WHAT SHOULD BE ON YOUR RADAR NOW?
Events, dates, places to be—and a few global moments you might not expect.
Bookmark this article. You may want it again.
In case September disappeared while you weren’t looking…
September has a way of doing that.
New York managed to squeeze the US Open, Fashion Week, the UN General Assembly and Climate Week into a few short weeks. A hotel room? Good luck. A taxi? Fuhgeddaboudit.
Meanwhile, of course, the rest of the world carried on.
Cologne welcomed the digital marketing world for DMEXCO, while Munich began pouring the beer for Oktoberfest—which, despite its name, actually starts in September and carries on into October.
And while autumn is arriving in one half of the world, spring is underway in the other.
So rather than tell you where you’ve already been, The Internationalist is looking ahead—at what’s worth knowing, where people are gathering and a few things you might not expect.
Consider it a little insurance against FOMO.
This isn’t everything.
That’s rather the point.
WHAT’S COMING ONTO THE RADAR
NEW ON THE RADAR: JUPITER FESTIVAL MIAMI
Miami | October 6–9 | Link
A new gathering arrives in Miami just as this edition lands, bringing together media, entertainment, sports, technology, creators and brands.
Its inaugural edition takes on some increasingly intertwined questions around content, AI, attention, intellectual property, the creator economy—and what happens as brands, platforms and creators increasingly occupy the same territory.
One to watch.
ANA MASTERS OF MARKETING
Orlando | October 20–23 | Link
One of the established fixtures on the U.S. marketing calendar, bringing together many of the country’s largest brands and senior marketers.
WATCH THIS CITY: VILNIUS
Digital Marketing Europe | November 10–12 | Link
There’s more than a marketing conference putting Lithuania’s capital on our radar this fall.
Vilnius has just introduced a new international positioning, “Vilnius: Never Ordinary,” built around an intriguing premise: a European capital doesn’t have to compete on size.
Instead, Vilnius is making the case for human scale—shorter distances, closer connections and less friction.
That makes November’s Digital Marketing Europe gathering particularly well timed.
And Vilnius isn’t entirely new to The Internationalist’s radar. Several years ago, we recognized an innovative cybersecurity initiative from SEB Bank and SOMA Agency designed to help Baltic communities become better equipped to deal with cybercrime.
Sometimes the destination is part of the story.
BEFORE YOU BOOK THE FLIGHT…
Going to Singapore next week? Check where you’re staying.
The Singapore Grand Prix runs October 9–11.
But the race affects more than race weekend. Roads around Marina Centre and the Padang begin closing on October 7 for the construction of race infrastructure and don’t fully reopen until early October 13. Singapore’s Land Transport Authority recommends public transportation during the seven-day closure period.
In other words, you don’t have to be going to Formula One to find yourself in the middle of Formula One. Because one of the enduring rules of international business remains: Check the local calendar before you book the global meeting.
HALLOWEEN: THE SUPER BOWL OF CANDY?
A former Hershey marketer once described Halloween to The Internationalist as “the Super Bowl of candy.” He had a point.
Americans are expected to spend $13.5 billion on Halloween this year, including $4.1 billion on candy. What was once largely seen as a US children’s holiday has increasingly become a cultural occasion for adults—and a more global one.
This year, Reese’s is even searching for America’s “Trick-or-Treatiest Street,” turning neighborhood rituals, decorations and community participation into part of the brand experience.
Sometimes marketing’s biggest moments aren’t created by marketers. They’re created by the rituals people already love.
NOT EVERYTHING ON THE RADAR IS A MARKETING EVENT…
Some of the dates that matter most to global marketers have nothing to do with marketing conferences.
Three Thanksgivings. Really.
Before Americans claim November entirely for themselves, a reminder that three countries celebrate a form of Thanksgiving during these final months of the year.
Canada | October 12
Canadian Thanksgiving arrives considerably earlier than its American cousin, on the second Monday in October.
Japan | November 23
Japan’s Labor Thanksgiving Day, or Kinrō Kansha no Hi, has quite a different emphasis: appreciation for labor, production and the contributions people make to one another.
United States | November 26
The familiar American version—with family, turkey, travel, football…and the starting gun for an extraordinary few days of commerce.
Three Thanksgivings. Three rather different things to be thankful for.
AND DON’T FORGET DIWALI…
India and Beyond | November 6-10
Diwali—the Festival of Lights—is one of the world’s great celebrations, bringing together family, travel, gift-giving and commerce across India and communities around the world.
And the scale may surprise you. During the 2025 festive period around Diwali, trade in India reached a record ₹6.05 lakh crore—roughly $69 billion—up 25% from the previous year.
Sometimes the biggest dates on a marketer’s calendar aren’t marketing events at all.
THEN COMES 11.11…
Singles’ Day | China | November 11
What began in China as an unofficial celebration of being single has become the world’s largest shopping festival.
And here, too, the scale is extraordinary. In 2025, China’s extended Double 11 shopping period generated an estimated $238 billion in sales across online platforms.
Four ones. One very big shopping event.
Followed by the familiar North American retail sprint:
November 26 — U.S. Thanksgiving
November 27 — Black Friday
November 30 — Cyber Monday
Perhaps somewhere in there marketers should simply schedule:
December 1 — Exhale.
Although not for long.
Because just when you’re trying to finish 2026…
2027 IS ALREADY FILLING UP
JANUARY
CES | Las Vegas | January 6-9, 2027 | Link
The technology world’s traditional New Year wake-up call.
CES is where innovators show up — where the business of technology happens, deals are made, and partnerships spark real growth.
NRF RETAIL’S BIG SHOW | New York | January 10–12 | Link
Retail is increasingly where technology, physical experience, AI, commerce and marketing collide—making NRF’s annual gathering a useful place to see several parts of the marketing world converge.
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM | Davos-Klosters, Switzerland | January 18-22, 2027 | Link
The conversations in Davos may extend well beyond marketing, but the forces shaping business, technology, geopolitics and global confidence have a habit of finding their way onto the marketer’s agenda.
THE INTERNATIONALIST AWARDS FOR INNOVATION IN MEDIA | Link
Innovation changes everything. The ideas that inspire action, shift perspectives, and deliver results are the ones the world remembers.
Entry Deadline: January 22, 2027
FEBRUARY
This is where the world gets interesting very quickly.
LUNAR NEW YEAR | Begins February 6, 2027 | Year of the Goat
A useful reminder for anyone doing business across Asia: Lunar New Year isn’t simply a date on the calendar. Travel, commerce, family life and business schedules can shift substantially around the holiday.
This year brings the Fire Goat (Red Goat 红羊), a period that promises harmony and creativity, along with warmth, wisdom, and artistic blossoming.
CARNIVAL | Rio de Janeiro | February 5–13 | Link
For a few extraordinary days, Rio becomes the setting for one of the world’s great cultural celebrations.
Another useful reminder: sometimes a global cultural moment isn’t something happening around a city.
For a few days, it becomes the city.
SUPER BOWL LXI | Los Angeles | February 14 | Link
One game. An enormous cultural event.
And advertising’s annual opportunity to debate whether thirty seconds can possibly be worth that much money.
Super Bowl LXI will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on February 14, marking the first time in NFL history that the Big Game falls directly on Valentine’s Day.
Perhaps it’s just as well that the NFL has been courting more women.
Love and football. Marketers, you’ve been warned.
RAMADAN | Begins February 7, 2027, and concludes in early March
For marketers working across Muslim-majority markets, Ramadan changes far more than working hours. Daily rhythms, media consumption, shopping, food, travel and family life can all shift during the month.
Another reminder that a global calendar is about how people live—not simply where marketers gather.
FURTHER OUT ON THE RADAR…
WFA GLOBAL MARKETER WEEK | London | April 20–23, 2027
One date we’re deliberately jumping ahead to.
WFA’s flagship global gathering returns to London in partnership with ISBA, bringing together client-side marketing leaders for peer forums and cross-functional sessions, with the Global Marketer Conference on April 22.
Worth putting on the calendar now.
And before that, March will bring another rush of global gatherings—including MWC Barcelona, March 1–4.
We’ll be back before you need us.
ONE LAST THOUGHT…
The Internationalist has been keeping track of global marketing events for well over a decade.
We’ve decided it’s time to do things a little differently.
There are plenty of places to find everything that’s happening.
We’re more interested in helping global marketers notice what matters—the gatherings worth attending, dates worth remembering, global moments worth understanding and occasional surprises worth knowing.
So bookmark this article.
We’ll keep watching what comes next.
