Advantage Summit NA 2026: Conversations, Collaboration, and New Ideas
The first inaugural Advantage Summit, sponsored by Revaly, was held September 17-18, 2026 at AdvantageCS headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Advantage users gathered for two productive days of presentations, discussions, and networking.
Wednesday: Welcome Reception + Drinks
Thursday: Day 1
Thursday started with breakfast and meetings between attendees and ACS staff. After a light lunch, the conference officially kicked off with COO Brian Varblow’s opening presentation welcoming attendees to AdvantageCS headquarters. Attendees were encouraged to share ideas, discuss industry trends, and learn from one another’s experiences over the course of the summit.
Afterwards, Executive Director of Product and Market Strategy John Sheehy facilitated the conference’s first roundtable discussion. Attendees discussed the broader forces shaping the publishing industry and shared firsthand experiences managing digital transformation initiatives, adapting to changing audience behavior, and navigating executive mandates.
Next up was a joint presentation between Nick DeGuise from Revaly and Tara Rebak from Newsmax. Nick and Tara introduced Revaly to the other attendees and showcased Newsmax’s recent success with Revaly’s Advantage integration.
Day 1 of the conference concluded with another roundtable discussion hosted by Managed Services Team Leader Eric Burbeck. Themed around operational challenges, participants explored how shrinking teams, tighter budgets, and growing business demands are changing day-to-day operations across publishing organizations. Attendees discussed practical approaches to automation, workflow optimization, development prioritization, and other ways to reduce manual effort within their organizations.
After a quick wrap-up, conference attendees enjoyed dinner, drinks, and good conversation at The Black Pearl!
Friday: Day 2
The second day of Advantage Summit started early with CTO Matt Varblow’s annual AdvantageCS Technology Update, sharing the newest features and innovations that have been added to Advantage. Matt discussed the company’s latest developments in database optimization, integration reliability, modernization of the Advantage architecture, and preparations for supporting Enterprise and Essentials SaaS offerings.
Next up was John Sheehy’s product direction presentation. He shared updates on the product roadmap, highlighted recent investments in Advantage Analytics, Shop, Paywall, and the company’s SaaS offerings, and highlighted the company’s vision for a connected ecosystem that brings every aspect of the customer journey together within the Advantage platform.
After one final roundtable discussion on the practical applications of AI, it was time to say goodbye and conclude the conference. Attendees left with new ideas, stronger connections, and practical solutions for getting even more value from Advantage.
All in all, the first Advantage Summit conference was a success. Thank you Revaly for sponsoring this event, thanks to all who attended, and we can’t wait to have you back next year!
