IMCX Returns to Los Angeles: Super Early Registration Is Now Live for the Influencer Marketing Conference & Expo Relaunch

Super early registration for **IMCX 2026** opened this week, with **Standard Pass at $497** and **VIP Pass at $697** available through June 1. The conference takes place **September 22–24, 2026 in Los Angeles**, with the main programming running across Day 1 and Day 2 and a pre-conference reception on the evening of September 22.

For an industry that has spent the last several years debating whether the creator economy needs a marquee in-person gathering — and which event, if any, deserves that title — the IMCX relaunch is a meaningful data point. This is not a new event trying to break into a crowded calendar. It is an established conference, with a multi-year track record across both live and virtual formats, returning to its original form after pandemic-era programming.

A Brief History Most People Forget

IMCX held its first live edition in Los Angeles in 2019, programmed as a three-day networking and educational event focused exclusively on influencer marketing — at the time still an emerging category being treated by most marketers as experimental rather than core. The 2019 program drew an audience of agency operators, platform reps, brand-side marketers, and the creators who would, over the next five years, become the central characters of the creator economy.

Then came the pandemic. Like virtually every in-person conference in 2020, IMCX pivoted to a virtual format. The 2020 virtual edition reached more than 3,500 registered attendees over three days. Subsequent editions ran in hybrid and virtual configurations through the COVID years, accumulating an aggregate audience of **more than 8,000 attendees across all editions** — a figure that places IMCX among the most-attended dedicated influencer marketing events of the period.

What the virtual years did was extend the conference’s reach internationally. What they could not do was reproduce the deal-making, the off-the-floor conversations, and the unscripted networking that anchor the value of in-person gatherings. That is the gap the 2026 edition is built to close.

Why an In-Person Relaunch in 2026

The timing is deliberate. The creator economy in 2026 is structurally different from the creator economy of 2019. Brand-creator deals are now a permanent line item in major marketing budgets — creator advertising crossed $37 billion in 2025 and is on track for $44 billion in 2026. Platforms have institutionalized creator monetization. Regulatory frameworks have hardened. AI is reshaping content production at the same time as platforms are quietly rewriting the algorithms that determine what reaches whom.

This is the moment when the industry needs the in-person conversations again. Brand-side decision-makers are reporting that their best creator partnerships have come from rooms where they could spend two or three days with the right operators. Creators with established businesses are reporting that their most valuable industry relationships are formed face-to-face. The virtual format served the pandemic moment. The post-pandemic moment requires something else.

LA was the original host for a reason. The creator economy is geographically concentrated in Los Angeles in a way that no other industry conference can ignore. Talent agencies, creator-management companies, content studios, brand-side influencer teams, and a meaningful share of the platform-side ecosystem are headquartered or have major presences in LA. Bringing the conference back to LA is not a marketing decision — it is an acknowledgment of where the industry physically operates.

Track Record

IMCX is not a first-time event. The second in-person edition was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center — the same venue as the debut — and drew over 500 attendees across three days. The expo floor featured roughly 40 exhibitors, including T-Mall (Alibaba Group) and influencer marketing agencies such as Open Influence, alongside platforms, tooling vendors, and creator-economy startups. The speaker roster included regional directors from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, who walked the audience through current advertising laws and FTC endorsement guidelines as they apply to creators, brands, and influencer marketing partnerships. The 2026 edition returns to Los Angeles building on that foundation.

What Is Different About 2026

The IMCX 2026 program has been deliberately reshaped around what the 2026 audience actually needs. The single main stage runs across Day 1 and Day 2 — no parallel tracks, no fragmentation of attention. Each session is timed and named with specificity, and several have been built around branded experiences that don’t exist anywhere else on the conference circuit.

**THE DEBATE** — *AI Creators: Threat or Tool?* Two operators argue opposing sides. Audience votes at the start and at the end.

**THE EXCHANGE** — Structured 5-minute speed networking rounds, with attendees pre-screened by registration intent so brand-side people are paired with creator-side and not with sales reps.

**THE BACKROOM** — A VIP-only off-the-floor reception on the evening of Day 1, attended by confirmed speakers, sponsors, and the day’s panelists.

The rest of the program covers the issues defining the industry right now: creator-led commerce, measurement and attribution, AI’s effect on creator operations, the regulatory landscape, brand-creator deal economics, and the evolution of platforms.

Who Is Coming

The IMCX audience has historically skewed senior on the brand side and operationally serious on the creator side. The 2026 edition is being built for that same audience: heads of social, influencer, growth, and brand at consumer brands; agency leaders; full-time creators with operating businesses and the managers, agents, and lawyers around them; investors backing creator-economy infrastructure; founders and executives at the tools layer; and the press covering the industry.

The Creator Pass is free for the first 100 verified creators and requires application — a deliberate filter to ensure the room contains creators actively running businesses.

Pricing and Registration

Super early bird pricing is live now and runs through June 1, 2026:

• **Creator Pass — Free.** Limited to 100 verified creators. Application required.
• **Standard Pass — $497.** Full access to all general sessions, panels, exhibition hall, and networking.
• **VIP Pass — $697.** All Standard benefits plus exclusive access to THE BACKROOM, priority seating, and all session recordings (30 days post-event).

Pricing increases on June 2 when early bird pricing begins, and increases again at the standard pricing window in August.

Why This Matters Beyond IMCX

The broader read on the IMCX in-person relaunch is that the in-person creator-economy conference category is reorganizing. Several events that operated through the pandemic on virtual or hybrid formats have either folded, pivoted away, or remained niche. The events that are growing are the ones with established audiences and operational track records.

IMCX’s relaunch is not happening in a vacuum. It is happening because the creator economy in 2026 needs in-person infrastructure, and the events with multi-year track records are positioned to provide it. Los Angeles in September is going to be the marker on the calendar.

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**Register for IMCX 2026 →** influencermarketingexpo.com