5 Questions About Dmexco 2016

After two overwhelming days of nonstop networking and social events, the recovery from Dmexco is never easy, but the knowledge and lessons learned make it all worthwhile.

This year, we shared our booth space with our Audience Partners, VisualDNA and Eyeota, and hosted Listen and Learn sessions with both of them as well as with our B2B data partner, Bombora. We felt this was a great way to highlight our close industry partnerships, highlight our differentiated solutions together and collaborate closely with their teams while at Dmexco.

Now that it’s been almost two weeks since we are all back to our home offices, I decided to catch up with each of them and see how their Dmexco experience went.

• What are some of the emerging trends that you’ve seen come out of this year’s Dmexco? 

VisualDNA:

We saw a marked transition, even from recent expos, that audience data for targeting and analysis has gone from a nice-to-have in previous years to a must-have. We got great feedback from clients that they are targeting significant proportions of their prospecting campaigns using data. 

Eyeota:

Audience data is definitely becoming essential in programmatic campaign planning. We did a lot less explaining and educating about what we do and more about how we can work together with partners and clients. Exciting stuff!

Bombora:

While a lot of discussion from Dmexco 2016 has centered on the rise of programmatic, one of the perhaps hidden trends that is taking a foothold in driving the industry is content production. Set to be worth $313 billion in 2019 according to PQ Media*, content truly is king! And with the explosion of content across the B2B landscape, companies need to focus on delivering personalized, relevant and timely information. In addition to this, the diversification of technology and channels (e.g. augmented reality, mobile, social, etc.) means that companies need to get even more creative with the production and delivery of their content.

• Moving into 2017, do you think Dmexco has changed your positioning in the EMEA market? 

VisualDNA:

We launched our Audiences With Personality on the first day of Dmexco, and the feedback was superb, it is the right time to have the best psychographic data with all of the debate about creative coming together with tech and data in programmatic offerings to improve digital advertising. An issue for planners and traders has been getting consistent high reach audiences across Europe. VisualDNA has answered that with high reach audiences in France, Germany, Italy and Spain as well as UK which we are famous for, and of course USA. As a result, I’m sure that our 2017 positioning will be greatly steered by these and more brands with EMEA and global planning will engage with our data.

Eyeota:

Not really changed our perspective — more and more US companies are showing up in full force, making Dmexco an even stronger international show for us, and we see that continuing for 2017.

Bombora:

With 47 percent of our B2B interactions captured outside of the US, Bombora’s focus has always been global. We recognize that in order to build the richest source of B2B intent data we need to surf the ‘waves of intent data’ across the world! Dmexco gives an opportunity to gauge the market, as well as expand our brand and footprint into the EMEA market, which is a strategic focus for us in 2017.

• Can you provide some key tips/hints/tricks on how to prepare for Dmexco 2017? 

VisualDNA:

Clarity of proposition is becoming more key with over 1,000 exhibitors present. The puck has moved to a place where there is more clarity required about why your offering is better and different, it is no longer acceptable just to be capable. That is key to attracting new clients, for your existing ones plan ahead, book meetings where possible, people’s time is precious and their schedules are crazy. And wear comfortable shoes…

Eyeota:

Have routine prep meetings leading up to Dmexco to clearly map out goals and objectives, by team member, adding metrics to strive for.  This makes your overall investment in the event measurable.

Bombora:

Getting there and beyond — book in your passes, travel and accommodation as early as you can. This just means it’s all taken care of and you can focus on all of the other fun stuff that comes with the conference sooner!

• What’s been your highlight of this year’s Dmexco? 

VisualDNA:

Two stand outs:

• Receiving great feedback and validation for VisualDNA’s new Audiences with Personality product, it is generation 5 of our psychographic based data and the best product / market fit we have achieved so far.

• We spoke to many current clients about how our audience data frequently outperformed others. We could have candid conversations and found that people are more open when away from the office.

Eyeota:

A major highlight was being a part of the MediaMath booth and having an opportunity to present on audience data trends. Another highlight was our pre drinks event on Tuesday Sep 16^th at Fruh. It was a huge success and we had a much larger turnout than expected. We’re already planning on doing it again next year! Lastly, since Dmexco, we have been running a wildly popular 20% off deal on seasonal segments available through MediaMath’s T1 platform.

Bombora:

In addition to the announcement of a new partnership with content marketing platform, Outbrain, our presentation at the MediaMath booth was equally exciting. It was a great opportunity for our CEO, Erik Matlick, to share insights about the influence of intent data on driving content and Account-Based Marketing. We received fantastic exposure to the Dmexco attendees, including some key decision makers who expressed excitement our B2B intent data.

• What was your biggest learning/key takeaway from the event?

VisualDNA:

Location — it was great partnering on MediaMath’s booth in the heart of coveted hall 7 with high foot traffic. Just like a property agent we can verify that location is key…

Eyeota:

Let’s go bigger next year!

Bombora:

Our biggest take away was the opportunity presented through the content marketing industry and how important personalization is, as well as the dynamic growth of the industry in EMEA.