ADVANCE | September 29, 2026 | NYC

Find Out What’s Next in Advertising Before Everyone Else Does

700+ industry leaders. One day. No filler, no fluff, just the conversations that actually move advertising forward.

At ADVANCE, Timbaland is taking the stage alongside Smartly CEO Laura Desmond to share his thoughts on a challenge every modern marketer is currently facing: How do you keep your brand’s voice unmistakable in an era of infinite, accessible technology?

Walk into the Bolt Bar for fresh customer stories, standout case studies, and live Smartly demos. Stop by throughout the day to see how brands are connecting creative, media, and intelligence. And get a firsthand look at the ideas and technology behind the results.

Explore Smartly Intelligence and see how incrementality signals can inform planning, measurement, and optimization in one connected offering. Get a firsthand look at Intelligence Pro and share where better intelligence could help your team make more confident decisions.

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The Moment Advertising Comes Together

Advertising is being reshaped in real time. Creativity, commerce, and technology are no longer separate. They’re all part of how brands succeed today. ADVANCE creates space for that shift, bringing together the people redefining how brands connect, grow, and create value.

From the leaders shaping our culture to rethinking how storytelling, intelligence, and technology work together. ADVANCE is all about what’s working right now, and how AI is accelerating what comes next.

Join the Brands Shaping the Future of Advertising.

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Text logo with the word 'SAMSUNG' in uppercase black letters on a white background.
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Experience

Get a first look at what’s actually coming next. Not a preview. Not a prediction. A live read of where advertising stands today, and what smart brands are already doing about it.

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People

Spend the day with practitioners, not talking heads. The people reshaping advertising from the inside, in the same room, for one day, actually talking.

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Takeaways

Walk away with impactful ideas you can use. Not a notebook of highlights, but a plan to connect creativity, media, and intelligence immediately.

Meet some of the industry-leading speakers

Hear transformative ideas from the most influential voices in advertising, media, and technology.

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Chari Hawkins
Team USA Track & Field
Paris 2024 Olympic Competitor
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Bill Ready
Chief Executive Officer
Pinterest logo with a white stylized P inside a red circle next to red text spelling Pinterest.
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Tim Castree
Chief Marketing Officer
DoorDash logo with stylized D and red text.
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Ndidi Oteh
Global Chief Executive Officer
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Grace Kao
Chief Marketing Officer
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Cleo Abram
Journalist, YouTube Creator
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Amy Weisenbach
Chief Marketing Officer
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Judy Toland
VP, Global Audience Marketing
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Steven Wolfe Pereira
CEO & Founder
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Jen Wong
COO
Reddit logo with the Reddit alien icon and the word 'reddit' in orange text.
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Mary Ellen Coe
Chief Business Officer
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David Kaufman
Global Head of Monetization Product Partnerships
TikTok logo with a black musical note outlined in cyan and red next to the word TikTok.
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Nino Phillip Medina
Growth
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The word ANTHROPIC in bold black block letters with a backslash after the letter C.
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Andrea Bendzick
Chief Executive Officer
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White WPROMOTE text centered on a red-orange background.
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Laura Desmond
Chief Executive Officer
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See the full speaker lineup
See the full speaker lineup

Partners

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Get a Deeper Look at ADVANCE 2026

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What to Expect
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Who is ADVANCE for?
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The Venue
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About Smartly

What to Expect

ADVANCE is both a conference and a working session for marketers exploring how creative, media, and intelligence come together through candid, practical conversations. You’ll:

  • Join honest, real-world discussions on what’s changing in advertising
  • Connect with visionary thought leaders, senior marketers, technologists, and industry peers
  • See how creative, media, and intelligence are being applied for better outcomes
  • Hear perspectives shaping what’s next
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Who is ADVANCE for?

ADVANCE was created for marketing leaders, agencies, platform partners, and anyone looking to manage increasingly complex marketing ecosystems with more speed, clarity, and confidence.

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The Venue

Spring Studios, located at 50 Varick St. (Tribeca), is one of New York City’s most iconic creative spaces. Known for hosting global fashion shows, media events, and cultural moments, the venue blends industrial design with sweeping Hudson River views and open, light-filled studios.

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About Smartly

Smartly is the leading adtech platform shaping the future of advertising by connecting creative, media, and intelligence into a unified system. We built ADVANCE from that same belief: that better outcomes come from bringing the right pieces, and the right people, together.

At a time when the industry is flooded with new tools and ideas, what matters most is understanding what actually works, and how to make it work at scale. Through our platform, ecosystem, and partnerships with leading platforms like Meta, Pinterest, Reddit, Snap, and TikTok, Smartly helps brands turn connection into something meaningful, measurable, and built for growth.

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Panel discussion on stage with five speakers seated in front of a purple Smartly Advance backdrop showing their names and titles.

“You can sense the excitement of the productivity that ADVANCE will unlock and the opportunities it's presenting, whether it's creative automation or more efficiency between partners.”

Senior Client Partner
750+

Attendees

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45+

CEOs

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55+

Industry Speakers

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FAQs

What is ADVANCE?

ADVANCE is a one-day conference in New York City with top marketing leaders across brands, agencies, and platforms. The primary focus is to discuss the future of advertising and learn how to connect creativity, media, and intelligence to achieve better outcomes.

When and where will ADVANCE 2026 take place?

ADVANCE 2026 will happen on September 29th at Spring Studios, 50 Varick St, New York City

How much does it cost to attend ADVANCE?

Unless you qualify for a complimentary ticket, the price is $675 per person. (Check your qualifications first.)

Who Qualifies for a Complimentary Ticket?

ADVANCE provides complimentary tickets to qualified attendees from a brand or advertising organization.
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To be eligible, applicants must:
- Hold a Director-level role or higher
- Oversee a significant digital advertising budget across multiple platforms
- Register using a corporate email address
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*Please note that meeting these criteria does not guarantee admission. All submissions are subject to review.

Can I attend virtually?

ADVANCE is a live event only. Its unique, workshop-style vibe is what inspires marketing leaders to have real, honest conversations about the future of advertising.
Being in the room makes a difference. It’s where ideas get challenged, connections happen naturally, and conversations are more likely to turn into something you can actually take back and use.