Over 350 of the industry’s leading brands and publishers came together in Chicago for Awin ThinkTank Americas 2026, and the message was unmistakable: Awin has arrived in the Americas bigger and bolder than ever before.

Being our largest-ever gathering across North and South America, it instantly made history before proving 2.5 days of truly memorable moments.

Check the highlights below, and don’t forget to relive the action on our day one and day two episodes of Awin-Win Marketing Podcast, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Awin doubles down on the American market

Kicking things off, Awin CEO Adam Ross, North America President Adam Weiss, Regional Managing Director Latin America Rodrigo Genoveze and VP of Marketing Lisa Maynard took the stage to outline Awin’s vision for the region.

At the center of that vision was the largest investment Awin has ever made in the Americas, built to help brands accelerate growth across the region with greater speed and scale.

That investment comes at a critical moment. As AI-driven discovery reshapes how consumers purchase and privacy changes erode traditional tracking, brands are losing visibility into performance and revenue.

Awin’s response is not incremental. It is structural.

Backed by a multi-million-dollar investment, Awin is building a performance safety net for American advertisers, recovering lost commissions, protecting against misattribution, and delivering a privacy-first data foundation built for a post-cookie world.

At the same time, AI-driven discovery capabilities are connecting brands to over one million publishers with greater precision, ensuring visibility as commerce shifts toward AI-influenced journeys.

This builds on a landmark year in North America, marked by record growth and a 140% increase in regional support staff, combining deep local expertise with global scale.

A sold-out room for a surging ecosystem

With attendees including Under Armour, Samsung, Expedia, LG, GE Appliances, LTK, Forbes and Capital One Shopping, ThinkTank Americas reflected the growing momentum behind affiliate and partner marketing in the region.

Across keynotes, breakout sessions and networking moments, one theme stood out: affiliate is no longer a supporting channel. It is a central growth driver in a fragmented, AI-driven discovery landscape.

The conversations happening in Chicago made it clear that the industry is evolving quickly, and those leaning into partnerships, performance and diversified publisher strategies are pulling ahead.

Headline voices drive the conversation

ThinkTank Americas brought together some of the most influential voices shaping modern marketing.

Mike Cessario, Founder and CEO of Liquid Death, delivered a standout keynote on building a brand that breaks every traditional rule. From turning negative comments into viral campaigns to scaling a challenger brand into a multi-category powerhouse, his message made clear that standing out requires conviction, creativity, and a willingness to polarize.

Lily Ray, Founder of Algorythmic and VP of SEO & AI Search at Amsive, returned to the ThinkTank stage to unpack the rapidly shifting search landscape. Her session highlighted how AI is transforming discovery while reinforcing that strong foundational SEO and high-quality content remain critical for visibility across both search engines and AI platforms.

Breakout sessions expanded on these themes, with a clear throughline: AI is accelerating affiliate’s role in discovery, content quality is becoming the differentiator for visibility, and traditional measurement models are being reworked in real time.

As a result, the path to purchase becomes more fragmented and less linear.

A market moment and clear signal

Awin’s scale, investment and presence in the US and Latin America are accelerating at exactly the moment brands and partners need stronger, more flexible partnership models to navigate change.

The energy in Chicago reflected a market ready to grow, and a network ready to lead.

Awin is not quietly expanding in the Americas. It is investing, building and showing up in a way that matches the ambition of the region itself.

Missed ThinkTank Americas? Recap on all the action with our day one and day two specials of Awin-Win Marketing Podcast.