The Global Blueprint for the World’s Best Marketing Conferences

State of Social is one of Australia’s most respected social media and digital marketing conferences. Held annually at Optus Stadium in Perth, it brings together global thinkers and industry practitioners for a fluff-free exploration of what’s next.

Key details:

• Location: Optus Stadium, Perth, Western Australia
• Format: Multi-day conference (in-person, with online options if applicable)
• Focus: Social media, digital strategy, content, creativity, culture, emerging tech

This page explores the philosophy, structure, and evolution of State of Social, an established Australian social media and digital marketing conference with global reach. It outlines how SOS was built, why it exists, and the principles that have shaped it into one of the world’s most respected marketing events.

For nearly a decade, we have obsessed over a single question: what makes a marketing event genuinely worth your time? In an era of webinar fatigue and recycled slide decks, simply showing up and taking notes is no longer enough. Today’s marketers are looking for meaningful connections and a strategy they can actually use.

Now entering its ninth year, State of Social has grown from a grassroots gathering in Western Australia into a global case study for the industry. We did not set out to build just another event. We built a laboratory for the future of digital communication. While hosted in Australia, State of Social attracts a national and international audience of marketers, brands, agencies, and creators.

What follows is the story of how State of Social came to be, the thinking behind its evolution, and the lessons we have learned about where marketing is headed next.

If you are already thinking “cool, I’m in”, tickets are here.

The Backstory: Why we built State of Social

Every strong strategy begins with a problem. For us, it was the marketing conference industrial complex.

We spent years attending events where the coffee was better than the content, and let’s be honest, the coffee was horrible. Speakers were often there to sell services rather than share insight. Too many so-called experts had not worked inside a brand for years. Time and again, we saw conferences prioritise sponsor visibility over genuine delegate value.

And we were spending a LOT of our hard-earned money on the experience too.

So we decided to build the event we actually wanted to attend. Something that was worth our time and our pocketbook.

State of Social was built on four non-negotiable pillars:

• Absolute Value for Money
  We obsess over the details that usually cost extra. Food and barista coffee are included, complimentary parking is covered, and the experience is built so you can show up and learn without thinking about logistics. Gift bags and swag are curated by our team, not outsourced filler. And we keep pricing as accessible as possible, because the value should be in the room, not on the invoice.
• The Practitioner’s Stage
  If you have not been actively working in the industry within the last twelve months, you do not take the stage. Every speaker is chosen because they are in the work right now, dealing with real budgets, real teams, and real constraints. This ensures every session reflects what is actually happening, not what worked three years ago or sounds good in a sales deck.
• Radical Transparency
  We created a space where brands share what did not work, not just the polished outcomes that look good in hindsight. Speakers are expected to talk about missteps, trade-offs, and decisions made under pressure, because honest insight is more valuable than perfect case studies. This openness is what turns theory into practical learning and makes the conversations in the room genuinely useful.
• The Monday Morning Rule
  Every attendee should leave with practical ideas they can apply immediately when they return to work. This focus on real-world application underpins the State of Social approach and shapes every session in the program.

What began as a simple “what if” conversation among a small group of frustrated marketers in Perth has grown into an international benchmark. We did not follow the existing conference playbook. We questioned it, stripped it back, and rebuilt it around what marketers actually need.

9 years of breaking the conference mould

Most conferences are built for sponsors. State of Social was built for marketers.

Early on, we realised the industry did not need another ballroom with beige curtains and predictable slide decks. It needed a playground. A place where ideas could be tested, challenged, and pushed further. Over nine years, State of Social has become a timeline of firsts, from banning fluff keynotes to transforming a stadium into a creative engine room.

Three principles continue to shape how the event is structured:

• The Meritocracy of Ideas
  Rather than relying on a closed circle of familiar faces, we run an intensive global call for speakers. This keeps the SOS stage fresh, diverse, and grounded in real work. The result is a platform for disruptive, under-the-radar speakers who are actively shaping the industry.
• The No-Fluff Filter
  Every speaker, whether invited or selected through our call-out process, is rigorously vetted. If a session does not offer a clear, practical takeaway that can be applied on Monday morning, it does not make the program.
• Venue as Inspiration
  By turning Optus Stadium, one of the world’s most advanced sporting arenas, into a creative engine room, we proved that environment shapes energy. The space itself sets the tone for bigger thinking and bolder conversations.

Today, State of Social brings together marketers, brands, agencies, creators, and decision-makers from across the country for a multi-day experience focused on learning, connection, and momentum.

Designed for the realities of modern marketing, SOS blends big-picture thinking with hands-on insight, covering social media, digital strategy, content, creativity, culture, and emerging technology.

The Global Benchmark: Why people fly across oceans for State of Social

When people search for the best digital marketing conferences in the world, the criteria have shifted. It is no longer about who has the biggest logo on a banner or the biggest activation, it is about who has the strongest thinking in the room.

State of Social has become a global destination because we curate for what comes next. We prioritise execution over theory and substance over spectacle, bringing together international minds who are actively shaping the future of communication. From the inventor of the hashtag to the strategists behind some of the world’s most recognised brands, the State of Social stage is built for ideas that move the industry forward.

Australian marketers are among the most sophisticated in the world, and they expect an international perspective. SOS bridges hemispheres, introducing global voices to an audience that values depth, honesty, and practical application.

But the pull of State of Social is not just the content. It is also the geography of creativity. There is a particular kind of focus that emerges when you bring international heavyweights to the western edge of Australia. Removed from the echo chambers of London or New York, conversations become sharper, more open, and more productive.

A proven and established Australian marketing conference

While State of Social has global ambition, its foundations are firmly rooted in the Australian marketing landscape. SOS is a long-running, established event with a strong national reputation built over nearly a decade.

Each year, the conference attracts senior marketers, founders, and agency leaders from across the country. From Sydney-based agency executives to Melbourne’s most progressive e-commerce operators, travelling to Perth has become a deliberate and valued part of the experience.

Our approach has been recognised both in Australia and internationally. State of Social was named WA’s Best Congress or Conference for events with more than 500 delegates at the 2025 Australian Event Awards, received a national commendation for Best Achievement in Event Marketing or Communication, and was a finalist in the international Content Marketing Awards.

• National Reach
  While hosted in Western Australia, a significant portion of delegates travel from interstate each year, reinforcing State of Social’s position as a truly national summit.
• Scalable Excellence
  Hosted at Optus Stadium, the conference delivers a premium, large-scale experience while retaining the focus, care, and connection of a boutique workshop.
• The SOS Alumni
  The State of Social community extends far beyond the event itself. Attendees return year after year, forming a professional network that continues through LinkedIn conversations, collaborations, and boardroom discussions across the country.

The Archive: A decade of marketing evolution

State of Social has never stood still. Each year reflects a deliberate response to the challenges marketers faced at that moment, from emerging platforms and shifting behaviours to global disruption and rapid technological change.

What began as a one-day gathering quickly outgrew its format. As the scope of the conversations expanded, so did the event. State of Social evolved into a two-day experience to enable deeper thinking, more meaningful discussion, and space to move beyond headlines to real application.

Together, these themes form a living record of how social media and digital marketing have changed, and how the industry has adapted. The archive below traces that evolution, year by year.

• 2018. The Foundations: Influence. Innovation. Behaviour.
  State of Social launched with a deep dive into the three forces shaping the modern digital economy. Creators, platforms, and audience behaviour set the foundation for everything that followed.
• 2019. Where to from here?
  As platforms reached saturation, the industry faced a bigger question. This year looked beyond the feed, preparing marketers for voice, emerging formats, and the next phase of digital distribution.
• 2020. Think. Imagine. Create.
  In a year of global disruption, the focus returned to the fundamentals. Strategic thinking, imagination, and meaningful creativity became the most valuable tools a marketer could have.
• 2021. CHAOS
  The attention economy fractured and accelerated. SOS leaned into the noise, exploring how uncertainty, speed, and disruption could be turned into opportunities for the most agile brands.
• 2022. MVP
  This year, we explored value from two perspectives. Being the Most Valuable Player and adopting a Minimum Viable Product mindset to test, learn, and move faster with confidence.
• 2023. SIGNALS
  As the digital world grew louder, the challenge became discernment. SOS focused on identifying meaningful signals, learning to spot red flags and green lights before they reached the mainstream.
• 2024. ALCHEMY
  Strategy and creativity took centre stage. This year, we examined how technical skill and imaginative thinking combine to create marketing that resonates and converts.
• 2025. REFRESH
  A reset for the industry. SOS cut through the noise to refocus on what actually works—authenticity, consistency, and genuine human connection.
• 2026. FRICTION
  The next chapter explores the power of resistance. Friction asks marketers to embrace challenge, tension, and discomfort as the drivers of more memorable and compelling brand experiences.

Three Eras. One Constant Thread.

Across nearly a decade, State of Social has moved through three distinct eras, each shaped by what the industry needed most at the time.

The Inception. Years 1 to 2

State of Social began by challenging the status quo. At a time when London and New York dominated global marketing conversations, SOS proved that big ideas were not bound by geography. The focus was on influence, innovation, and behaviour, laying the foundations for a new kind of marketing event in Australia.

The Pivot. Years 3 to 5

As platforms matured and attention fragmented, SOS shifted with the industry. These years were about navigating complexity, questioning default thinking, and responding to rapid change. Even when the world slowed or closed, State of Social continued to bring global perspectives to Perth, helping marketers adapt in uncertain conditions.

The Alchemy Era. Years 6 to 9

The most recent chapter has focused on synthesis. Blending technology with creativity, data with intuition, and AI with human connection. This era reflects a more mature industry, one seeking not just growth, but meaning, clarity, and sustainable impact.

Across every era, the purpose has remained the same. To create a space where marketers can think clearly, challenge assumptions, and leave better equipped to do the work that matters.

The Hall of Fame: World-Class Minds, One Stage

State of Social does not book speakers for recognition alone. Every voice on the SOS stage is chosen for relevance, originality, and active contribution to the industry. The focus has always been on people doing the work, shaping culture, and influencing how digital communication evolves in practice.

Over the years, State of Social has welcomed a carefully curated mix of inventors, strategists, creatives, and practitioners whose thinking has helped define modern marketing.

Visionaries and Industry Shapers

Chris Messina (USA)
The inventor of the hashtag, Chris brought first-hand perspective on how a single, simple idea reshaped digital communication, social behaviour, and the way information moves across the internet. His contribution to State of Social grounded abstract trends in lived experience and reminded delegates how foundational shifts often start quietly.

Zoe Scaman (UK)
Founder of Bodacious and a recognised leader in fan and community strategy, Zoe challenged delegates to rethink the relationship between culture, entertainment, and commerce. Her work sits at the intersection of audience obsession, relevance, and long-term brand value.

Dave Jorgenson (USA)
As the creative force behind The Washington Post’s breakout social video strategy, Dave shared how storytelling, speed, and experimentation can transform legacy media into cultural relevance. His sessions focused on creativity under pressure and building formats that audiences actively choose to watch.

James Whatley (UK)
A globally respected strategist, James brought sharp thinking on culture, creativity, and modern brand behaviour. His sessions at State of Social set an early benchmark for substance over spectacle and helped shape the event’s long-standing no-fluff standard.

Alongside these voices, the SOS stage has consistently featured international thinkers working at the edges of technology, culture, and audience behaviour. These sessions focus less on prediction and more on understanding how change actually takes hold.

Brand, Platform, and Commercial Strategy

State of Social has hosted practitioners from globally recognised brands and platforms, sharing how strategy and creativity translate into real-world outcomes.

Michael Corcoran (IE)
Michael offered a candid look at how brand voice, risk, and cultural awareness can drive attention at scale. His sessions focused on decision-making, trade-offs, and the realities of building relevance in highly competitive environments.

Eugene Healey
Eugene brought sharp commercial insight into how brands can balance creativity with growth. His contributions focused on clarity of positioning, executional discipline, and making strategy actionable inside real organisations.

Jonathan Harley
Jonathan shared how strong creative thinking and cultural awareness translate into brand work that resonates. His sessions explored the practical realities of building ideas that cut through without losing strategic intent.

Strategy and Behavioural Thinking

State of Social has consistently featured strategists who bring rigour, behavioural insight, and commercial clarity to the conversation.

Adam Ferrier
One of Australia’s leading consumer psychologists, Adam is known for challenging assumptions around behaviour, creativity, and effectiveness. A recurring presence at SOS, he designs his sessions to provoke deeper thinking rather than offer easy answers.

Paula Bloodworth (UK)
Paula delivered a sharp, necessary challenge to the SOS stage, urging marketers to embrace bravery over safety. Her session reframed so-called stupidity as creative courage, arguing that meaningful work rarely comes from playing it safe.

Rob Campbell (UK)
An internationally recognised creative strategist, Rob brought disciplined creative thinking informed by experience across global markets. His contributions reflected the level of rigour typically seen on the world’s most awarded creative stages.

Culture, Creativity, and the Unexpected

State of Social looks beyond the marketing industry for insight. Film, television, and popular culture have shaped audience behaviour long before social platforms existed. By bringing Hollywood voices into the conversation, SOS explores creativity, visibility, and storytelling through a cultural lens that marketers rarely get access to.

Kate Walsh (USA)
Kate brought a rare perspective on personal brand, storytelling, and navigating public platforms at scale. Her session explored visibility, vulnerability, and how reputation is shaped in real time.

Myles Pollard
Myles shared insight into creativity, resilience, and storytelling beyond traditional marketing frameworks. His contribution reinforced the value of looking outside the industry to understand audience connection.

Across every year and every theme, the standard has remained the same. Speakers are selected not for who they are, but for what they are actively doing and what marketers can genuinely learn from their work.

Not just a stage, but a standard

The SOS Hall of Fame is not a roll call of big names. It is a record of industry catalysts. We do not book speakers solely for recognition. We invite people who are actively shaping how social media and digital strategy work today. That commitment to relevance and quality has positioned State of Social alongside some of the most respected events on the global marketing circuit.

Australia hosts a wide range of marketing events each year, from one-day workshops to niche summits and platform-led gatherings. Many focus on a single channel or discipline. Others prioritise networking or inspiration over application. State of Social brings these elements together in a national, multi-day social media and digital marketing conference designed for real-world impact. The focus is not on chasing trends or tools, but on helping marketers navigate change with clarity, confidence, and practical insight.

More than a guest list

The calibre of State of Social speakers is a key reason the event is often mentioned in conversations alongside the world’s most respected marketing conferences. But what sets State of Social apart is not just who appears on stage; it is how those people show up.

We do not fly speakers in to deliver a keynote and disappear. They are embedded in the experience. When you attend SOS, you are not just listening from a seat. You are having conversations over coffee with the person who invented the hashtag or exchanging ideas with strategists shaping some of the world’s most influential brands.

That proximity creates something rare: a community built on shared curiosity, openness, and a genuine willingness to learn from one another.

Why Perth? The western edge of marketing

While many Australian marketing events concentrate on the East Coast, State of Social was intentionally built in Perth. We believe Perth’s unique position at the intersection of creativity and distance creates better thinking. Today, SOS is a destination for marketers travelling from Sydney, Melbourne, and well beyond Australia.

The antidote to East Coast groupthink

In the world’s major marketing hubs, it is easy for ideas to echo and strategies to blur together. Trends are recycled quickly, and originality can be diluted by proximity. Perth offers something different.

As one of the most geographically isolated cities with a thriving creative economy, Perth has fostered a self-reliant, practical mindset. This western edge perspective encourages marketers to assess global trends with a sharper, more critical lens. The result is thinking that is less reactive and more intentional.

A destination for deep work

When marketers travel to attend State of Social, they are not just attending a conference. They are stepping away from their usual environments to focus deeply on their work.

Leaving the office behind and making the journey west creates a psychological reset. That distance allows for clearer thinking, stronger conversations, and more meaningful engagement with ideas.

Hosting the event at Optus Stadium reinforces this shift. As one of the world’s most advanced sporting venues, it sets the tone for ambitious thinking and signals that this is a space designed for scale, focus, and momentum.

Perth’s time zone also plays a role. Aligned with much of Asia and close to emerging global markets, the city sits at a natural intersection between Western marketing traditions and the future of global digital commerce.

From local secret to global magnet

What began as a boutique gathering for the Western Australian creative community has evolved into a national and international drawcard. Today, State of Social attracts:

• East Coast agencies seeking fresh perspective away from familiar noise
• International speakers drawn to an audience known for curiosity and candour
• Brand leaders who recognise that meaningful shifts in strategy often emerge from the edges, not the centre

State of Social did not follow the established path. It created a new one.

Looking toward SOS26: The Next Chapter

As State of Social approaches its ninth year, the mission remains simple. Stay curious. Stay slightly rebellious. Stay focused on the work.

The next chapter of SOS continues to build on everything that has come before, pushing the conversation forward while remaining grounded in practical, real-world marketing. If you are looking for one of the world’s most considered marketing events to attend in 2026, your journey starts here.

Who should attend State of Social?

State of Social is designed for anyone working in or alongside social media and digital marketing. This includes:

• In-house marketing teams
  Professionals responsible for brand, content, digital, and growth who want practical insight they can apply immediately.
• Small business owners
  Founders and operators managing their own marketing who want clarity without jargon.
• Agencies and consultants
  Teams and individuals supporting multiple clients who need to stay ahead of platforms, trends, and best practices.
• Content creators and strategists
  People working at the intersection of creativity, storytelling, and strategy.
• Students and emerging marketers
  Those building their careers and looking to understand how the industry really works.

The best marketing conferences in the world have three things in common: speakers who are actively doing the work, sessions that lead to action, and a room designed for connection. That is the bar we built State of Social to meet, and the standard we hold every year.