NEW Bonus Tracks (by invite only)
 

  • The private Brand-Only Encoding AI™ morning track is back by popular demand after an exciting launch in New York this spring. This is a “get your hands dirty” session in a safe space where you can work with your peers to describe concrete marketing problems, explore the art of the possible today, and then get into small hands-on-keyboard groups to see what you can accomplish in a morning.
  • For RMNs and agencies only, the private RMN <> Creator Co-Lab morning track explores how Media Networks + Creators can get the most out of collaboration—where the upside is for all parties, best practices, and things to avoid.
  • The private Commerce Media-Only Workshop™ gathers executives running CMNs in a peer-to-peer, off-the-record setting. Short presentations set up the problems. CMN-led conversations then dig into thought experiments and practical solutions. You will spend more time talking than listening, and the person across the table might already have solved something you’re just starting to realize is a challenge.


For both tracks, you'll check in for the entire two days, enjoy a community breakfast, enjoy networking after the tracks, and then transition to the RMN Ascendant Boot Camp kickoff.

General registration for all other RMN Ascendant attendees starts at 10:45am.
 

Sep 16, 2026
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Brand-Only Encoding AI™ Morning Track Registration + Community Breakfast (invite only) [in partnership with Transparent Partners]
 
Commerce Media-Only Workshop™ Registration + Community Breakfast (invite only)
 
RMN <> Creator Co-Lab Deep Dive Registration + Community Breakfast (invite only) [in partnership with Inmar Intelligence]
 
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Commerce Media-Only Workshop™ (invite only)
 
9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Brand-Only Encoding AI™ Morning Track (invite only) [in partnership with Transparent Partners]
 
RMN <> Creator Co-Lab Deep Dive (invite-only) [in partnership with Inmar Intelligence]
 
10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
General Registration + Networking
 
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Private Invite-Only Focus Group [in partnership with Koddi]
 
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Community Lunch [graciously hosted by SMG]
 
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Opening Comments
 
1:00 PM - 1:30 PM
First-Look Research [in partnership with McKinsey & Company]
 
1:30 PM - 2:10 PM
The Next Chapter of Commerce: Winning in the Age of Agentic AI [in partnership with Criteo]
 
2:10 PM - 2:40 PM
GM Think Tank
 
2:40 PM - 2:55 PM
Networking + Transition
 
2:55 PM - 3:25 PM
Breakout A - Identity is a Commodity: Who Owns Context Wins [in partnership with MetaRouter]
 
Breakout B - Turning Trust into Revenue: The Customer Experience Dividend [in partnership with Nift]
 
Breakout C - The Missing Data Piece: Scaled Audiences Faster [in partnership with GrowthLoop]
 
3:25 PM - 3:35 PM
Transition
 
3:35 PM - 4:15 PM
Roundtable 1A - Data Partnership Potential + Pitfalls [in partnership with The Trade Desk]
 
Roundtable 1B - M4: Merchant, Marketer, Media, Metrics [in partnership with In-Store Marketplace]
 
Roundtable 1C - Self-Service: Growth vs. Control [in partnership with Symbiosys]
 
Roundtable 1D - Can Brand Budget-Funded Instant Discounts Be Profitable? [in partnership with Particular Audience]
 
Roundtable 1E - CMNs: Operational Excellence in the Early Years [in partnership with Placements AI]
 
4:15 PM - 4:30 PM
Networking + Transition
 
4:30 PM - 5:00 PM
FACT vs. FRICTION: What Unlocks the Next Stages of Growth? [in partnership with Rokt]
 
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Ascendant Interview
 
5:30 PM - 5:35 PM
Closing Remarks + Rest of Night Details
 
5:35 PM - 6:05 PM
Community Reception [graciously hosted by Fluent]
The Sea
6:05 PM - 6:35 PM
Transition to Pioneer Award Reception + Dinner
 
6:35 PM - 8:35 PM
RMN Americas Ascendant Community Dinner
Cetrella
Sep 17, 2026
8:00 AM - 8:45 AM
Registration + Community Breakfast
 
8:45 AM - 9:00 PM
Opening Comments
 
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Ask the Buy Side
 
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
2027: The Year of Collaboration [in partnership with Koddi]
 
10:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Transition
 
10:15 AM - 10:45 AM
Breakout D - From Walled Gardens to Retail Media: Using Cross-Media Intelligence to Win National Budgets [in partnership with LiveRamp]
 
Breakout E - Building In-Store Retail Media that Shoppers Welcome [in partnership with Grocery TV]
 
Breakout F - The Next Frontier: Where Retail Media Meets CTV [in partnership with Moloco]
 
10:45 AM - 10:55 AM
Transition
 
10:55 AM - 11:35 AM
Roundtable 2A - The RMN/CMN Technology Decision: Build, Buy or Partner? [in partnership with Criteo]
 
Roundtable 2B - Budget Allocations for In-Store: “Skate Where the Puck Is Going” [in partnership with QSIC]
 
Roundtable 2C - Can Retail Media Drive Retail Sales: If Not, So What? [in partnership with Zitcha]
 
Roundtable 2D - Infrastructure + the AI Stress Test [in partnership with Topsort]
 
11:35 AM - 12:30 PM
Community Lunch
 
11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Private Invite-Only Focus Group
 
Private Invite-Only Focus Group [in partnership with Recess]
 
12:30 PM - 1:10 PM
Roundtable 3A - Overcoming Omnichannel Obstacles [in partnership with Kevel]
 
Roundtable 3B - Rethinking In‑Store Engagement at the Point of Exit [in partnership with Fluent]
 
Roundtable 3C - Agencies, Brands + Agentic without a Data Scientist [in partnership with Xnurta]
 
Roundtable 3D - Near-Endemic to Non-Endemic: Making the Leap? [in partnership with Adjoe]
 
1:10 PM - 1:30 PM
Transition
 
1:30 PM - 2:10 PM
Roundtable 4A - In-Store: Ready to Believe, Not Ready to Buy? [in partnership with T-Mobile]
 
Roundtable 4B - The CTV Premium: Amplifying Your Offsite [in partnership with PubMatic]
 
Roundtable 4C - Agentic Readiness + RMNs [in partnership with The Desire Company]
 
2:10 PM - 2:25 PM
Networking Break
 
2:25 PM - 2:55 PM
Agency Think Tank: Agency Evolution
 
2:55 PM - 3:15 PM
7th Inning Stretch
 
3:15 PM - 4:15 PM
Inflection Point! After SHOWCASE, Looking to 2027
 
4:15 PM - 4:55 PM
Austin Leonard's Afternoon Drive
 
4:55 PM - 5:00 PM
Closing Remarks
 
5:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Transition to Council Meeting
 
5:15 PM - 6:15 PM
Private RMN Americas Ascendant Council Meeting
 
6:15 PM - 7:00 PM
Transition to Thank You Party
 
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
RMN Americas Ascendant Thank You Party
Pizzeria Delfina, 651 Emerson St, Palo Alto, CA 94301