Global Marketing Summit 2026 to Bring the New Era of Marketing to Istanbul

The global marketing community will gather in Istanbul this October as Global Marketing Summit 2026 returns for its sixth edition. Taking place on 14–15 October 2026 at Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus, the summit will bring together marketing leaders, CMOs, business executives, creative professionals, strategists, academics, entrepreneurs, technology experts and innovators from Türkiye and around the world.

Launched in 2021, Global Marketing Summit has developed into an international meeting point for the global marketing ecosystem. During its first five years, the summit welcomed more than 1,000 speakers and built an international content archive reaching audiences across six continents.

The previous edition also attracted more than 5,000 physical participants, while its digital reach extended to more than 60,000 marketing professionals across 143 countries.

The New Era of Marketing: Human Experience and Artificial Intelligence

The central theme of Global Marketing Summit 2026 is “The New Era of Marketing: Building Brand Success with the Power of Human Experience and Artificial Intelligence.”

The theme reflects a major transformation taking place across the marketing industry. Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to analyse data, generate content, automate processes, identify patterns and support faster decision-making. At the same time, brands continue to face a fundamental question: how can technology be combined with a deeper understanding of people?

The 2026 summit will place Human Experience at the centre of this discussion, examining the relationship between technology, human intuition, creativity, empathy and meaning.

The programme will explore how brands can move beyond traditional customer-centric approaches and build stronger relationships through experiences, values, trust, communities and emotional connections.

Marketing, Brands, Creativity and the Future of Business

Global Marketing Summit 2026 will approach the changing marketing landscape through five major perspectives: Leadership, Digital & Future, Brand, Creativity and Sustainability.

Across keynote speeches, panels, masterclasses and workshops, the programme will address subjects surrounding artificial intelligence and human creativity, data-driven decision-making, brand value, authenticity, customer experience, reputation, sustainability and the future of marketing.

More than 150 speakers from global brands, agencies, universities, technology companies, creative organisations, consulting firms, research institutions and entrepreneurial ventures are expected to participate.

The announced speaker community includes Peter Fisk, Ahmet Bozer, Hugo Duyvestyn, Natacha Volpini, Djurdja Milutinovic, Ana Alonso Campuzano, Boris Nihom, David de Bruijn, Talat İşçioğlu and many other international and Turkish professionals.

Five GMS Academies to Expand the Programme

A major addition to the 2026 edition will be five dedicated academies designed to provide more focused and application-oriented learning experiences.

The GMS Brand Academy will explore brand strategy, positioning, consumer behaviour, brand experience and sustainable brand value. The GMS Sales Academy will focus on sales strategies, customer behaviour, negotiation, pricing, digital sales, social commerce and growth.

The GMS Corporate Communications Academy will address corporate reputation, leadership communication, stakeholder management, media relations, storytelling and crisis communication.

The GMS Artificial Intelligence Academy will examine generative AI, AI agents, automation, data, analytics, personalisation, customer experience, new business models, governance and future skills.

The GMS Sustainable Impact and Value Academy will focus on sustainable growth, ESG, circular economy, climate and carbon management, sustainable finance, supply chains and responsible business.

Participation in the academies will be free for Global Marketing Summit ticket holders, with participating guests receiving certificates of participation.

Trusted Brand Awards 2026

Trust and reputation will also feature prominently in the 2026 programme through the Trusted Brand Awards 2026, developed by Global Marketing Summit, FutureBright Group and RepMan.

The initiative will examine trust and reputation across 154 leading companies in 14 sectors. The research evaluates companies through seven main dimensions and 18 sub-criteria, with fieldwork involving 17,200 participants across Türkiye between 1 August and 15 September 2026.

The Trusted Brand Awards 2026 ceremony will take place on 15 October 2026 at 16:00 at the Bosphorus Ballroom, Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus, as part of the Global Marketing Summit programme.

Istanbul as a Global Marketing Meeting Point

Beyond its programme, Global Marketing Summit 2026 reflects Istanbul's position as a meeting point between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The summit aims to connect Türkiye's marketing, digital, creative and business ecosystems with international professionals while creating opportunities for knowledge exchange, collaboration and long-term professional relationships.

The event will also include executive networking opportunities, including the CMO Circle Special Lunch on 14 October, bringing together CEOs and senior marketing leaders.

VANTAGE52 as Official Partner

VANTAGE52 is an official partner of Global Marketing Summit 2026.

As part of this partnership, VANTAGE52 will follow the sixth edition of the summit and bring its audience closer to the leaders, ideas and conversations shaping the next era of marketing.

The physical summit will take place on 14–15 October 2026 at Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus, Istanbul, with registered physical participants also receiving access to the digital platform from 14–17 October and continued access to its content after the event.

The Next Era of Marketing

With artificial intelligence transforming how businesses create, communicate and make decisions, and human experience becoming increasingly important to how brands build trust and meaning, Global Marketing Summit 2026 will bring these two forces into the same conversation.

For two days in Istanbul, the summit will examine the ideas, technologies and strategies shaping the next era of marketing, bringing together an international community of leaders and professionals across business, marketing, technology, creativity and strategy.

For the full programme, speaker lineup, event details and registration information, visit the official Global Marketing Summit website.