Digital Day Out 2026 is the Marketing Association's flagship one-day conference, drawing 500-plus marketers to Auckland's Cordis Hotel on 28 July for a programme built around AI, effectiveness and the technology reshaping the industry.
Digital Day Out 2026 (DDO2026) is a single-day marketing conference staged in central Auckland on 28 July 2026, running from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Billed by its organiser as Aotearoa's biggest showcase of digital marketing trends and the technology revolutionising the industry, it is a stage-and-networking event rather than a trade exhibition, built around keynote sessions, case studies and audience Q&A.
The 2026 theme centres on how emerging technology, and AI in particular, is rewiring marketing, with a through-line on what actually drives effectiveness. The organiser frames the day as a call to "think bigger, move faster, and build brands that are both technologically advanced and deeply human."
Digital Day Out is produced by the Marketing Association, New Zealand's membership body for marketing professionals, which positions DDO as its most anticipated annual conference. The Association handles the programme, speaker line-up and partnerships directly through its own site.
Google is the confirmed Premier Partner for 2026, with Google NZ Country Director Caroline Rainsford opening the day. International keynote partners and a roster of event, coffee, social-media and event-technology partners round out the support.
The organiser expects 500-plus marketing peers, aimed at marketers who want to meet the innovators and brands shaping digital marketing. The confirmed 2026 programme leans heavily into AI and effectiveness.
International keynotes include Andrew Tindall (Chief Growth Officer, System1) on marketing effectiveness in an age of efficiency; John Mescall (Global Chief Creative Partner, Dentsu Creative) on iconic campaigns; Hannah Fillis (MECCA Brands) on social-first strategy; and Britney Muller (Orange Labs, streaming in) on AI workflows and search visibility.
Local and regional sessions round out the day, including a Trade Me case study on becoming AI-first (Dean Napier), Mastercard's Megan Simons on agentic commerce, and a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" with Sophie Neate (ABB) and Richard Conway (The Optimisers). Jennifer Michtavy and Vanessa Williams (realestate.co.nz) co-host as MCs. Off-stage, the event is known for activations and an after-party.
The confirmed venue is the Cordis Hotel at 83 Symonds Street, Auckland, on the edge of the CBD. As reporting context for delegates, Cordis sits close to the central-city motorway junctions and within the Symonds Street ridge that links the city centre to the universities and Newmarket, making it walkable to much of downtown Auckland and its hotel stock. Auckland Airport lies roughly 20km to the south, the standard arrival point for the international and interisland speakers on the bill. These logistics are noted purely as attendee context and not as any transport or accommodation recommendation.
With a 500-plus audience, a marquee international keynote slate and Google as premier partner, Digital Day Out is one of the anchor dates on New Zealand's marketing-events calendar and a recurring driver of business-event demand for a major Auckland CBD hotel. Its scale and returning-edition status make it a bellwether for how the local industry is engaging with AI and marketing effectiveness heading into 2026.
Cited links supporting this report.
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