DMEXCO 2026, Day 2: We Are Ready to Scale.
Respect! Rarely have we seen so many visitors in the halls, at the stages, and at the booths this early in the morning. Here are our highlights from Day 2.
Scale the Future: AI Moves Beyond the Testing Phase
The digital industry is an economic powerhouse. We felt that every second of the past two days. And ever since BVDW and istari.ai GmbH put a number on the digital economy, the whole country has been talking about it.
Germany’s digital economy generates around €481 billion, accounting for nearly 12 percent of the country’s gross value added.
Yesterday, BVDW President Dirk Freytag took us on an impressive tour through the study’s key findings. Today, Dr. Jan Kinne, CEO of istari.ai GmbH, dove deeper into the study and its methodology.
B2B Commerce: The Future Belongs to Those Who Adapt
B2B e-commerce is growing. But tried-and-tested sales channels remain relevant, too. In his keynote “Next Gen B2B Commerce,” Dr. Kai Hudetz of IFH Köln made the case for “dinosaurs” — and his bottom line was simple: Those who adapt continue to thrive.
While online sales are rising, field sales will still be a key success factor five years from now. What matters is keeping the entire customer journey in view and consistently putting the customer at the center of your sales strategy. And despite all the excitement around AI, one thing remains true: The digital basics have to be in place before hyper-personalization and new technologies can reach their full potential.
Brands’ Trends Grand Jury x DMEXCO 2026: AI Everywhere — but Experience Wins in the End
Which trends will shape marketing in 2027? At the “Brands’ Trends Grand Jury x DMEXCO 2026,” DMEXCO partner Dr. Jonas Kütt of Kantar took the Center Stage audience through a rapid-fire rundown: introduce the trend, discuss it for four minutes, award points — Eurovision-style.
The jury featured six marketing pros: Mona Roberts (Primark), Lea Drusio (Nespresso), Ana von Hutten (Mattel), Daniel Jäger (Deutsche Telekom), Jennifer Treiber-Ruckenbrod (MINI/BMW), and Rik Strubel (Douglas).
On the agenda: brand management for humans and machines, smarter consumption in times of tighter budgets, and the growing influence of creators. The winner: “The Return of Experience.” A surprisingly human topic in a year dominated by AI.
The takeaway: Technology is changing how brands are discovered and evaluated, but in the end, it’s still the customer who decides what to buy — at least for now.
Agentic Commerce: 100 Percent Hype, 1 Percent Reality
Everyone is talking about agentic commerce. The only problem? It isn’t really all that agentic yet.
On the Commerce Stage, Markus Caspari, Managing Partner Digital Innovation & Transformation at Dentsu Germany, said that 99 percent of AI commerce today isn’t actually agentic commerce. And not every purchase calls for an AI agent. Reordering tissues? Sure. Getting excited about a new pair of sneakers? That’s a little harder.
That’s why some of the most interesting developments are happening behind the scenes. The Universal Commerce Protocol is creating a common commerce language for platforms, retailers, and agents. At the same time, the lines between search, social, and retail — as well as paid and organic — are becoming increasingly blurred.
So what should marketers be doing now? Less buzzword bingo, more basics: strengthen your brand, create great content, and get your product data in shape.
Céline, Robi, and the First 60 Characters
And then there was Robi. On the Center Stage, in the Commerce Lounge podcast studio, and roaming the halls. Always by his side: entrepreneur and LinkedIn expert Celine Flores Willers.
On the podcast, the conversation focused on the importance of the first 60 characters of a LinkedIn post — and the little words “I” and “my.” On the Center Stage, her keynote “How to Win in B2B Marketing & Sales in 2027” featured current real-world examples, tools, and five concrete strategies for B2B players.
If you missed both her and robot Robi, you can catch up on the session in our VoD Library.
Social Media Schau LIVE
Verena Gründel, Host and Director Brand & Communications at DMEXCO, and Nemo Tronnier, founder and Managing Director of Social DNA, broadcast their Social Media Schau podcast live from Cologne. They recorded right in the heart of Koelnmesse, in front of an audience at the Commerce Lounge in Hall 7.
Every Tuesday, they share insights into the latest developments, put them into context, and give you concrete action items. Today’s topics included TikTok Shop, creators as a sales channel, and AI-powered shopping. As always, you can find the video podcast on Spotify and all major podcast platforms.
DMEXCO 2026: Shaping the Future Together
The past two days have shown just how important it is to connect and exchange ideas with colleagues and experts. So much is possible, the technology is ready — and so are we.
Thank you to all the visitors, exhibitors, speakers, and partners who shared their ideas, experiences, and enthusiasm with us. We’d also like to thank Koelnmesse and the many people working behind the scenes whose dedication makes DMEXCO possible in the first place.
And, of course, a big round of applause for our DMEXCO dream team, led by Christoph Werner, Jan Garnefeld, Thomas Mosch, Verena Gründel, and Eva Heintz. And for BVDW, the owner of the DMEXCO brand and its professional association partner.
And hey, we’ll see you back in Cologne on September 22 and 23, 2027!
Too long to read? Head straight to our VoD Library.
