Choosing a Marketing Keynote Speaker: 12 Experts on Brand and Growth

Brand builders, digital experts and storytellers, with fees and event fit for each.

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Marketing keynote speakers Daymond John, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jesse Itzler and Marcus Collins

A familiar planning mistake goes like this: the marketing team asks for practical ideas, and the event books a famous founder with a great story and little time for tactics. Both kinds of speaker have a place. The trouble starts when the booking does not match what the room came for.

This guide sorts 12 marketing keynote speakers by what they bring: brand builders who grew companies, digital and social experts and specialists in storytelling and culture. Fees and home cities sit at the end of each entry, so budget is never a guess.

Five things to settle before booking a marketing speaker

Settle these five points first. They narrow the field to the few marketing speakers who fit your room.

  • Decide between story and tactics. A famous founder brings a memorable story; a practitioner brings methods your team can apply. Know which one your agenda needs.
  • Match the expertise to your problem. Brand building, social media, customer experience and storytelling call for different experts.
  • Know who is in the room. Chief marketing officers want strategy and field marketers want ideas they can test. Sales teams want customer insight.
  • Look for current examples. Marketing changes fast. Ask whether the speaker will use recent cases from your industry.
  • Set budget and format early. In-person fees here start between $25,000 and $250,000. Request a virtual quote at the same time if you need one.

Brand builders who scaled real companies

These four built consumer brands from a basement, a family home or a founding team. Book one when the audience wants proof that a brand can be built, and the story of how.

Daymond John: branding lessons from FUBU

Brand Week named Daymond John its Marketer of the Year, and he won an Advertising Age Marketing 1000 Award for Outstanding Ad Campaign. Both honors trace back to FUBU, the label he launched from his mother’s house and grew past $6 billion in global sales.

His keynote “Daymond John’s 5 Shark Points: The Blueprint for Success” turns that climb into principles for building a brand and a business. He is also a branding expert and the author of bestsellers including The Power of Broke and Rise and Grind.

Best for: Large conferences and franchise meetings that want a headline name with a branding story. Better as a keynote than a tactics session. Daymond John’s speaking fee: $100K–$110K in person. Travels from: New York, NY. View Daymond John’s profile and check availability.

Daniel Lubetzky: a values-driven snack brand

KIND Snacks began in 2004 in Daniel Lubetzky’s windowless basement, where he founded and ran the company. He wrote the New York Times bestseller Do the KIND Thing and brings a values-driven lens to building a business. TED, TIME, Newsweek and Fortune have featured him.

Marketing, growth and entrepreneurship are among his topics, and he shows audiences how to think flexibly and solve problems creatively. He is best experienced in a moderated fireside chat with an emcee you choose, which suits a brand conversation with plenty of audience questions.

Best for: Consumer goods, food and purpose-driven brand events that can use a fireside chat format. Plan for a moderator when you book. Daniel Lubetzky’s speaking fee: $100K–$110K in person. Travels from: New York, NY. View Daniel Lubetzky’s profile and check availability.

Omar Johnson: culture-led brand growth

As founding CMO of Beats by Dre, Omar Johnson helped scale the company from $20 million to more than $2 billion in revenue, leading to its $3 billion acquisition. He has worked with Nike, Apple, Coca-Cola and Campbell’s, and founded Øpus Intelligence, a generative AI platform for cultural relevance in marketing.

“The Beats Story: Building a Winning Company Culture and International Brand” shares lessons in growth and creativity from that run. In “B2H: Business to Human Marketing and Marketing 3.0,” he explains why the strongest brands connect with people first, and a third talk covers leading through AI.

Best for: Brand, marketing and consumer-tech audiences that want a CMO’s view of how culture drives growth, and teams starting to use AI in marketing. Omar Johnson’s speaking fee: $60K–$65K in person. View Omar Johnson’s profile and check availability.

Jesse Itzler: risk-taking from music to jets

Few founders have a background like Jesse Itzler’s: former Run-DMC manager, Emmy-award-winning artist, ultramarathon runner and co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks. His companies include Marquis Jet, ZICO Coconut Water and All Day Running Co. He also wrote the Emmy Award-winning song “I Love This Game.”

He is also the bestselling author of Living with a SEAL and Living with Monks. In “Build Your Life Resume,” he flips the usual career model to focus on experiences. “The Spiritual Billionaire” treats entrepreneurship as a personal path, and another talk urges audiences to take risks while keeping perspective.

Best for: Kickoffs and incentive trips where energy matters as much as marketing lessons. Expect a story about taking risks rather than a playbook. Jesse Itzler’s speaking fee: $75K–$80K in person. Travels from: Atlanta, GA. View Jesse Itzler’s profile and check availability.

Digital and social experts who know where attention goes

This group has run online marketing, built digital agencies or launched e-commerce brands. Pick from here when your team needs to know where customers are now and how to reach them.

Gary Vaynerchuk: buying attention while it is cheap

Gary Vaynerchuk grew his father’s wine business to $60 million in annual sales, then co-founded VaynerMedia in 2009 with his brother AJ. He built it to more than 800 employees in nine years without startup funding and is now Chairman of VaynerX.

His keynote “Day Trading Attention” focuses on underpriced attention channels that drive brand and sales growth, the subject of his book Day-Trading Attention. “Practical Optimism” warns that people who neglect their brand or reputation leave themselves open to competition. His social channels have more than 44 million followers.

Best for: Major conferences and marketing summits with the budget for a top-tier headliner. His fee is the highest in this guide. Gary Vaynerchuk’s speaking fee: $250K–$300K in person. Travels from: New York, NY. View Gary Vaynerchuk’s profile and check availability.

Erik Qualman: word of mouth at digital scale

Before writing Socialnomics, Erik Qualman ran online marketing and eBusiness for AT&T, Yahoo and Travelzoo. He has been called the “Digital Dale Carnegie” and runs his own animation studio, Equalman Studios. In 2012 he was a finalist, alongside Seth Godin, for the Most Likable Author Award.

“Socialnomics: Winning Customers’ Hearts + Minds at Scale” explains how word of mouth turned into “World-of-Mouth” online and what that means for winning customers. Sales teams can also draw on his book How to Sell on LinkedIn, and he offers a program on digital leadership.

Best for: Sales and marketing meetings and association events that want social media explained with energy. A virtual fee is listed too. Erik Qualman’s speaking fee: $50K–$55K in person; $20K–$25K virtual. Travels from: Austin, TX. View Erik Qualman’s profile and check availability.

Jay Baer: customer experience that drives growth

The Professional Speaking Hall of Fame inducted Jay Baer in 2018. He has founded five multi-million dollar companies, including the digital strategy firm Convince & Convert, and advised more than 700 brands, among them Nike, Oracle and Salesforce.

“Ignite a Word of Mouth Wave” shows how to get customers talking and growing the business for you. “Embrace Complaints and Boost Your Business” builds on his book Hug Your Haters, and “Time IS Money” covers customers’ need for speed. He also emcees multi-day events and hosts The Spirit Guides podcast.

Best for: Customer-experience, marketing and service conferences, plus multi-day events that want a keynote and an emcee in one booking. Jay Baer’s speaking fee: $32.5K–$42.5K in person; $20K–$25K virtual. Travels from: Indianapolis, IN. View Jay Baer’s profile and check availability.

Julie Wainwright: e-commerce from the early days

Brand management at Clorox was where Julie Wainwright began, and she went on to become an e-commerce pioneer at companies such as Reel.com. In 2011 she founded The RealReal, an online marketplace for authenticated luxury goods.

Entrepreneur put her on its 50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs list, and Vanity Fair added her to its 2017 New Establishment List. Her keynote “Collaboration, Creativity, & Cause” covers building a culture that gets results. A fireside chat on reinvention, resilience and the future of consumer tech suits a conversational format.

Best for: Retail, e-commerce and luxury audiences, plus women’s leadership events with a marketing focus. Virtual programs are available at a lower fee. Julie Wainwright’s speaking fee: $30K–$35K in person; $15K–$20K virtual. Travels from: New York, NY. View Julie Wainwright’s profile and check availability.

Storytellers and culture experts who shape the message

Marketing works when it connects with how people think and what they care about. These four come from animation, advertising and cultural research, and they suit teams that need better ideas and sharper messages.

Matthew Luhn: Pixar storytelling for business

Matthew Luhn left art school at 19 to work on The Simpsons, then spent three decades at Disney and Pixar on films including Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Up. He wrote The Best Story Wins and wrote and directed the award-winning animated short Sprite Fright.

Hollywood storytelling principles are now his business tools. “Storytelling for Business” shows how strong stories help people connect and remember what matters. “AI and Storytelling” looks at using AI for creative work while keeping the story at the center, and he has advised Charles Schwab and Adidas.

Best for: Marketing, sales and communications teams that present, pitch or write for a living. Also a fit for creative teams building a stronger culture. Matthew Luhn’s speaking fee: $35K–$40K in person. Travels from: San Francisco, CA. View Matthew Luhn’s profile and check availability.

Dr. Marcus Collins: how culture drives what people buy

Dr. Marcus Collins served as head of strategy at Wieden+Kennedy and is a clinical professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. His work includes Google’s Real Tone technology and State Farm’s Cliff Paul campaign, and he is a Professor in Residence at TikTok.

His keynote “For the Culture,” drawn from his book For The Culture, explains how culture drives behavior and how to use that insight to move people. “Putting the Humanity Back into Customer Centricity” builds a more human approach to engagement. He received the Thinkers50 Radar Distinguished Achievement Award in 2023.

Best for: Brand strategy, consumer insight and agency audiences, plus leadership teams that want culture tied to results. Dr. Marcus Collins’s speaking fee: $30K–$35K in person. Travels from: Ann Arbor, MI. View Dr. Marcus Collins’s profile and check availability.

Rohit Bhargava: earning attention from skeptical buyers

Awards follow Rohit Bhargava’s books: Personality Not Included won a Gold Atticus award, and his titles have collected more than 28 international book awards, including the Leonard L. Berry Marketing Book Award. He teaches storytelling, persuasive speaking and marketing at Georgetown University.

In “The Art and Science of Non-Obvious Marketing (In a Skeptical World),” he lays out five keys to earning attention amid constant distraction. Clients include LinkedIn, American Express and SXSW. Harvard Business Review, The Guardian and NPR interview him regularly, and workshops or fireside chats may be available.

Best for: Marketing and communications conferences that want tactics for winning trust, plus teams that would gain from a facilitated session. Rohit Bhargava’s speaking fee: $40K–$45K in person. Travels from: Washington, DC. View Rohit Bhargava’s profile and check availability.

Abigail Posner: creativity as a marketing edge

Agency strategy came first for Abigail Posner, after a Harvard degree in social anthropology, with senior roles at Publicis New York and DDB New York. She later became Director of U.S. Creative Works at Google and received the United Nations Media Impact Award.

“Wired to Create” shows everyone in the room how to find and use the creative capacity they already have. “Your Expansiveness Edge” helps people combine the unexpected parts of their experience to lead with more originality. She also writes the Human Code newsletter and hosts The Human Code podcast.

Best for: Creative and brand teams, agency gatherings and marketing offsites that want fresh ideas more than another data deck. Abigail Posner’s speaking fee: $25K–$35K in person; $25K–$30K virtual. Travels from: New York, NY. View Abigail Posner’s profile and check availability.

Use these 12 to get started. You can compare fees and home cities on our page of marketing speakers.

Where marketing speaker fees fall

Marketing speakers on our roster start from roughly $4,000 and run up to $300,000, with half at $30,000 or below.

  • $25,000 to $39,999: Jay Baer, Matthew Luhn and Dr. Marcus Collins all start here.
  • $40,000 to $59,999: a smaller middle tier, where Rohit Bhargava and Erik Qualman begin.
  • $60,000 to $99,999: Omar Johnson and Jesse Itzler open in this range.
  • $100,000 and up: the headliners in this guide: Gary Vaynerchuk, Daymond John and Daniel Lubetzky.

Smaller meetings have options under $25,000 as well. Your quote will move with timing, venue, program length and delivery mode, and in-person bookings generally carry travel costs too.

Fees from the Mollie Plotkin Group speaker database as of October 21, 2026.

Which marketing speaker suits which event

  • Large annual conference: Gary Vaynerchuk or Daymond John can headline and draw a crowd.
  • Brand or CMO summit: Omar Johnson speaks from scaling Beats by Dre, a useful view for senior marketers.
  • Customer-experience event: Jay Baer focuses on loyalty, speed and handling complaints.
  • Sales and marketing alignment meeting: Erik Qualman covers word of mouth online and selling on LinkedIn.
  • Creative or agency offsite: Matthew Luhn and Abigail Posner work on storytelling and creative capacity.
  • Consumer insight or strategy session: Dr. Marcus Collins and Rohit Bhargava explain how culture and skepticism shape buying.
  • Retail or e-commerce gathering: Julie Wainwright brings an online marketplace founder’s experience.
  • Kickoff or incentive trip: Jesse Itzler or Daniel Lubetzky tell founder stories about risk, values and starting from nothing.

How we chose a dozen marketing voices

To make this list, a marketing speaker on our roster needed a posted fee plus hands-on marketing work on their profile, such as brands built, campaigns run, agencies led or courses taught. We sorted them by the kind of marketing they know best, because a brand founder and a customer-experience expert solve different problems.

Planner questions about marketing keynotes

What do marketing keynote speakers charge?

A typical marketing keynote runs from $25,000 to $40,000 when the speaker appears on site. The full spread is much wider, from about $4,000 to $300,000, since famous founders and media figures command the highest fees. Timing, venue, delivery mode and any custom research all shape the final quote, and in-person events usually add travel.

What does a marketing keynote usually cover?

Most cover how customers find, judge and talk about brands today, and what your team should do about it. Some speakers lead with brand-building stories, others with social media, customer experience or storytelling methods. Tell your agent if your audience needs inspiration or tactics, since that choice shapes the shortlist more than any other.

How should we choose a speaker for a sales and marketing kickoff?

Pick someone who can speak to both teams. Customer experience, word of mouth and storytelling all connect marketing to revenue, so they work well in a joint session. Share your goals for the year and the audience mix when you check availability. Book as early as you can, since kickoff dates cluster in the same weeks.

Will the speaker use examples from our industry?

Many will. Most marketing speakers bring in cases from your market, and Jay Baer, for example, builds talks around specific customer challenges. Give your agent details about your market, your customers and the campaign or problem in front of your team. A planning call before the event is usually where that tailoring takes shape.

Can a marketing speaker appear online or lead a workshop?

Many can, and an online session is generally cheaper than flying a speaker in. Inquire about the virtual fee when you check availability. Workshops, fireside chats and Q&A sessions are also on offer from several speakers. They suit marketing teams that want to apply new ideas to their own brand during the event instead of afterward.

Getting from a longlist to a signed speaker

The right marketing keynote gives your team ideas they can test the following week, along with a reason to care. Choose between a famous story and a working method, then compare the fees above with your budget and pick two or three names.

Your MPG agent will reply with each speaker’s calendar, fee and travel needs. Get that started from each profile: select Check Availability and share the event date, venue city and audience size. Marketing rarely stands alone on an agenda, so our sales speakers, entrepreneur speakers, communications speakers and creativity speakers may help with the rest of your program.