Digital marketing events are something that fulfills the landscape of our niche with a very unique experience… But is it really this way, when you’re attending for the 10th time in a row?
Personally, I’m down for visiting every bloody event in the world, but while I’m getting older and industry bolder (or rather more experienced), I started to put more pressure on how to choose the best events and fill the company’s calendar with a) meaningful and fruitful events and b) not to fly to another galaxy for a unicorn!
This one is going to be more personal, as I’ll share some insights on how we approach conference planning and choosing which one is worthy and why.
First of all, let me highlight the events Clickadu is going to attend in 2026, and then, I’ll guide you through the estimations and metrics:
LATAM remains one of our key markets, where we operate across 7,000+ local websites. SBC Rio is a strategic event for us, bringing together the strongest regional players and giving us direct access to one of the fastest-growing iGaming ecosystems.
Cyprus has evolved into a major IT and tech hub, attracting hundreds of international companies that establish and scale their operations there. i-Con reflects this dynamic environment, gathering decision-makers, innovators, and service providers under one roof.
SEA/APAC is one of our core iGaming regions, and SiGMA Asia has truly become a cornerstone event for our growth there. It consistently delivers strong partnerships, fresh traffic opportunities, and valuable market insights.
One of the largest and most recognized iGaming events in the industry. If you’re involved in gambling, betting, or affiliate marketing, iGB is a must-attend show with high-quality networking and serious business opportunities.
Our signature show and a key meeting point for performance marketing professionals. TES Prague always combines a focused business atmosphere with real deal-making opportunities.
In our view, the best all-around affiliate conference in the industry. A top-tier location, packed stages, and a fully engaged audience. It’s equally welcoming for newcomers and a traditional gathering point for industry veterans.
So, how to choose the right industry conferences to attend, or rather, how do WE choose them?
If your organization, or you personally, want to attend industry conferences effectively, the first thing you need to do is map out their schedule and categorize them based on relevance, potential ROI, and costs. Assign each criterion a score out of 10 to determine its overall weight. This is my personal approach, and you might have a completely different one. I’ll just try to prove that mine is the best!
You can evaluate relevance based on factors like:
– The type of participants
– Number of attendees
– Conference focus
– Brand recognition and media coverage
Each of these variables should influence the final score.
Evaluation example:
Let’s say you’re in the iGaming industry and considering attending SBC Rio (Brazil). Relevance could be easily scored at 9 or even 10. Reasons – we have a lot of traffic in the LATAM region, and BR is our largest market; we are actively looking for new partners, and many local brands would be represented there. But what if it’s a general digital marketing conference with no clear focus on specific products or brands? In that case, you might rate it between 5 and 7.
Let’s say you’re in the iGaming industry and considering attending SBC Rio (Brazil). Relevance could be easily scored at 9 or even 10. Reasons – we have a lot of traffic in the LATAM region, and BR is our largest market; we are actively looking for new partners, and many local brands would be represented there. But what if it’s a general digital marketing conference with no clear focus on specific products or brands? In that case, you might rate it between 5 and 7.
This is the most important yet hardest factor to assess. If you’ve attended a particular conference before, you can use past statistics to estimate potential earnings, or if a participant list is available (at least in terms of booths and sponsors), you can also gauge the opportunity.
It’s trickier when you have no prior experience with the event and can only rely on subjective data or opinions from colleagues and media coverage. To properly assess the financial potential of a conference, you’ll need to “phone a friend” and do some preparatory research to “test the waters” before committing to the trip.
You checked the attendee list – usually, all of LinkedIn is exploding with “good news” from attendees, that they are going to visit the expo, and you can use hashtags as well. Then you summarized all the representatives you might be interested in talking to talk or meet, those who are harder to reach (top level of decision makers), and those who might be interested in your services. You can grant them a value between X and Y and then calculate the outcome.
Let’s say you’re in the iGaming industry (again) and considering attending SBC Rio (the one we’re gonna attend). Potential ROI: 8 (we expect to close deals with at least 4 major brands, 5 mid-sized ones, and a dozen smaller players, worth $XXXXXX.)
Let’s say you’re in the iGaming industry (again) and considering attending SBC Rio (the one we’re gonna attend).
Potential ROI: 8 (we expect to close deals with at least 4 major brands, 5 mid-sized ones, and a dozen smaller players, worth $XXXXXX.)
This is where your financial manager will shake your hand! It’s crucial to evaluate the financial burden your trip will impose on you or your organization.
Costs may include:
📰 Visas
🏨 Hotels
💸 Business expenses
🔉 Media coverage of your participation
🎫 The conference itself (booth and/or tickets)
All of this should be clearly reflected in your budget.
Evaluation Example (the higher the number is the cheaper and the lower is the more expensive):
Let’s say you’re in the iGaming industry (yea, we got that already) and considering attending SBC Rio (almost there). Costs: 2 (it’s not in Australia, but flying there from the Czech Republic means crossing half the world! It’s expensive and time-consuming, and sending a 5-person team + booth, hotel, logistics, etc., would cost $XXXXX.)
Let’s say you’re in the iGaming industry (yea, we got that already) and considering attending SBC Rio (almost there).
Costs: 2 (it’s not in Australia, but flying there from the Czech Republic means crossing half the world! It’s expensive and time-consuming, and sending a 5-person team + booth, hotel, logistics, etc., would cost $XXXXX.)
Final evaluation for the SBC Rio conference in Brazil
Relevance – 10
Potential ROI – 8
Costs – 2
I think the evaluation logic is clear. Repeat this process for 3-5-10 conferences throughout the year and rank them based on the above metrics. Once you have a top list, start preparing!
But that’s not all – it’s essential to track and compare this data with actual results, analyze weak spots, and adjust the scoring system accordingly. Over time, this will create a well-defined evaluation framework where new events can be assessed, and those with low scores will naturally drop out.
Wanna see the Clickadu team in action? Check up on our conference schedule and meet us in person in one of the several locations we are going to appear in 2026!
Business Development Team Lead