The Marketing Collaboration Lab 2026
Be Part of the Inaugural Lab!
The Marketing Collaboration Lab will be an immersive, ideas-driven experience that brings together brand-side marketers and small or mid-size marketing agencies for structured, themed roundtable conversations.
Instead of traditional vendor showcases or sales pitches, the Lab creates a collaborative space where expertise meets real-world challenges.
Marketing Collaboration Lab 2026
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 • 5:30–8 p.m.
In person at Catalyst Ranch, 656 W. Randolph St., Chicago
Hosted at Chicago’s creative hub, the Lab offers a high-energy setting that inspires fresh thinking and authentic connections.
Marketers actively seeking a new agency partner or simply looking for fresh insights and peer-to-peer learning will engage in meaningful conversations that tackle real marketing challenges, without the pressure of pitches.
With multiple rotating sessions and plenty of informal mingling, the format blends expert facilitation with collaborative problem-solving to spark ideas, build relationships and elevate marketing strategies.
Is This Event a Fit for Your Agency?
AMA Chicago is looking for small but mighty agencies and consultants who lead with expertise, not sales decks. Ideal roundtable hosts:
- Have fewer than 50 employees
- Are an independent, founder-led or specialist agency
- Thrive on strategic thinking and insight-driven problem solving
- Have at least one AMA Chicago member on their team
Sponsorship: $299
What to Expect at the Event
Your Role As a Roundtable Host
At the Lab, your job isn’t to pitch…it’s to show your value by doing what you do best:
- Lead a focused, high-energy discussion around a selected topic
- Help marketers untangle real problems in real time
- Demonstrate your strategic thinking through facilitation—not selling
- Keep the conversation educational and challenge-solving, not promotional
What Marketers Will Experience
Marketers attending the Lab will:
- Rotate among expert-led, fast-paced topic tables
- Work through real-world challenges with agency specialists
- Leave with immediate, actionable insights they can apply at work
Only 10 agencies will be selected.
The Marketing Collaboration Lab 2026: Application
Apply now to participate as an agency thought-leader at the March 4, 2026, event.