DMEXCO 2024 once again offered a fantastic opportunity to explore the latest digital marketing and technology trends. Held in Cologne, the event brought together industry experts, innovators, and visionaries worldwide to share their insights and experiences. As in previous years, it was packed with cutting-edge technological innovations, creative marketing strategies, and vibrant networking.
This year, Relevant Digital was also present at our booth, showcasing our modular SaaS solution, Relevant Yield, designed to help publishers monetise ad inventory more efficiently. It was a pleasure to see the great interest Relevant Yield generated. We had the opportunity to engage with industry professionals, gaining valuable insights and receiving plenty of positive feedback. Meeting new contacts and long-time partners and engaging in inspiring conversations about future possibilities was especially nice.
Between our booth activities, we attended a few inspiring presentations and workshops. Up to 400 sessions were available over the two days. Here, we’ve compiled some key highlights from the presentations, covering the state of digital advertising in Europe, the development of programmatic advertising, and media trends for 2025.
Overview of Digital Advertising in Europe: Growth and New Trends
IAB Europe's Chief Economist, Daniel Knapp, presented the IAB Europe AdEx Benchmark Report at DMEXCO. The report, published in the summer and covering 29 European markets, highlights strong growth in digital advertising. In 2023, ad spending increased by 11.1%, pushing the total value of digital advertising to a record €96.9 billion. While the U.S. market remains 2.5 times larger, Europe's growth was faster (11.1% vs. 7.3%).
Europe's leading digital advertising markets are the UK, Germany, and France. Display advertising accounted for 51.9% of programmatically bought ads, while search and social media advertising also saw significant growth. The rise of retail media has been a major contributor to search ad growth. Video advertising remains the key growth driver within display ads, with Connected TV (CTV), audio, and podcasts emerging as rapidly growing formats.
Programmatic advertising grew to €12 billion. Despite the slowdown, growth still reached an impressive 7.4%. Overall, the digital advertising market is expected to grow in Europe in 2024, with growth predicted to reach 8.1%. You can explore the report and different markets in more detail here.
Programmatic Advertising in Europe: Latest Trends and Key Drivers
Wayne Tassie, Chair of IAB Europe's Programmatic Trading Committee, presented the annual "Attitudes to Programmatic" report results at DMEXCO. The report illuminates the development of programmatic advertising in Europe. It covers 32 markets and provides insights from various stakeholders, including advertisers, publishers, and media agencies.
Here is a summary of the key findings:
Programmatic Buying - A significant portion of media agencies and advertisers widely use programmatic advertising: nearly one-third of agencies (32%) and over a quarter of advertisers (27%) stated that more than 81% of their display campaigns are executed programmatically. Additionally, over two-thirds of agencies (68%) and nearly half of advertisers (40%) reported that at least 41% of their display ads are purchased programmatically. This highlights the strong position of programmatic advertising and its growing significance in ad buying.
Growth Drivers - One of the report's most significant findings is the key drivers of programmatic advertising growth: Connected TV (CTV), artificial intelligence, and audio. CTV leads the way, with over half of agencies (52%) and nearly half of advertisers and publishers (47%) seeing it as the primary growth driver. AI follows, with 40% of advertisers and 30% of agencies viewing it as a significant development. Audio is also rising, with 29% of publishers considering it the next significant growth area. Retail media is a potential growth driver, especially among publishers and media agencies.
38% of respondents noted that the most important driver of programmatic advertising for advertisers is the ability to discover new audiences. Other key factors include reporting transparency and accuracy (25%) and cost efficiency (12.5%). For media agencies, cost efficiency plays an even more prominent role, with 33% naming it the most important driver. Additionally, audience reach (19%) and operational efficiency, such as automation (19%), are essential factors.
Challenges - The top challenge highlighted was media quality, cited as the most significant barrier by 31% of advertisers, 41% of agencies, and 30% of publishers. Other challenges for advertisers include high costs (25%) and operational hurdles, such as measurement and data usage (31%). Conversely, Agencies see the political and economic environment (19%) as another significant barrier. Publishers point to staffing and training (20%) and operational challenges (25%) as critical issues. These figures demonstrate that while the growth drivers for programmatic advertising are strong, the industry still faces significant barriers, particularly regarding quality and operational processes.
Targeting and Data - Data plays a central role in programmatic advertising, and its usage is evolving. Publishers increasingly focus on first-party data, while buyers diversify their data strategies. 74% of agencies and 66% of publishers plan to use contextual targeting to reach new audiences. Additionally, over half of publishers (54%) seek identity management solutions, and 53% of advertisers plan to leverage first-party data. The potential decline of third-party cookies affects the entire industry. While 82% of agencies and 77% of publishers are aware of their reliance on cookies, only 47% of advertisers feel fully prepared for the post-cookie era. This indicates that advertisers need more support in adapting to new targeting solutions.
IAB Europe will release the full 2024 "Attitudes to Programmatic" report later, typically in November."
Media 2025: Emerging Trends and Evolving Roles
DMEXCO also hosted a panel discussion on media trends 2025, with participants including representatives from Pinterest, Schwarz Media, L'Oréal, Walt Disney, BurdaForward, and MEEDIA.
Predicting the future isn’t easy, but significant changes are expected in the media and advertising landscape by 2025. Video, digital out-of-home (DOOH), retail media, and social media advertising will likely continue their strong growth. In contrast, the significance of traditional digital advertising and influencer marketing may decline. However, radio and podcasts are expected to maintain their roles as crucial channels.
Retail media and CTV (Connected TV) are strengthening their positions in ad investments, but everything should be measurable. Retail media builds loyal customer relationships and leverages collaboration across different media. Programmatic advertising will continue evolving as a brand-building channel, and digital out-of-home advertising will offer more consumer-centric solutions. In marketing optimization, efficiency and holistic measurement of the customer journey are emphasized, while automation and dynamic optimisation technologies continually improve the accuracy and impact of advertising.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a vital tool in content creation and advertising. AI can significantly enhance content production, but the human role remains crucial in ensuring quality and reliability. AI offers enormous potential, but its use must be guided by clear rules and recommendations to maximize its positive impact.
In summary
The discussions at DMEXCO 2024 highlighted the ongoing development of digital advertising and the crucial role of technology, mainly driven by AI, programmatic advertising, Connected TV (CTV), and retail media. At the same time, there is an increasing focus on sustainability and ethics. The event also gave us the opportunity to deepen relationships with clients and partners, and we gained valuable insights and ideas to enhance our services and support our clients' success. After DMEXCO 2024, we continue our work with digital publishers, inspired by the event.
Thank you to everyone who visited our booth – see you again next year!