- More than 1.000 renowned speakers will discuss the future of the digital industry across 17 stages
- New summits will highlight key topics, trends, and challenges for the digital marketing and commerce sector
- The diverse content in the conference program is linked by DMEXCO’s motto, “Be bold. Move forward.”
September 8, 2025, Cologne – On September 17 and 18, DMEXCO, Europe’s leading digital marketing & tech event, will open its doors once again to thousands of visitors, and the who’s who of the industry will gather in Cologne. An extensive and wide-ranging conference program is lined up for attendees.
One of the focus topics this year will be commerce. The event will recognize the rapid market developments in this field by giving it ample coverage in a dedicated summit, a lounge, meetups, and live podcasts. Other key topics on the program include retail media, CTV and ATV, DOOH, creator marketing, programmatic advertising, and video.
Across 17 stages, more than 1.000 acclaimed speakers will provide insights into the digital agenda of tomorrow. With more than 220 hours of event programming planned, attendees have plenty to get excited about.
Courageous trendsetters to appear in the conference program
True to DMEXCO’s motto – “Be bold. Move forward.” – influential opinion leaders will speak at this year’s event and set the course for the digital industry’s future development with their powerful statements. “We’re looking forward to some plain-talking and some intense discussions that aren’t afraid of controversy,” says Verena Gründel, DMEXCO’s host and brand & communications director. “After all, courage is marketing’s strongest currency at the moment. Anyone who wants to lead needs to be willing to take risks. Only the brave will be rewarded with visibility and market share.”
The speaker lineup for this year’s edition of DMEXCO features many celebrated pioneers and decision-makers from the digital marketing industry, such as Gaurav Bhaya (Vice President Google Ads, Google), Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel (Scholar, Speaker, Author, Advisor), Christian Raveaux (Director REWE Group, Retail Media Connect), Demet Ikiler (CEO EMEAA, Publicis Groupe), Alexandre Fannius (Vice President, EMEA bei Taboola), Benedikt Höwedes (currently co-commentator at Prime Video, former professional football player, World Cup winner), Sascha Lobo (Author, keynote speaker, podcaster, and digital entrepreneur), Carsten Maschmeyer (CEO, Maschmeyer Group), Nils Gräf (Managing Director Amazon Ads Germany), Sabine Jünger (VP Advertising OTTO), Olivier Krüger (CMO Lufthansa Group), Ann-Katrin Schmitz (Founder of Baby got Business, social media expert, and podcaster), Mona Roberts (Head of Marketing Germany & Austria, Primark Mode Ltd. & Co. KG) among many others.
New summit formats to explore key topics in-depth
All-day conference formats will provide a platform for leading figures from the economy, tech, the creative sector, and the media. The DMEXCO Thought Leaders’ Summit will be devoted to the most significant developments in digital marketing.
- At the DMEXCO CMO Summit – powered by Digiday and W&V – marketing decision-makers at advertisers will discuss the strategic agenda for the coming years.
- The DMEXCO Commerce Summit – powered by the BVDW and in partnership with Shopify – will reveal how companies can succeed in digital commerce in the D2C, B2C, and B2B sectors.
- The DMEXCO Creators’ Summit – powered by Social Match & VideoDays Festival – will focus on the trends that are shaping the future of influencer marketing.
- In addition, the DMEXCO Creativity Summit – curated by DDA and empowered by Kantar – will host exciting discussions about the new demands on modern brand communication.
Further summits, such as the DMEXCO AdTech Summit, the DMEXCO MarTech Summit, the DMEXCO Retail Media Summit – powered by the BVDW, the Corporate Influencer Summit, and the NXTGEN Agency Summit, will provide additional sources of inspiration and food for discussion for attendees.
Dirk Freytag, President of the German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW), is looking forward to the new and established summit formats with great anticipation: “We can hardly wait for the high-caliber lineup that we have planned for the various summits. This year, we will welcome numerous trendsetters, who will present clear positions on critical issues. In addition to sharing their valuable insights, they will be instrumental in advancing our industry’s further development. Both days of the event are set to be packed with information and full of exciting impetus.”
- The OOH Area + DOOH Summit: Ströer and WallDecaux will present insights into digital out-of-home media on the Media Stage at the DOOH Summit on Wednesday, September 17, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. In addition, all the major players in the digital out-of-home sector will be represented at a dedicated area in Hall 8, where the international platforms Vistar Media and Displayce, WallDecaux, Ströer as well as 22 member companies of the Institute for Digital Out-of-Home Media (IDOOH) will appear.
- The AMPLIFY Audio Area: the new hot spot for the audio industry at DMEXCO 2025. The event is dedicating an entire stage to this dynamic sector for the first time: Leading exhibitors such as RMS, Canon, Epidemic Sound, and AudioStack, alongside many others, will showcase their offerings in the AMPLIFY Audio Area in Hall 8. The area’s centerpiece will be the AMPLIFY Lounge by AdsWizz, which will act as an industry gathering point. To accompany the showcases, inspiring networking formats and side events will bring brands, agencies, and platforms together. In addition, the area’s own Speakers’ Corner – powered by RMS – will present hands-on insights and best cases from the industry.
- The Future TV Stage and the Total TV Experience – powered by Screenforce: Following its successful appearance last year, Screenforce is returning to DMEXCO in 2025 to demonstrate total TV’s immense potential. The Future TV Stage – powered by Screenforce – in Hall 8 will focus on trends and strategies in the areas of connected TV, addressable TV, advertising impact, and brand building. Directly opposite this stage, the Total TV Experience will invite attendees to relax, network, and exchange ideas in a spacious lounge. All the marketers in the German-speaking region will be present, from Ad Alliance, ARD Media, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Disney Advertising through to Seven.One Media, SPORT1, El Cartel Media, Visoon Video Impact, AGFS, and AGTT. Together, these companies represent the full spectrum of total TV.
The lineup of international partners appearing at DMEXCO 2025 also includes Google, Magnite, Teads, Adyen, Brevo, Scala, Media Impact, Taboola, Shopify, Salesforce, Adobe, IBMix, Netflix Ads, Amazon Ads, Criteo, iq digital, Microsoft Advertising, Optimizely, shopware, The Trade Desk, United Internet Media, Vistar Media, Akeneo, dentsu, Publicis Media and pilot, among many others.
Experience Factor at DMEXCO and Inspiring Pre-Events
In the Immersive Experience Area powered by BVDW, visitors have the opportunity to experience the latest developments in augmented and virtual reality live and test them in a hands-on way.
For a welcome change from presentations and business talks, the open space in Hall 6 North offers something special: the bumper cars from mobile.de invite you to clear your head and make new connections in a relaxed atmosphere.
And all those who want to kick off their DMEXCO experience a day earlier can do so at the Shopware Community Day at Confex in Cologne on Tuesday, September 16, where there will be keynotes, panel discussions, and deep dives on the future of e-commerce to get attendees in the mood for the DMEXCO Commerce Summit the following day. The Online Ad Summit will also take place on September 16. Jointly hosted by the BVDW and the German online marketing association OVK at the Wolkenburg in Cologne, this DMEXCO pre-event will address future challenges for the online advertising industry.
About DMEXCO
DMEXCO is Europe’s leading digital marketing & tech event. We are a community and a central gathering place for all key players in the digital economy and the spheres of marketing and innovation. We bring together industry leaders, marketing and media professionals, and tech pioneers in one central location to collectively set the digital agenda. DMEXCO offers a comprehensive ecosystem featuring presentations from internationally renowned speakers, exhibitions from top brands and hands-on masterclasses – all centered around digital trends and future business opportunities.
Both in Cologne and online, we set the benchmark as the go-to networking and business platform for the digital economy. At DMEXCO, decision-makers gain valuable insights, draw inspiration, make contacts and seal deals. This is where the digital business landscape of tomorrow unfolds today. The 2025 edition of the event will take place in Cologne on September 17 and 18.
With the launch of DMEXCO ASIA, DMEXCO is making its first expansion into the international market this year. Hosted as part of Tech Week Singapore in partnership with eCommerce Expo, the event will set trends in the Southeast Asian and Pacific market and serve as a platform for the Asian digital economy. eCommerce Expo | DMEXCO ASIA will debut on October 8–9, 2025.
The German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW) – together with the online marketing association Online-Vermarkterkreis (OVK) – is the ideational and professional partner of DMEXCO and owner of the DMEXCO brand. DMEXCO is organized by Koelnmesse.
Image material on DMEXCO is available online at https://go.dmexco.com/de/press-downloads-dmexco.
Media contact
Elena Fischer
PR & Media Relations Manager DMEXCO
Email: elena.fischer@dmexco.com
Phone: +49 17612562802
