DON’T READ THE STORY. WRITE IT.

We know the problems. So why aren’t we solving them?

We’re in the midst of a transformation. And rarely has it been as profound as it is now.

AI is accelerating production processes. Brands are competing for relevance rather than sheer reach. Consumer behavior and mental availability are constantly changing. Communities follow different rules than traditional target audiences. Everyone needs to redefine their role.

Nevertheless, many industry discussions continue to revolve around the same questions. In the same formats. With the same answers.

That’s exactly why the NXTGEN club is organizing the NXTGEN Agency Summit again in 2026, as a place where marketers can discuss the present and the future, take a stand, and embrace debate. They’ve deliberately chosen to feature new faces and voices on stage, people you won’t see or hear on every panel.

Offline is the new luxury

The past few years have been defined by digital scaling, performance-driven approaches, and ever-increasing amounts of content. It is precisely because of this that the physical experience is regaining value.

People want to see, feel, and experience brands together at events, in sports, within communities, or in places that don’t feel like advertisements.

That’s why we’re talking about IRL marketing. Physical activations are becoming a strategic counterpart in a world where attention is becoming increasingly fragmented.

How do you create experiences that have a lasting impact beyond a single photo? When does an activation become a true brand platform? And what skills must agencies possess when a briefing goes far beyond the campaign, format, and media?

NXT ERA sports marketing. Is the logo really still necessary?

Sports combine reach, identity, entertainment, and community. That’s exactly why this field is so attractive to brands. The traditional logic of sponsorship is no longer enough. Or is it?

The NXT ERA sports marketing session focuses on how brands can credibly become part of sports culture – not just as a name on the sidelines, but as a key player making a genuine contribution.

What role do fans, athletes, creators, and platforms play? How do partnerships emerge that don’t look like bought-in access? And what needs to happen for visibility to become relevance?

Are we in Europe (also) missing out on this billion-dollar market?

Social platforms are entertainment, search engines, product discovery, communities, and commerce all in one.

This is transforming creative work. Brands need more variations, faster learning cycles, and a better understanding of their specific context.

In the session “Social commerce & creative diversification,” the NXTGEN club will discuss an uncomfortable question: Is social commerce in Europe already dead before it’s even really gotten off the ground?

And if not: How must teams, brands, agencies, and processes be organized to make it work after all? What does creative excellence require when a single overarching concept is no longer enough?

You can buy target audiences. You can’t buy communities. But has this whole “community” thing been overused?

Brands have learned to segment people: by age, interests, behavior, or social circles. Building relationships, however, is much harder for many.

That’s why the NXTGEN club is discussing how brands can develop communities. Offline engagement isn’t an alternative to digital communication. It’s often precisely there that the connection is formed that an algorithm alone cannot create.

Added to this are strategic questions surrounding brand building, mental availability, in-house capabilities, and new forms of collaboration.

How will brands and agencies create value in the future? What belongs within the company? What remains the agency’s responsibility? Where is specialization needed? And at what point do increasingly fragmented structures create exactly the silos that are subsequently torn down again?

We want contradiction!

NXTGEN discusses the future of the marketing industry. Their goal isn’t to reaffirm positions that everyone already shares. They want discourse.

Not every thesis has to be comfortable. Not every discussion needs to end in consensus. A good industry forum must be able to withstand the fact that people with different business models, experiences, and interests arrive at different answers.

That’s exactly what this stage is for.

What really matters happens behind the scenes. In the engine room.

An event like the NXTGEN Agency Summit doesn’t come together solely on stage. With awork and MOCO, the NXTGEN club has two partners on board who know the day-to-day realities of agency life from firsthand experience.

awork was developed in Hamburg specifically for agencies and maps out projects, teams, and capacities in a way that reflects how agencies actually work.

MOCO focuses on the numbers behind the scenes: budgets, profitability, and billing for small and medium-sized agencies and consultancies.

At their core, both address the same question: How can a team remain financially viable while simultaneously delivering creative work worthy of the name?

After all, good ideas must stand the test of everyday reality after the initial buzz. They need realistic capacity, sustainable budgets, and structures that don’t hold them back.

That’s why awork and MOCO aren’t just logos on the sidelines. They strengthen the backend, which rarely takes center stage but determines whether ideas are brought to life. In doing so, they lay the groundwork for the next generation – the one that aims to make NXTGEN a reality.

We’ll meet where things get uncomfortable

On September 24, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Agencies Stage at DMEXCO, the NXTGEN club will be discussing Marcom around NXTGEN, covering communities, experiences, and new creative approaches, as well as sports, commerce, strategy, and the role of agencies and brands in an industry that’s changing faster than its structures.

No pitch-deck marathon.

No ego circus.

DON’T READ THE STORY. WRITE IT.

Get your DMEXCO ticket now and come to the Agencies Stage on September 24.