dmexco 2013: Cologne Is the Hub of the Digital World


COLOGNE, GERMANY--(Marketwired - Sep 19, 2013) -  All of the important themes, leaders and visions of the global digital industry in one location: The dmexco is the "big deal" of the global digital industry! Stock market entries of exhibitors, premieres of new companies as well as a new attendance figure record of 26,300 trade visitors from all over the globe underline the international standing of the dmexco as a global brand in the digital era. "Cologne was the hotspot of the global digital industry for two days -- the central significance of the dmexco was confirmed by the unabated interest from all over the world," commented Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Koelnmesse GmbH. To be continued: The dmexco 2014 will be held in Cologne on September 10 and 11.

"Probably one of the biggest challenges still is not to get overwhelmed by the technology and to really fall in love with the ideas, because ideas and content are going to be the real differentiator in the future. At dmexco, you see the future. It is an outstanding conference, I'm very impressed with the content and I'm blown away by the exhibits," was Marc Pritchard's (Procter & Gamble) personal assessment of the dmexco. Vanessa Liu from Baidu -- the Chinese search engine made its debut as a dmexco exhibitor this year -- added: "dmexco was the perfect platform for us to demonstrate the possibilities for European companies to enter the Chinese market with more than 580 Million online users via digital marketing."

The breaking news of the first dmexco day included the planned IPO of the exhibitor Criteo in the USA. Furthermore, the two new start-ups Banbutsu, a specialist in the Internet of Things sector, and Unbound, a specialist for automated trading systems, celebrated their worldwide premiere at the dmexco Conference. This and many other themes, news and visions of the global digital industry were witnessed by 26,300 trade visitors (+20 percent) from around 80 different countries -- a new record. The international standing of the dmexco is reflected by the large share of international trade visitors and exhibitors (both approx. 25 percent).

In line with this year's motto "Turning Visions into Reality", the dmexco 2013 introduced its new "World of Experience" concept. This novel approach offered trendsetters of the digital business an ideal platform to demonstrate important trends, technologies and visions vividly in experienceable formats and strategically visionary lectures, thus making them tangible. "It is no longer about digital marketing -- it is about marketing in a digital world," is how Philipp Justus (Google) summed up an important cognition of the World of Experience 2013.

The fact that visions have to be turned into reality in order to be successful in the future was clearly perceivable all over the grounds of the dmexco 2013. The respective opportunities and challenges that arise for the digital business were controversially debated. For example, the urgent need to involve the consumers directly in the brand communications in future: "The most important challenge in the digital industry is our ability to keep pace with the rapid changes in consumer behavior. This generation is aware of the power of its personal data, it values experiences over ownership, and it wants to engage with brands through interactions that mirror human relationships instead of business transactions," emphasized Lisa Pearson (bazaarvoice).

For Achim Berg (arvato) the biggest challenge of the digital industry lies above all in keeping the whole picture of the product or market experience in focus -- both online and offline. "The consumer expects to be approached authentically via his own chosen channels. Augmented reality is just the beginning here." In Berg's opinion, the hottest trend is the "Sharing Economy". "In this connection the Internet makes things possible that were simply not possible before: the consumer becomes the provider himself," commented Berg. Laura Desmond (Starcom MediaVest Group) pointed out which roles the various channels can play here on a wide selection of screens: "Today, it's mastering convergence and putting in place measurement that follows consumer behavior and impacts across all screens. We need to understand not only how channels work together across paid, owned and earned, but why channels work together." The economic aspect that has to be fulfilled and which should inevitably be the aim behind every new development, was underlined by Gabor Steingart (Handelsblatt): "The digital industry is currently caught between a high degree of innovation and fulfilling profitability criteria. The central challenge lies in achieving both more or less simultaneously."

Finally, some of the most innovative start-ups and entrepreneurs brought additional power to the dmexco stage in the scope of the Conference, i.e. GumGum, Unbound, Appssavvy, Banbutsu, Wywy, Outbrain and Eye'em. With fresh approaches and new business models, they provided a great deal of inspiration over the two days. "The biggest challenge facing senior-level marketers right now is how to cut through the clutter of the social web and make content stand out as a signal amidst all the social noise," stated Sarah Wood (Unruly), calling the established marketing world to take a new slant on things. Brian Wong (kiip) underlined above all the manifold opportunities of the mobile channel, which is still not exploited to the full: "Right now, brands still view mobile as a separate 'media channel' instead of a hub that sees all digital activity within a consumer's life. As one of the most personal devices we've ever owned, it gives unprecedented opportunity to brands to create even closer relationships with their customers -- the challenge is getting them to grasp that."

From the viewpoint of the most important media agency networks of the global digital industry, who were all represented at the dmexco 2013, "big data" is primarily a dominating theme. "How 'big' the data is allowed to be and how big it ought to be, especially against the PRISM background, is not only a hotly discussed theme here at the dmexco," stated Nicole Prüsse (VivaKi). One thing is however certain: Market participants, who know how to analyse and interpret the growing quantity of available data, and who are thus able to implement the data efficiently, have a clear advantage. This became more than evident at the dmexco. However, for Daryl Lee (UniversalMcCann) the digital creativity demonstrated at the dmexco is just as decisive: "The challenge for the digital industry is the same challenge for the marketing industry at large -- how to make the most of the intersection of creativity and accountability using the new technologies of today. We are entering a brave new world of brand content and cross-platform experiences and we need our measurement systems to keep up with our creative options," commented Lee.

The trade visitors of the dmexco were very impressed: More than 80 percent were satisfied with their visit; over 80 percent also praised the overall offerings at the exposition. More than 90 percent would recommend visiting the dmexco. "The dmexco 2013 has set new standards in all areas and has become a must-attend event in the diaries of all of the relevant leaders and companies and is an absolute highlight of the year. Especially the unique constellation of the dmexco -- the combination between an expo and conference -- plays a major role in terms of its quality and diversity. As such, the acceptance of the dmexco has clearly increased among the international markets over the past years and it has in the meantime reached the same status as the CES or Cannes. More and more companies, not only from the USA, but also from Russia, China and other countries around the globe are recognising the advantages of the dmexco. For a few days the dmexco is the hub of the digital world," summed up Christian Muche and Frank Schneider, dmexco Board of Directors.

Matthias Ehrlich, President of the BVDW, added: "Since being founded five year's ago the dmexco has developed into the leading international expo of the digital industry and is the number one global platform for effective knowledge transfer and direct business transactions as well as being the central meeting point for all pioneers and opinion leaders. This unique combination makes the dmexco a must-attend event for every business decision-maker. This is a wonderful success story, particularly also for the German Internet industry and I am very proud that the BVDW, in its capacity as the umbrella association of the digital industry and industry partner of the dmexco, has significantly contributed towards this."

The dmexco 2014 will be staged at the exhibition grounds of the Koelnmesse in Cologne on September 10 and 11, 2014.

The overall facts and figures on the dmexco 2013 can be found at http://dmexco.de/Downloads/downloads/Facts_Figures-e.pdf

About dmexco
dmexco is the international leading expo & conference for the digital industry. Comprising of a unique combination between an exposition and a conference it stands for innovative and future-oriented marketing in the midst of a global growth market. Placing a clear focus on marketing, media and technology the dmexco in Cologne is the global no. 1 industry meeting platform for valuable knowledge transfer and direct business transactions. The dmexco, which is organised by the Koelnmesse, offers trade visitors the broadest range of business trends, growth strategies, product innovations and creative excellence in diverse forms and is furthermore free of charge. As the central hub for all thought leaders and minds from digital brands, advertisers and marketers, all types of agencies and media owners the dmexco is leading the global digital industry.

All further information on the dmexco 2013 as well as photos, videos and statements are posted at www.dmexco.com, www.facebook.com/dmexco, http://twitter.com/dmexco and www.youtube.com/dmexcovideo.

Contact Information:

Contact:

Andre Hoffmann
Tel. +49 40 679 446 53
Fax +49 40 679 446 11
e-mail dmexco2013@faktor3.de