dmexco 2017 in a Snapshot

Our team had a fantastic two days at dmexco. As always, there are many things to take away from such a busy event! We close our series with last words from the team, on their experience of the event and the digital outlook. Until next year, Auf Wiedersehen!

Emiliano Amicuzi

This year’s dmexco was very exciting as usual for me. I was particularly impressed by the high number of companies discussing header bidder, machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data and so on. I heard lots of jargon being used but felt it erred on the side of neglecting the clients’ needs. Yet, there were alternative and interesting solutions and concepts, by small and sometimes lesser known companies. They demonstrated the integrity of their product, with dedicated and passionate teams able to convey in-depth details, that adhere to client needs!

It seems that when we talk about evolution, SMEs have the upper hand. For us, Logico is the product of one of our core business values – ‘we adapt and evolve fast’ -, forming our latest digital evolutionary milestone.

Matt Keating

We were a Platinum sponsor at OMClub’s Unofficial afterparty – the ‘Circus of Crazy!’

While I myself spent most of my time bouncing (or by the end of Thursday, limping with sore feet) from one client meeting to another, what struck me when I did go for a more relaxed stroll around the show was that it is getting absolutely ginormous, only overshadowed perhaps by MWC in Barcelona. You might be forgiven for asking if the industry really needs so many companies… differentiation is vital.

What is clear is that two days is way too short a time for one person to “get around” the whole show, attend some talks, do meetings and man the company stand, so teamwork and prioritising is more important than ever. Especially as everyone needed to save some energy for the OMClub party!

There was of course a lot of chat about VR- including some cool demos to play with- and AI / Machine Learning (with people seemingly conflating the two terms in error). Blockchain also had a few mentions, and while the technology is very promising both within and without ad tech, we are still very much in ‘new thing that no-one has a real clue about yet’ territory there. Beware of blaggers! Same goes for any company that downplays GDPR- it is going to have a big impact and the whole industry needs to be ready to shape up.

Claudia Collu

dmexco 2017 unveiled various hot topics such as cross-device solutions, which have proven to be a big deal for the advertising industry. Attribution models and media planning can help overcome the issue of cross-device targeting. Alongside that, a creative outlook on the ad space is crucial to ensure you’re really adding value to your ad strategies.

The applicability of AI and machine learning were of much interest, allowing visitors to explore the opportunities around them. It’s easy to get trapped in these buzzwords, and overlook the real value of these technologies. At dmexco this year, many speeches focused on how to efficiently implement and make the best use out of AI and ML, to deliver concrete results.

One topic which drove a lot of conversation during and post-dmexco was gender equality in the ad industry. It’s a crucial matter that has demanded addressing for years by many, especially leading women in advertising.

Michele Marzan

dmexco, being the best B2B event in Europe (in my opinion), always proves to be a great asset for the industry as it brings together experiences and solutions from across the globe; making the advertising community stronger. The industry’s consolidation is moving forward, as we see more and more buzzwords being replaced with tangible and effective solutions for advertisers. I came across a lot of inspirational, concrete and actionable content, that can provide transparent results if processes are applied correctly.

For MainAd, dmexco was a great platform to reconnect with existing clients and meet some new faces. Our networking opportunities sparked thought-provoking conversations surrounding AI and ML, and how predictive logic can help amplify quantitative results and simplify customer experience; like Logico does.

Customer-centricity was also brought up by many, as many are becoming more aware of the value of tapping into a user’s journey in real time, to really grasp their needs. This is where big data comes in, which remains a key concept in the industry, and plays an even bigger role alongside powerful ML models.

The 2-day event was productive for the team and is still keeping us busy post-event. We look forward to participating at dmexco in the future, and making use of another learning opportunity that can help us evolve!