Brand Innovators
Brand Innovators is a Los Angeles-based professional community and events company founded in 2011 that convenes senior brand marketers and content creators through flagship summits like the CES Marketing Leadership Summit and Speed Dating creator-brand matchmaking events.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Brand Innovators does
Brand Innovators is a private, Los Angeles-based professional community and events company founded in 2011 that connects senior brand marketers with content creators and marketing technology innovators. The company operates an event-driven go-to-market model anchored by its flagship Marketing Leadership Summit at CES, an annual four-day gathering held during CES in Las Vegas that brings together CMOs and marketing leaders from Fortune-500 brands including Samsung, PepsiCo, Marriott, Walmart Connect, and Mastercard. Programming focuses on AI, innovation, leadership, commerce, brand building, and the intersection of culture and marketing.
In April 2025, Brand Innovators expanded its portfolio with Speed Dating events, a structured networking service that pairs content creators with brand marketers in compressed timeframes. The inaugural Speed Dating event at the Creator Economy Summit in Los Angeles attracted 50+ creators with a combined 650M+ followers, hosted in partnership with Dhar Mann Studios. The format has since expanded to the Cannes Lions Festival, signaling international growth into the European creator economy market.
The company operates with 11-50 employees and is led by co-founders Brandon Gutman (co-CEO) and Marc Sternberg, alongside Chief Content Officer David Teicher and VP of Business Development Gary Geller. Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed, but the event-driven model implies sponsor and ticket-based monetization. Brand Innovators does not operate a software platform; its core capability is community convening and high-touch networking orchestration. No funding rounds, acquisitions, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed in available sources.
Brand Innovators firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Brand Innovators
- Website
- https://brand-innovators.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Brand Innovators is a Los Angeles-based professional community and events company founded in 2011 that convenes senior brand marketers and content creators through flagship summits like the CES Marketing Leadership Summit and Speed Dating creator-brand matchmaking events.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Brand Innovators industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Marketing Events and Networking
- NAICS
- Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114), Advertising Agencies (54181), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Creator Partnerships & Sponsorship Sales (Brand Partnerships) (MPAAAHAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design (MPAAAGAA), Creator Marketplaces & Booking Platforms (MPACAGAB)
Keywords
Where Brand Innovators is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Brand Innovators business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels2 records
Brand Innovators product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Brand Innovators is an exclusive professional community and event organizer that produces invitation-based summits and structured networking sessions for senior brand marketers. Its core offerings include the annual Marketing Leadership Summit at CES, a multi-day program for CMOs focused on AI, innovation, leadership, and commerce, and Speed Dating events that pair content creators with brand marketers for compressed-timeframe collaboration matchmaking.
Product overview
Brand Innovators is an events and networking organization that connects marketing leaders and brands with content creators. The core offerings include the Marketing Leadership Summit at CES (a flagship annual event for CMOs focused on AI, innovation, and brand strategy) and Speed Dating events (creator-brand matchmaking networking sessions). The portfolio operates on an event-based model rather than a software platform architecture.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Marketing Leadership Summit @ CES Annual flagship multi-day event held during CES in Las Vegas that brings together CMOs and senior marketing leaders from major brands (Samsung, PepsiCo, Marriott, Walmart Connect, Mastercard) for sessions on AI-powered personalization, media evolution, brand building, and culture-marketing intersection. Targeted at senior brand marketing executives.
- Speed Dating Events Structured networking events that pair content creators with brand marketers in compressed timeframes to facilitate creator-brand collaboration matchmaking. Held at industry summits such as the Creator Economy Summit and Cannes Lions Festival. Targeted at brand marketing professionals and content creators seeking partnership opportunities.
Companies that use Brand Innovators
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Brand Innovators technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Brand Innovators partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Dhar Mann StudioscoreBrand Innovators partnered with Dhar Mann Studios to host Speed Dating events at the Creator Economy Summit, pairing content creators with brand marketers. The inaugural event took place in Los Angeles in April, with a second event planned for Cannes Lions Festival in June. The initiative facilitates networking and collaboration between creators and brands.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Brand Innovators competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Adweek: Adweek is a media and events business serving brand marketers and agencies. It runs industry conferences and awards programming for the same CMO buyer that Brand Innovators targets, making it a directly comparable events-and-community peer.
- VidCon: VidCon is the marquee annual conference for the creator economy, bringing creators together with brands, platforms, and media buyers. Its brand-creator matchmaking mission overlaps directly with Brand Innovators' Speed Dating format.
Broad incumbents
- IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau): IAB is a large industry association that runs summits, working groups, and programming for digital advertising and marketing leaders. It serves the same CMO buyer base as Brand Innovators but as a broader trade body with a wider scope.
- The Drum: The Drum is a global media brand covering marketing, with events and awards that convene senior marketers. It is comparable to Brand Innovators as a community-and-events business for the same enterprise marketing audience.
- Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity: Cannes Lions is the largest annual gathering of the global creative marketing industry and a venue where Brand Innovators actually hosts programming. It is a broad incumbent comparable as a premium marketing events operator.
Emerging players
- Aspire (formerly AspireIQ): Aspire is a creator marketing platform enabling brands to discover, manage, and measure influencer partnerships. It competes for the same creator-brand matching workflow that Brand Innovators facilitates offline at summits.
- GRIN: GRIN is a creator marketing software platform used by enterprise brands to run influencer programs end-to-end. It is an emerging software-based competitor to Brand Innovators' offline matchmaking model.
- Captiv8: Captiv8 is an influencer marketing platform connecting brands with creators through discovery, campaign management, and analytics. It serves the same brand marketer–creator use case that Brand Innovators addresses via live events.
Regional players
- HubSpot INBOUND: INBOUND is HubSpot's flagship annual marketing and sales conference, drawing tens of thousands of marketing professionals. While it is more mass-market, it competes for the same enterprise marketing audience's annual event budget.
Others
- Influencer Marketing Hub: Influencer Marketing Hub is an industry research and education platform serving brand marketers running creator campaigns. It is adjacent to Brand Innovators as an information and community resource for the same buyer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Brand Innovators social profiles
Digital presenceBrand Innovators financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Brand Innovators leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Brand Innovators funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Brand Innovators M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Brand Innovators
What does Brand Innovators do?
Brand Innovators is an exclusive professional community and event organizer that produces invitation-based summits and structured networking sessions for senior brand marketers. Its core offerings include the annual Marketing Leadership Summit at CES, a multi-day program for CMOs focused on AI, innovation, leadership, and commerce, and Speed Dating events that pair content creators with brand marketers for compressed-timeframe collaboration matchmaking.
When was Brand Innovators founded?
Brand Innovators was founded in 2011. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Brand Innovators based?
Brand Innovators is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Brand Innovators's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Adweek and VidCon. Broad incumbents are IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), The Drum and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Emerging players are Aspire (formerly AspireIQ), GRIN and Captiv8. HubSpot INBOUND is listed as a regional player. Influencer Marketing Hub is listed as an others.
Does Brand Innovators have an API?
No public API is recorded for Brand Innovators.
What industry is Brand Innovators in?
Brand Innovators's product category is Marketing Events and Networking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAHAK, Creator Partnerships & Sponsorship Sales (Brand Partnerships), with a secondary code of MPAAAGAA, Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design. Its NAICS code is 56192 and its SIC code is 7900.