Constant Contact has announced actor Molly Ringwald as a featured keynote speaker for GURU Conference 2026, a free two-day virtual marketing event scheduled for November 12–13.

The company expects the conference to attract more than 29,000 marketers globally, with programming focused on practical marketing strategies for small businesses, nonprofits and other organizations.

Creativity and Brand Storytelling Take Center Stage

Ringwald’s keynote conversations will focus on creativity, brand storytelling and building authentic connections with audiences. Constant Contact says the sessions will translate lessons from Ringwald’s long career in entertainment into practical ideas marketers can apply to their campaigns.

The choice reflects a broader trend in marketing events toward using recognizable cultural figures to explore issues such as audience engagement, relevance and brand identity alongside conventional marketing education.

GURU Conference has previously featured high-profile speakers including Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Martha Stewart and Daymond John. The 2026 program continues that format while expanding its focus across several operational areas of modern marketing.

Broad Programming for Small and Lean Marketing Teams

Beyond the keynote, GURU Conference 2026 is set to feature more than a dozen sessions from marketing practitioners and industry specialists, including Ann Handley of MarketingProfs, Nancy Harhut of HBT Marketing, Amy Porterfield, Kath Pay of Holistic Email Academy and Ross Simmonds of Foundation Marketing.

Sessions will be organized into tracks covering small business marketing, nonprofit and education marketing, AI tools, one-person marketing teams and multi-location email programs.

That mix reflects the increasingly broad responsibilities carried by smaller marketing teams. AI tools and automation are becoming part of the marketer’s toolkit, while email remains an important channel for organizations managing customer and audience relationships.

Market Landscape

Virtual marketing conferences continue to provide vendors, agencies and practitioners with a scalable way to reach distributed audiences. For small businesses and nonprofits in particular, free digital events can lower the barrier to accessing industry education and tactical knowledge.

The inclusion of AI alongside email marketing, storytelling and small-business strategy also highlights the widening scope of modern marketing technology. Marketers are increasingly expected to combine technology adoption with creative execution and audience understanding.

Strategic Outlook

For Constant Contact, GURU Conference provides an opportunity to position marketing education around both established practices and emerging technologies. The 2026 agenda suggests that AI will be treated alongside core disciplines rather than as a standalone replacement for them.

The event’s scale will ultimately depend on audience participation and the practical value attendees derive from its sessions, particularly as marketers face increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable results from limited resources.

Top Insights

• GURU Conference 2026 takes place virtually on November 12–13.
• Constant Contact expects more than 29,000 marketers to attend.
• Molly Ringwald will headline the event as a featured keynote speaker.
• Programming includes AI, email, small-business and nonprofit marketing.
• More than a dozen practitioner-led sessions are planned.

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