This week almost 30,000 digital advertising professionals made their way to DMEXCO, one of the world’s largest online advertising and marketing conferences in Cologne, Germany organized by BVDW (IAB affiliate in Germany) and several presenting partners including IAB Europe. The convention centre was buzzing with excitement as new product and service providers shared the trade floor to entice new clients and investors. DMEXCO provides excellent visibility into emerging trends and helps define the real-time discussions taking place in Europe and around the world.
Retail Media took the front seat at this year’s conference with a good portion of the trade floor dedicated to enabling retail media network activity. Solutions aiding in everything from the hyper-personalization of ad experiences and automated ad creation to analysis tools and fancy dashboards covered the space while masterclasses and stages brimmed with retail media discussions. Retail Media revenue is rapidly outgrowing that of linear television in Europe as advertisers flock towards the full funnel capabilities of this data rich addressability proposition. Meeting advertisers on the other end of TV budgets are retailers making big plays to accommodate sight sound and motion as a plug and play extension to the retail media portfolio of formats. Advertisers were bullish about investing and the sheer number of attendees joining the retail media discussions made clear that this space is the one to watch.
Further conversations about cookie independence were unavoidable. One panel agreed that the industry must reframe the conversation from cookie deprecation to simply privacy first addressability. It’s time to move on from the negativity behind what is being left behind so that we can re-invest the energy towards innovation and adoption of improved methods to reach audiences. At next week’s Data Night in Toronto, we will get a chance to unpack this further. In Europe, with the GDPR a long-time reality in the market, there is some maturity towards the subject that the Canadian market would do well to follow. One thing to watch is whether we will see movement away from browsers towards the cloud. We’ll continue to watch this space and of course the speculation around cloud suitors ready to take on this new chapter in digital advertising.
Another clear trend is the general evolution of creative tools that are enhanced either through AI or other technologies like augmented reality or virtual reality. From rapid assembly of video and one-stop multi format asset creation to bespoke augmented reality overlay development and even holographic display production, it’s clear that creative services have major wind in their sails. While some may be uneasy about what these tools might do to creative agencies, there was no shortage of niche agency representation on the trade floor demonstrating how AI to creative ad production is like a medium to an artist. It was obvious that more self-serve offerings were emerging but also that premium outputs need service providers to really produce the excellence that will be needed to breakthrough in an automated world of generative AI.
On the corporate social responsibility (CSR) front, there was some representation from service providers that specialized in sustainability services as well as progressive areas like accessibility. In depth discussions with accessibility experts provided a great reminder that accessibility does not always focus on impairments but also more generally, on optimal user experiences.
Watching the European market provides invaluable insights into what’s in store for Canada in the coming years. We look forward to driving these conversations forward within our councils and committees and invite you to participate. Reach out to committees@iabcanada.com to get involved!
IAB Canada presents Data Night Toronto: New Frontiers of Addressability, a gathering of industry leaders to exchange valuable insights, innovative strategies, and forward-looking initiatives that are transforming the digital advertising landscape with a privacy-first approach.
