This is Marketing

What This is Marketing does

THIS IS MARKETING GmbH is a German private limited liability company that operates an annual online marketing conference and expo, currently in its seventh edition. Founded in 2018 by co-CEOs Marcel Knopf (also founder of Onepage.io) and Luisa Knopf (also CEO of Business Creator Summit GmbH), the company runs a single two-day flagship event held at Messe Frankfurt, attracting marketing professionals, business owners, agencies, and software vendors across the DACH region. The 2026 edition is scheduled for November 11–12 across the Festhalle, Forum, and newly added Congress Center, with expected attendance of 8,000+ alongside 100+ speakers and 150+ exhibitors.

The core product is the live conference-expo experience, supported by a dedicated iOS/Android mobile application with integrated matchmaking that enables pre-scheduled attendee-exhibitor meetings. Ticketing is operated through Ablefy across three publicly disclosed price tiers — Entrance Pass at €89, Premium Pass at €119, and Platinum VIP at €599 — with a Super Early Bird pricing model. Revenue is generated from three streams: attendee ticket sales, exhibitor booth and sponsorship fees (quote-based, undisclosed), and media partnerships. The Young Innovators program, supported by BAFA government grants covering up to 60% of booth costs, subsidizes participation for early-stage startups meeting eligibility thresholds.

The company pursues a low-cost, organic go-to-market motion relying on the personal networks of its high-profile speakers, past-attendee word-of-mouth, and its owned event website rather than paid advertising. Customer base is diversified across thousands of individual ticket buyers and 150+ exhibitor companies (including Baulig Consulting, IFV Performance, Adbaker, WOWING, and KESCH), with Google Cloud represented on the speaker program and Ablefy as the technology partner for ticketing infrastructure. The company is privately held with no disclosed external funding or parent organization.

Name

This is Marketing

Legal name

THIS IS MARKETING GmbH

Website

https://event.thisismarketing.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

THIS IS MARKETING GmbH operates an annual DACH-region online marketing conference and expo at Messe Frankfurt, serving marketing professionals, founders, agencies, and software vendors with tiered ticketing, an exhibitor floor, and a mobile matchmaking app across its annual two-day event.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Events and Conferences

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional & Association Conferences (MPAGAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Retail, Consumer Goods & Lifestyle Shows Organizers (THAHABAJ)

Keywords

• Marketing conference
• Online marketing event
• Business expo
• DACH marketing summit
• Exhibition and networking

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from selling attendee tickets at three price tiers (Entrance Pass at €89, Premium Pass at €119, Platinum VIP Pass at €599), sold directly through the event website.
2. Exhibitor & Sponsorship Fees: Revenue from companies purchasing exhibition booths and sponsorship packages on the event floor. The event expects up to 150 exhibitors in 2025, with a dedicated Young Innovators subsidized booth program.
3. Media Partnerships: Revenue from exclusive media partners who receive visibility and branding in exchange for promotional support of the event.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

THIS IS MARKETING organizes an annual two-day online marketing conference and expo at Messe Frankfurt (Festhalle, Forum and Congress Center) for the DACH region. The event brings together 100+ speakers and 150+ exhibitors for an expected 8,000+ attendees in 2026, offering keynotes, masterclasses, an exhibition floor, and a matchmaking mobile app. Revenue is generated primarily through tiered ticket sales, exhibitor booth fees, sponsorship packages, and media partnerships.

Product overview

THIS IS MARKETING is a single flagship conference and expo event rather than a software platform with modules. The core offering is the annual two-day Conference & Expo held at Messe Frankfurt, featuring 100+ speakers and 150+ exhibitors. Revenue is generated through tiered ticketing: Entrance Pass (89 EUR), Premium Pass (119 EUR), and Platin VIP Pass (599 EUR), plus exhibitor booth sales. Supporting offerings include the Young Innovators Program with BAFA state funding for qualifying startups, and a proprietary mobile app with matchmaking functionality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Young Innovators: A program for young, innovative startups to exhibit at the THIS IS MARKETING event with government funding support through BAFA.
• Business Creator Summit

Products and services

• THIS IS MARKETING Conference & Expo Two-day online marketing conference and exhibition held annually at Messe Frankfurt, featuring 100+ speakers, 150+ exhibitors, keynotes, masterclasses, and networking opportunities for marketing professionals, entrepreneurs, agencies, and brands in the DACH region.
• Young Innovators Program Subsidized exhibition program for startups and young companies (up to 50 employees, max EUR 10M revenue, founded within 10 years) offering subsidized exhibition booths and optional masterclass speaking slots, with up to 60% state funding through BAFA.
• THIS IS MARKETING Mobile App Event mobile application available on iOS and Android with integrated matchmaking functionality that allows attendees and exhibitors to plan meetings in advance and discover each other on the platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Event grew from 1,800 attendees (2022) to 8,000+ expected (2026), representing more than 4x growth in 4 years.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Google CloudminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Google Cloud is represented at THIS IS MARKETING through speakers Elise Landman (KI Customer Engineer & KI Technical Lead for KMU EMEA at Google Cloud) and Kristin Trunk (Territory Manager Google Cloud Platform for KMUs in the DACH market). Both speak on AI and cloud topics, positioning Google Cloud within the event's content program.
• BAFA (Bundesagentur für Auslandsangelegenheiten / Federal Agency for Economic Affairs)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025BAFA partners with THIS IS MARKETING to support the Young Innovators Program, which enables eligible startups (up to 50 employees, max €10M revenue, founded within 10 years) to receive up to 60% government funding toward booth rental and booth construction costs at the event.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Dreamforce: Annual customer conference organized by Salesforce, with a significant marketing and digital transformation content track. Comparable as a large B2B conference with a major expo floor targeting marketing and sales leaders, though vendor-owned and broader in scope.
• Web Summit: Large-scale annual tech conference held in Lisbon. Comparable as a mega-scale B2B conference with a strong marketing and growth track, but broader in scope (spans tech, SaaS, policy) and far larger in attendance than THIS IS MARKETING.

Direct peers

• SaaStock: Annual SaaS conference previously held in Dublin. Comparable as an annually-held, European-centric B2B software/SaaS conference combining a speaker-led program with an exhibition floor targeting founders and marketing/sales leaders.
• Social Media Marketing World: Annual social media and digital marketing conference held in the US. Comparable as a professionally-organized marketing conference with a strong speaker lineup, workshops, and networking targeting marketing practitioners and decision-makers.
• DMEXCO: Major digital marketing and tech expo held annually in Cologne, Germany. Comparable as a B2B digital marketing exhibition targeting similar marketing decision-makers, agencies, and technology vendors in the DACH market.
• OMR (Online Marketing Rockstars): Annual online marketing conference and expo held in Hamburg, Germany. Directly comparable to THIS IS MARKETING as the leading DACH-region marketing event with a similar audience of marketers, founders, and martech vendors, but at materially larger scale.
• Growth Marketing Summit: Annual growth marketing conference focused on acquisition, retention, and experimentation tactics. Comparable as a smaller, specialist marketing conference combining a curated speaker program with networking for marketing leaders and practitioners.
• HubSpot INBOUND: Annual marketing, sales, and customer experience conference organized by HubSpot. Comparable as a flagship professional marketing conference combining keynotes, breakout sessions, and an exhibitor floor aimed at marketers and business owners.
• Content Marketing World: Annual content marketing conference organized by the Content Marketing Institute. Comparable as a flagship professional marketing conference with educational tracks, notable speakers, and an exhibitor expo targeting B2B marketers.
• CXL Live: Conversion-optimization and growth marketing event organized by CXL. Comparable as a specialist, education-led marketing conference focused on the same audience of performance marketers and conversion practitioners that THIS IS MARKETING serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/thisismarketing.de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eventthisismarketing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about This is Marketing