Conference News: P2P in ORD; Breaking the Bank; SXSW Streamlines
What’s In Store for P2PI?: Path to Purchase Institute will debut a new event this summer. P2PI In-Store Marketing Forum will be held in Chicago from 19 – 20 August. According to the organizers, this two-day event is “designed for a boutique audience of commerce marketing executives” who want to “truly engage with industry leaders, share ideas and walk away with actionable strategies to elevate their in-store marketing game.” Discussions will focus on digital and interactive store technologies, shopper insights, store layout and navigation innovations, retailer receptivity, merchandising strategies, ambience and experiential retail.
Breaking the Bank: Eric Newcomer just announced a new conference. BREAKING THE BANK, will be a one-day financial technology summit for founders & investors, taking place on 20 May in San Francisco. According to his announcement, he felt the timing was right to debut this event with the enthusiasm behind crypto, the potential fintech IPOs, and “regulatory clearcutting in Washington” that is inspiring financial technology startups to “again starting to feel the wind behind their sails.” BREAKING THE BANK will be Newcomer’s new annual 250 person, invite-only financial technology summit. Already confirmed are Zach Perret, founder & CEO, Plaid; Jackie Reses, CEO, Lead Bank; Josh Reeves, founder & CEO, Gusto; Avlok Kohli, CEO, AngelList; Matt Harris, partner, Bain Capital Ventures; Arjun Sethi, co-CEO, Kraken.
SXSW Celebrates & Streamlines: SXSW just wrapped its 2025 festival and released plans for next year which will be their 40th anniversary! The organizers announced that the 2026 festival and conference will run from Thursday 12 March to Wednesday 18 March, dropping the second weekend, which has been devoted to music. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be music at the streamlined SXSW. Instead, the festivals (Film & TV, Music, and Interactive) will be integrated across the week. Why the change? One of the reasons cited by the SXSW team is that the Austin Convention Center will be under construction until 2029 and they are “streamlining access to improve the experience.” Presale for next year’s event has already begun and the speaker selection process will begin in a few months.
Submission Opportunity: NAMIC’s Annual Conference (21-22 October; New York) helps communicators in the media, entertainment, and technology industries navigate rapid advancements in AI, digital transformation, and heightened social awareness. Now through 31 March, NAMIC invites thought leaders, innovators, and industry experts to submit proposals for sessions that are related to their 2025 theme – “Accelerating Inclusive Leadership” – and explore the intersection of leadership, technology, and inclusion. Interested speakers should take note that, due to “overwhelming response,” NAMIC is no longer accepting submissions for the AI & Technology track; but they are still seeking panels, workshops, and case studies that explore workforce strategy & culture, marketing & communication, and inclusion & collaboration.
Lunchtime Learning: Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Lake Nona Impact Forum, an annual invitation-only that convenes a collection of the brightest minds from the health, wellness, and medical innovation ecosystem. While I was only able to attend the final day of the forum, it was jam packed with impressive speakers and important topics. While video is not available online, I thought I could share my session rundown to provide readers with an idea as to the quality of content offered. The morning kicked off with a talk from Deepak Chopra on how to live an awakened life, followed by the Founder of Sapien Labs and the CEO of the Chopra Foundation discussing what the world is telling us about metal health. Next, three of the former Secretaries of the U.S. Health and Human Services Dept. discussed their experiences working at the HHS. Award winning journalist Dr. Jennifer Ashton weighed in on the state of women’s health and Dean Kamen shared the amazing work he has done with FIRST competition to excite kids about STEM. I heard a fascinating panel on Bioethics, which is such an important consideration in healthcare innovation. The President of the Chan Zuckerberg biohub talked about the work being done to solve medical mysteries with metagenomics. And two sharks closed out the day Daymond John talked about his Healthy Hustle with biohacker Dave Asprey and Mark Cuban explained how he is reforming drug costs at Cost Plus Drugs.
Coming Up Next Week: For more than a decade, eMerge Americas (27-28 March) has been setting up shop in Miami to highlight the latest innovations driving transformation around the globe, showcasing start-ups and the latest trends in technology. ShopTalk is underway 23 March in Las Vegas to address the retail ecosystem, focusing predominantly on the North American market. For the first time at ShopTalk, a new event (appropriately) dubbed The New Market will explore the intersection of where retail media meets the explosive rise of next-generation discovery channels. On 25 March, Axios What’s Next Summit is held in DC, featuring such speakers as Penny Heaton, M.D. Global Head, Office of the Chief Medical Officer, Johnson & Johnson; Lisa Lacasse, President, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network; and Tom Hale, CEO, ŌURA. To accommodate its public-private spanning audience, Axios What’s Next agenda is designed to conform to House, Senate, and OEG ethics rules. AnitaB.org – known for its annual Grace Hopper Celebration – will host a Responsible AI Forum in Chicago from 24-26 March for “real conversations that will define the future of responsible AI.” And from 25-26 March, Digital Summit continues its mission to “bring expert marketing strategies to your backyard” – this time to Tampa – convening attendees from one-person teams to full marketing departments.