The Affiliate Leaders Summit 2026 will spotlight the most pressing trends shaping affiliate and performance marketing as it launches as a standalone event alongside SBC Summit.
Taking place from 29 September to 1 October at Lisbon’s Feira Internacional de Lisboa and MEO Arena, the event will bring together affiliates, operators, performance marketers and growth specialists for three days of practical insights and strategic discussion.
Designed to address the challenges and opportunities facing today’s marketing ecosystem, the conference programme will feature two dedicated stages and six content tracks exploring topics including AI, SEO, content strategy, conversion optimisation, media buying and business growth.
The Affiliate Leaders Stage will deliver in-depth discussions across three core themes: Platforms & Performance, Future of Affiliate Strategy, and Content & Discovery. Sessions will examine evolving traffic acquisition strategies, changing consumer behaviours, regulatory developments and the growing influence of artificial intelligence on audience discovery and engagement.
Complementing this programme, the Conversion Conf Stage, delivered in partnership with Conversion Club, will present dedicated tracks covering Scale, Growth, and AI. These sessions will focus on practical business-building strategies, including operational scalability, sales systems, team development, media buying and automation.
Commenting on the event, Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and Founder of SBC, said: “Launching the Affiliate Leaders Summit as a standalone event lets us build the entire programme around what affiliate and performance marketing professionals are actually dealing with right now. Affiliates are under pressure to perform better while relying less on any single platform, as search, paid media and social all shift the ground beneath them, and AI reshapes how people find content.
We’ve brought together the people tackling these issues day to day, so delegates leave with practical insight into what’s working now and where the next opportunities for sustainable growth are likely to come from.”
Throughout the three-day programme, delegates will explore how businesses can diversify revenue streams, future-proof acquisition strategies, adapt to stricter regulations and leverage AI-driven technologies without compromising trust, compliance or content quality.
Key discussions will cover the rise of generative search, the impact of AI-powered discovery tools, first-party data strategies, conversion optimisation, influencer marketing, short-form content, media buying and customer retention. The agenda will also examine how affiliates can maintain visibility in an increasingly fragmented digital landscape where traditional SEO, social media and AI-generated recommendations increasingly intersect.
The event’s business-focused content will also address the operational side of growth, with sessions covering scalable sales systems, leadership development, team structures, product-market fit and strategies for retaining top talent in competitive markets.
As artificial intelligence continues to transform workflows across the industry, dedicated sessions will explore where automation delivers measurable value and where human expertise remains critical, offering attendees practical guidance on adopting AI strategically across their businesses.
Affiliate professionals can apply for complimentary VIP passes, while VIP registration is also available for operators, agencies, suppliers and acquisition specialists. The full conference agenda and registration details are available via the official event website.
