SHERIDAN, WYOMING – September 14, 2025 – DMEXCO 2025, Europe’s leading digital marketing and technology event, is set to return to Cologne on September 17–18 with more than 1,000 speakers, 220 hours of programming, and a sharp focus on digital commerce, retail media, connected TV, and creator-driven marketing. For B2B executives, the event is shaping up as a critical forum to understand how marketing innovation, platform partnerships, and data-driven technologies will reshape global digital commerce strategies.
Commerce and Retail Media in the Spotlight
This year’s program reflects the rapid evolution of commerce as a cornerstone of the digital economy. A dedicated Commerce Summit, powered by the BVDW in partnership with Shopify, will explore strategies across B2C, D2C, and B2B channels. Alongside, the Retail Media Summit will dive into how advertisers and platforms are redefining media spend through retail-driven ecosystems.
- Key commerce trends: direct-to-consumer growth, marketplace integration, and supply-chain optimization
- Retail media drivers: data-led targeting, closed-loop attribution, and brand-retailer partnerships
Industry Leaders Set the Agenda
DMEXCO’s theme, “Be bold. Move forward.”, underscores a climate of transformation and risk-taking. The program features senior leaders from Google, Amazon Ads, OTTO, Lufthansa Group, Publicis Groupe, and Taboola, among others. Topics will span from connected TV and adtech to programmatic innovation and influencer marketing.
Verena Gründel, DMEXCO’s host and brand & communications director, emphasized the tone for this year’s event: “We’re looking forward to some plain-talking and some intense discussions that aren’t afraid of controversy. After all, courage is marketing’s strongest currency at the moment. Anyone who wants to lead needs to be willing to take risks. Only the brave will be rewarded with visibility and market share.”
Expanding Summit Formats for Decision-Makers
Several new summit formats are designed to give business leaders deeper insights into strategic priorities:
- DMEXCO Thought Leaders’ Summit: addressing macro-level shifts in digital marketing.
- CMO Summit: focused on long-term brand and customer strategies.
- Creators’ Summit: mapping the next wave of influencer and content-driven commerce.
- Creativity Summit: examining new approaches to brand communications.
Additional sessions such as the AdTech, MarTech, and Corporate Influencer Summits will round out the agenda.
Emerging Channels Gain Dedicated Platforms
Beyond commerce and media, DMEXCO 2025 is dedicating space to fast-growing channels:
- DOOH Summit & OOH Area: highlighting innovations from Ströer, WallDecaux, and Vistar Media.
- AMPLIFY Audio Area: showcasing opportunities in audio marketing with exhibitors such as RMS and Epidemic Sound.
- Future TV Stage: powered by Screenforce, exploring connected and addressable TV strategies.
These formats reflect a shift toward convergence—where audio, TV, and out-of-home increasingly integrate with data-driven advertising ecosystems.
Strategic Implications for Marketers and Tech Providers
For agencies, platforms, and enterprise marketers, DMEXCO 2025 provides more than networking opportunities. The event’s heavy emphasis on retail media and commerce points to a broader trend: marketing spend shifting closer to transactional environments. This creates new opportunities for tech providers offering attribution, personalization, and omnichannel measurement solutions.
Dirk Freytag, President of the BVDW, noted: “We can hardly wait for the high-caliber lineup that we have planned for the various summits. This year, we will welcome numerous trendsetters, who will present clear positions on critical issues. In addition to sharing their valuable insights, they will be instrumental in advancing our industry’s further development.”
A Global Expansion and Broader Reach
While Cologne remains the flagship, DMEXCO is also expanding internationally. For the first time, DMEXCO Asia will take place October 8–9, 2025 in Singapore, co-hosted with eCommerce Expo. This marks a significant step toward engaging Southeast Asian markets and reflects the event’s ambition to shape digital commerce across regions.
Learn More
Executives seeking to stay ahead of digital commerce, retail media, and omnichannel advertising trends can explore the full agenda and registration details at DMEXCO’s official site.