5 top digital marketing trends at DMexco 2016

Myself and Jim Bowes have made a special excursion to DMexco – Europe’s biggest digital marketing conference – to see what’s piquing the interest of brands, technologists and agencies in the worlds of paid, owned and earned media. As well as lions handing out fliers, a team of acrobats, and the obligatory lederhosen (we are in Germany after all), we’ve noted the following five trends which are shaping the agenda of digital marketers.

Brexit fears

There is a very palpable sense of nervousness among the UK digital marketing community around this year’s referendum result. Lots of people (us, a London digital agency in Europe, included) are asking how it might affect them. Overall, the consensus is that most people have have seen no major effects thus far, but what’s coming down the road is far from certain.

The rise and rise of motion content

As with most digital conferences happening this year the ‘future of content’ is a big talking point at DMexco. There are no less than 13 sessions dedicated to video this year, ranging from talks about the best length for video ads through to how to create the best short form/big screen content. Surprisingly little VR or 360 video on offer though, showing that these new forms still have some ground to cover before hitting the ad-tech mainstream.

How to get marketing attribution right

I went to a very interesting talk delivered by Adroll yesterday about multi-channel attribution and some of the challenges this presents when people are moving on and off line and between devices. I’ll write more on this when I’m back but the main takeaway is that while lots of people currently rely on last click attribution methods, this method is inherently flawed as it often ignores all other touch points in your customer journey, as well as people moving between devices.

Delivering personalised content

How to personalise content to increase audience engagement is another key theme which runs through many of the sessions at DMExco this year. There’s a real recognition that consumer expectations are changing to make timely, relevant content a necessity. Personalisation is also the theme of the Acquia stand this year, which, as well as hosting us (in Hall 8, stand C48), is also offering to help attendees personalise themselves – with a free haircut or tattoo!

The risks/rewards of Big Data

A staggering 21 mentions of ‘data’ in this year’s session titles shows that marketers are still very keen to exploit the potential of data-driven marketing strategies. Lots of the content revolves around using data for content creation – either programmatically or for storytelling – but there’s also a strong showing for the issues around data privacy, as the increasing frequency of high-profile hacks leads to rising concern for consumers.

We’re hanging out all day on stand C48 in Hall 8, so if you’re at DMexco and fancy a free coffee, haircut or tattoo, or want to chat about motion content, personalisation, or even Brexit, come and say hello.