DoorDash’s Evolving Mandate Creates New Partner Openings
At a Glance Interviewee: Kofi Amoo-Gottfried, Chief Marketing Officer Company: DoorDash Estimated Revenue: $4B Location: San Francisco, California Website: doordash.com Industry: Local commerce, delivery, retail media, merchant software Company Notes: DoorDash has expanded from restaurant delivery into grocery, retail, merchant tools, reservations, and ads across more than 40 countries Best-Fit Agencies: Brand strategy, integrated creative, retail media, CRM and lifecycle,… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
CMO Moves – Week of March 23, 2026
Highlights Simon Mouyal named CMO at Armis Armis is a cyber exposure management and security company. The hire is tied directly to Armis’ next phase of expansion. The company said Mouyal will lead global marketing strategy and execution to accelerate category leadership, scale the marketing organization, and drive further growth and market penetration. Agency lens: Category narrative, global demand generation, partner marketing, and enterprise campaign orchestration… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
Jeff Cato’s Practical Blueprint for Leading a Modern Brand
Executive: Jeff CatoCompany: JascoIndustry: Consumer electronics and connected homeCompany Snapshot: Jasco sells lighting, automation, and home technology products through retail and e-commerce channels.Format: CMO Journeys Interview Why It Matters Jeff Cato’s path to CMO was not straight. He moved through sales, operations, e-commerce, and digital, picking up a wider view of how a business actually works. That is what makes his story worth studying. He does not talk about marketing like a department. He talks about it like a living part of the company. That is also why agencies should pay attention. Cato’s view of partnership is practical, clear-eyed, and rooted in how people solve problems together. He is not looking for noise. He is looking for understanding. Their Path, in Short Cato started in sales, and that foundation still shows. He learned early that business moves through people. You have to understand what matters to them, what problem they are trying to solve, and how to meet them where they are. The tools have changed, but that basic truth has not. As his career grew, so did the scope of his work. He moved from sales into roles that mixed sales, marketing, and operations. At Jasco, his work expanded further into e-commerce and digital marketing. That broader exposure helped him see the full customer journey more clearly. It also helped him understand himself. Over time, he became more aware of where he was strongest and what kind of work energized him most. One major turning point came when he stepped into a COO role at a telecom company. It stretched him hard. He was dealing with IT, finance, operations, and large partner agreements that could affect the business in major ways. He described feeling like a fish out of water. But that discomfort became useful. It forced him to learn faster, rely on experts around him, and accept that leadership is not about having every answer yourself. Another important chapter came when he helped build a new cloud backup division. It had the feel of a startup inside a larger business. That meant building from scratch, moving quickly, testing ideas, and staying flexible when things did not go as planned. It taught him to be hands-on. It also taught him patience. Growth may sound exciting from the outside, but on the inside it usually looks like trial, error, and steady adjustment. Through all of it, his path seems to have sharpened rather than narrowed him. Each stop added another layer. Sales taught him connection. Operations taught him discipline. Digital taught him speed. Leadership taught him that the best work is never done alone. Big Themes From the Conversation One big theme is curiosity. Cato’s career was not built by staying inside one lane. He kept stepping into new territory, learning new parts of the business, and getting more comfortable with complexity. That kind of curiosity does not just build experience. It builds range. Another theme is humility. He speaks openly about moments when he felt stretched or unsure. That matters, because it shows how he leads. He does not pretend expertise where he does not have it. He leans on smart people. He listens. He learns. That is not weakness. That is maturity. There is also a strong bias toward action in the way he talks. Especially in the more entrepreneurial chapter of his career, the rhythm was clear: try, learn, adjust, repeat. No drama. No over-polishing. Just motion. You can hear how much that shaped his mindset. And then there is structure. He values clarity. He values alignment. He wants teams speaking the same language and working from the same goals. Even in the way he talks about his own routine, you get the sense that discipline helps him stay grounded and lead with a clearer head. Watch CMO Journeys Interview How They Choose the Right Agency Partners When I asked him how he chooses agency partners, he answered like someone who has seen both the good version and the bad one. He is very clear that agencies can play an important role. At Jasco, he pointed to areas like paid social and PR as places where outside expertise can be especially useful. That is partly about specialization, and partly about bandwidth. Internal teams can only carry so much. A strong partner can add skills, speed, and flexibility. But he is not interested in agencies that just execute and disappear. What he values most is proactiveness. He wants a partner who works within the goals they agreed on, watches what is happening, and brings ideas forward without being asked. If something is off, he wants them to say it. If something can be better, he wants them to come with a recommendation. To him, that is what makes a partner feel like a partner. He also pays close attention to how agencies show up in the first place. A first meeting matters. If an agency jumps straight into a pitch without spending real time trying to understand the business, that is a problem. He wants questions. He wants curiosity. He wants transparency about strengths and limitations. In other words, he wants the beginning of a relationship, not the start of a performance. One story made this especially clear. While exploring a CTV partner, he compared different agency approaches. One asked thoughtful questions and worked to understand the business. Another led with the deck. The difference was easy to spot. So was the signal. For Cato, real credibility starts with listening. He also does not think every agency decision works the same way. In PR, category knowledge stood out to him. Knowing the smart home space mattered. In paid media, a broader full-service capability could make sense. His point was simple: fit depends on the problem. He sees AI through that same practical lens. Big claims do not impress him on their own. What matters is whether a partner can connect the technology to the actual business challenge. If they can explain
Jasco’s Emerging Push Across Retail, Social, and Search
At a Glance Interviewee: Jeff Cato, Chief Marketing Officer Company: Jasco Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Website: byjasco.com Industry: Consumer electronics and connected home Company Notes: Jasco sells a broad portfolio of owned and licensed products across major retail and e-commerce channels Best-Fit Agencies: Retail media, paid social, influencer marketing, PR, content production, ecommerce strategy Source: CMO Journeys Interview The Big Picture Jasco is a scaled … Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
M&A Signals – Deals Announced Through March 18, 2026
Highlights Savills acquired Eastdil Secured — Deal value: $1.11B Savills is a global real estate advisory firm. Eastdil Secured is a real estate investment bank focused on capital markets advisory. The deal expands Savills’ capital markets advisory presence by adding Eastdil Secured’s investment banking capabilities to its broader global real estate advisory platform. Eastdil Secured will keep its operating model and become Savills’ real estate investment bank, givi… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
Funding Signals – Activity Through March 17, 2026
Highlights Quince raised $500M (Series E) led by ICONIQ Quince is a manufacturer-to-consumer retail platform that connects makers directly with shoppers. The new capital will support continued growth and global expansion of its operating system. That matters because Quince is scaling both its category footprint and the supply chain technology that helps it manage pricing, production, and quality more tightly. Agency lens: As Quince expands globally and across… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
How Agencies Should Use Conferences for Business Development
Marketing conferences have long competed on scale: bigger expo halls, bigger stages, and bigger attendance numbers. But according to Christian Muche, founder of POSSIBLE and co-founder of DMEXCO, that model is changing quickly. In a conversation with NextBigWin, Muche shared how he believes agencies should approach conferences as a business development channel, and why the most valuable resource events compete for today isn’t budget, but time. “The most valuable thing is asking for people’s time, not their budget,” Muche says. As companies become more selective about how they spend both time and money, conferences are increasingly expected to deliver something far more tangible than exposure or networking — they must help drive real business outcomes. From Trade Shows to Curated Experiences Marketing conferences didn’t always look the way they do today. In the early days of the digital marketing industry, events were largely large-scale trade shows built around exhibitor floors and massive attendance. Companies built booths, scanned badges, and hoped to capture leads from thousands of attendees walking the expo floor. Muche experienced that model firsthand while building DMEXCO. “When we launched DMEXCO, it was designed as a trade show… a mass event, 60,000 people at the peak time,” he says. But attendees’ expectations have changed significantly. Executives today expect events to deliver more curated experiences, targeted conversations, and a better return on the time they invest in attending them. “Today the expectations are far higher,” Muche says. Instead of simply gathering thousands of people in a convention center, modern events increasingly focus on smaller sessions, curated meetings, and more structured opportunities for interaction. The Three Jobs Conferences Serve Today For agencies and brands, conferences now serve three distinct purposes. First, they provide content and inspiration through speakers, panels, and industry insights. Second, they create opportunities for networking and relationship building. And third, increasingly, they generate business opportunities. “Content and inspiration… networking… and the third part is business opportunities,” Muche says. That third category is becoming more important as companies scrutinize the return on their event investments. As companies become more selective about where they spend their time and budgets, events are increasingly expected to generate tangible outcomes, from partnerships and collaborations to new business opportunities. Designing Conferences Around Business Opportunities That shift toward business outcomes influenced how Muche designed POSSIBLE. Launched in Miami in 2023, the conference was designed to combine inspiration, networking, and structured business interactions in one environment. Rather than simply hosting keynote sessions, Muche wanted POSSIBLE to actively facilitate business connections between brands, agencies, and technology partners. One of the ways the event does that is through curated meeting programs designed to connect agencies, vendors, and brand marketers. “We organize up to 3,000 meetings in this space on the beach over three days,” Muche says. These types of structured meetings are becoming increasingly common across the events industry as organizers try to deliver measurable value to attendees rather than simply providing networking opportunities. For agencies, that shift turns conferences from marketing moments into potential business development engines. Why Showing Up Isn’t Enough Despite the growing focus on outcomes, many companies still approach conferences the wrong way. One of the most common mistakes Muche sees is companies showing up without a clear strategy for how they’ll use the event. “You cannot just show up and say I’m looking forward to letting people stop by,” he says. Instead, the companies that generate the most value from conferences treat them like structured business development opportunities. “As soon as the door opens, you have to set up your meetings,” Muche says. That preparation often begins weeks or months before the event. Successful companies schedule meetings in advance, plan client gatherings, and coordinate internal teams so they can capture insights from sessions while others focus on networking or meetings. For agencies, that preparation can be the difference between leaving an event with a few new business conversations or leaving with nothing more than a stack of business cards. Why Agencies Need to Be Where Their Clients Are For agencies specifically, conferences often serve to strengthen relationships with existing clients while also meeting potential new clients. Muche points out that events like POSSIBLE attract a significant number of brand-side marketing leaders. “Agencies have to follow where the clients are,” he says. With roughly a third of attendees representing brand marketers, conferences can offer agencies direct access to the people responsible for major marketing decisions. That proximity can make events one of the most efficient ways for agencies to stay connected to their clients while also building new relationships. What Smaller Agencies Should Do Not every agency has the budget to sponsor an event or create large activations. But that doesn’t mean smaller firms can’t benefit from attending conferences. “At least show up and bring your team,” Muche says. However, simply attending is often not sufficient. “It’s not enough to come with five people and wait to run into people in the hallway,” he says. Instead, smaller agencies should focus on scheduling meetings in advance, attending targeted sessions aligned with their expertise, and taking advantage of structured networking opportunities offered by event organizers. Even without large sponsorship budgets, conferences can still provide opportunities to build meaningful relationships. The Future of Conferences: Quality Over Scale Looking ahead, Muche believes conferences will continue evolving toward more curated, higher-value experiences. The era of massive industry gatherings built purely around scale may be fading. “I don’t believe in pure mass events anymore,” he says. Instead, he believes the future of conferences lies in delivering higher-quality interactions between the right people. “It’s all about quality,” Muche says. That focus on quality over quantity could shape the next generation of industry events. POSSIBLE returns April 27–29, 2026, in Miami Beach and is expected to bring together thousands of senior marketers, agencies, media leaders, and technology companies from across the industry. More information about the event, including registration details, is available at possibleevent.com. A Fast-Changing Landscape If there’s one
Top Marketing Agency Conferences for 2026
This list is for agency owners, agency leaders, business development teams, strategists, and marketers trying to figure out which conferences may be worth a closer look in 2026. It is selective, not exhaustive. We reviewed over 300 conferences and narrowed them down to the top ones. The goal is to make it easy to quickly compare options, understand what each event is about, and decide which ones are worth exploring further. January Tastemaker Conference Location: Los Angeles, CADates: January 9-10, 2026Best for: Food creators, brands, and marketing teams in food media Official website What it is: Tastemaker Conference is a niche event for food creators and the businesses that support them. It is positioned as a creator-centered gathering focused on connection, learning, and growth within the food content space. Good fit if you want to: Understand the creator side of food media and brand building Connect with food creators and adjacent marketing partners Explore how content and community drive growth in food-focused niches February IAB Annual Leadership Meeting Location: Palm Springs, CADates: February 1-3, 2026Best for: Digital media and advertising leaders Official website What it is: The IAB Annual Leadership Meeting is a senior-level industry event focused on the future of digital media, advertising, measurement, and commerce. It brings together executives and decision-makers shaping priorities for the year ahead. Good fit if you want to: Track major shifts in digital media and advertising Hear how industry leaders are thinking about measurement and AI Build relationships with senior leaders across the media ecosystem Meet Magento Florida Location: Hollywood, FLDates: February 4-5, 2026Best for: E-commerce marketers, commerce teams, and Adobe Commerce ecosystem partners Official website What it is: Meet Magento Florida is a commerce-focused event built around the Adobe Commerce and Magento ecosystem. It brings together merchants, retailers, technology partners, developers, service providers, and industry leaders around digital commerce topics. Good fit if you want to: Stay close to Adobe Commerce and Magento ecosystem developments Build relationships with merchants, retailers, and commerce partners Explore ecommerce-focused ideas and opportunities relevant to client work The Robots Are Coming Location: New York, NYDates: February 10, 2026Best for: Agency leaders navigating AI change Official website What it is: The Robots Are Coming is an Agency Hackers event focused on how agencies are actually using AI in practice. The official page frames it as a candid, closed-door conversation about agency operations, talent, clients, and the choices agencies need to make in an AI-shaped market. Good fit if you want to: See how other agencies are applying AI in real workflows Think through what AI means for talent, delivery, and clients Join honest peer conversations about agency change 4As Decisions Conference Location: Washington, DCDates: February 11, 2026Best for: Agency leaders and policy-aware decision-makers Official website What it is: 4As Decisions is an agency-focused event from the 4A’s. The Washington, DC edition is positioned around how changing rules, messaging, and influence affect agency leadership and decision-making. Good fit if you want to: Understand policy and messaging issues affecting agencies Discuss strategic leadership questions with industry peers Explore how external change is reshaping agency decision-making Biz Dev Camp New Orleans Location: New Orleans, LADates: February 23-24, 2026Best for: Agency business development leaders Official website What it is: Biz Dev Camp is a Bureau event centered on business development for agency leaders and growth-minded teams. It is positioned as a practical gathering for navigating client relationships, growth challenges, and new business strategy. Good fit if you want to: Improve your agency’s business development approach Talk through growth and client relationship challenges with peers Get a practical perspective on building a stronger pipeline March Seven Figure Agency Summit Location: Miami, FL; hybridDates: March 2026Best for: Agency owners and growth leaders Official website What it is: This is a Seven Figure Agency member event built around in-person networking, training, and collaboration for agency owners. It is a live and virtual intensive. Good fit if you want to: Connect with other agency owners at a similar growth stage Get practical training tied to agency growth and operations Combine in-person networking with a virtual attendance option Industrial Marketing Summit Location: Austin, TXDates: March 3-5, 2026Best for: Industrial marketers and B2B manufacturing teams Official website What it is: Industrial Marketing Summit is a niche conference for marketers working in industrial and manufacturing-related sectors. It is designed around practical learning, workshops, and networking for teams focused on industrial B2B growth. Good fit if you want to: Learn from marketers working in industrial and manufacturing environments Bring back practical ideas for B2B industrial marketing programs Connect with peers facing similar category and buyer challenges IAB NewFronts Location: New York, NY; hybridDates: March 23-26, 2026Best for: Brand marketers, media buyers, and agency professionals Official website What it is: IAB NewFronts is a digital video and content marketplace event focused on partnerships between brands and digital media companies. It is positioned around presentations, media innovation, and relationship-building across the digital content ecosystem. Good fit if you want to: Stay current on digital video and media partnership opportunities Connect with brands, buyers, and digital content companies Follow how the digital media marketplace is evolving Spryng 2026 Location: Austin, TXDates: March 24-25, 2026Best for: Senior B2B SaaS marketers Official website What it is: Spryng is a B2B SaaS marketing event from Wynter built around peer-to-peer learning and connection. The official site describes it as an unconference-style gathering where attendees are matched with peers based on role, company size, interests, and challenges. Good fit if you want to: Learn directly from senior B2B SaaS marketing peers Have more focused peer conversations instead of broad conference networking Compare how similar teams are solving growth and marketing challenges Shoptalk Spring Location: Las Vegas, NVDates: March 24-26, 2026Best for: Retail, brand, and commerce leaders Official website What it is: Shoptalk Spring is a major retail and e-commerce event focused on growth, innovation, and the future of commerce. The 2026 agenda positions
Radar Report #002 – Week of March 16, 2026
7 Accounts Showing Buying Signals Each week, the Radar Report highlights companies showing signals of potential marketing investment. These moments often lead organizations to reassess agency relationships and growth initiatives. For agencies looking for new business opportunities, Radar Report surfaces companies likely preparing to invest in marketing and brand. 7. Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines elevated longtime executive Ranjan Goswami to Senior Vice President of Customer Experience, reinforcing its focus on premium customer journeys. Trigger Delta promoted Ranjan Goswami to Chief Marketing and Product Officer in March 2026 after nearly two decades with the airline across sales, operations, digital commerce, and customer strategy roles. Why This Matters Customer experience leadership at airlines increasingly sits at the intersection of brand, digital platforms, and loyalty ecosystems. Goswami has led Delta’s inflight operations, regional sales, and digital merchandising initiatives, including personalization across Delta’s digital channels and inflight media environments. His promotion suggests Delta may continue investing in differentiated customer journeys, premium experiences, and digitally enabled personalization to maintain its competitive positioning among global carriers. Agency Opportunity Customer journey design Loyalty and lifecycle marketing Digital experience optimization Brand experience strategy Data-driven personalization Smart Outreach Angle Offer insight on how airlines are using data-driven personalization and digital touchpoints to unify the travel journey—from booking through inflight experience and loyalty engagement—to increase customer lifetime value. Company Context Delta Air Lines is one of the world’s largest global carriers, operating extensive domestic and international routes and competing heavily on premium service, loyalty programs, and customer experience differentiation. 6. Eight Sleep Eight Sleep secured a strategic investment that values the company at $1.5B while expanding its global marketing leadership. Trigger Eight Sleep received a strategic investment from Tether Investments, bringing its valuation to $1.5 billion. Around the same period, the company expanded marketing leadership with hires in global growth marketing and international marketing. Why This Matters Late-stage funding combined with senior marketing hires often signals a shift toward global brand expansion and category leadership. Eight Sleep is positioning its AI-powered sleep technology as a broader health sensing platform focused on recovery, longevity, and performance. The new marketing leadership brings experience scaling global consumer technology and wellness brands, including growth marketing leadership at Oura and international brand expansion experience across premium consumer brands and partnerships. This suggests the company is preparing for aggressive international growth and deeper brand positioning in the health optimization category. Agency Opportunity Consumer health tech brand positioning Global expansion marketing DTC growth marketing Influencer and athlete partnerships Performance media and lifecycle marketing Smart Outreach Angle Share perspective on how consumer health technology brands are expanding from single-product success into broader wellness platforms, particularly through community, athlete partnerships, and data-driven lifestyle positioning. Company Context Eight Sleep develops AI-powered sleep systems that combine biometric sensing, thermal regulation, and analytics to improve sleep quality and recovery. Its flagship Pod product tracks physiological signals and delivers personalized sleep optimization insights.
City of Tempe Digital Marketing and Design Opportunity Offers Multi-Category Contract Access
At a Glance Buyer: City of Tempe Industry: Municipal government/arts and culture Location/markets: Tempe, Arizona; support for four Arts + Culture business units Primary scope: Graphic design, social media, and digital marketing services for Arts + Culture marketing and advertising initiatives Key deliverables/channels: Digital ads, posters, print ads, newsletters, direct mail, invitations, event signage, email templates, digital display boards, website design, social conten… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro