A Santa Fe includes three days of sessions, workshops, keynotes, and networking functions. Brands that have attended include Disney Parks, Johnson & Johnson, Beech-Nut, iRobot, and Little Debbie. The network counts over 10,000 bloggers in its member base, but the conference is capped at 250 attendees to create a more intimate experience.

Network Specific

The events below are sponsored by various affiliate networks, and are designed to facilitate in-person engagement between affiliate managers and affiliates, as well as to educate all entities on industry and network-specific issues.

Rakuten Marketing Symposium Scottsdale
Date: February 10-11, 2016
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona

This will be the inaugural Scottsdale Symposium event hosted by Rakuten Marketing — formerly LinkShare. The symposium brings together Rakuten Marketing merchants and affiliates and provides education, business planning, and networking opportunities. Rakuten Marketing also offers, before the symposium, a separate Advertiser University, where attendees learn what it takes to manage a successful affiliate marketing program on the Rakuten Marketing platform. The Advertiser University includes lectures, an affiliate panel, hands-on training, and breakout sessions.

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AvantExpo
Date: June 21-23, 2016
Location: Park City, Utah

Hosted by AvantLink, AvantExpo limits attendance to top affiliates within the network. The agenda is designed to encourage the growth of existing relationships and establish new ones — for merchants, affiliates, and agencies within its network. The conference is kept purposefully small to facilitate one-on-one interaction between retailers and top affiliates. Registration includes hotel, activities, and meals. Many retailers also sponsor pre-show networking opportunities the day before the conference.

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CJ University by Conversant
Date: To be determined — likely in September 2016.
Location: Santa Barbara, California

This annual event debuted in 1998. Registration includes access to an online social community, so networking can begin in advance of the event. CJ University also enables participants to schedule one-on-one consultations with Commission Junction experts for program reviews and platform walkthroughs. In 2014, the keynote speaker was Magic Johnson.

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ShareASale ThinkTank
Date: To be determined — likely in October 2016.
Location: To be determined.

The ShareASale affiliate network has hosted this event since 2006. The purpose is to connect retailers and affiliates, educate all parties on new network tools, and to gather user feedback to help drive network development. Attendance is limited to 200 attendees, who are selected through an application process to ensure a diverse mix of affiliates, bloggers, and retailers.