Why I’m excited about DMexco

David Jacobs
Sep 5, 2018 · 2 min read

Next week I will be attending DMexco for the 6th time. September in Cologne has become the number one meet up spot for the advertising technology industry. In many ways it has become what Ad:tech could have or should have been many years ago.

This marks my first major industry event since taking the plunge as co-founder and CEO of Konduit. Konduit.me provides a simple to implement technology for publishers and content creators which allows video advertising to serve faster and more often on their pages. In short; we accelerate the very complicated digital video advertising process and in doing so make our partners more money.

So as I’m attending DMexco as a founder for the first time; there are a number of things that excite me about this year:

  1. DMexco is first and foremost, a global event. The majority of exhibitors and attendees continue to be from a diverse set of countries and continents. This isn’t Cannes where you run into dozens of friends and industry execs walking down the Croisette, folks that you could have just as easily had lunch with 2 subway stops away.
  2. Innovation is happening again. Between 2016 and 2017 we saw a massive shakeup and shake out in the SSP and arbitrage space. If you are still standing; you are either doing something of value, or your time is limited. And with several notable exits recently, the value that is being created in the industry is both being recognized and driving a new round of investment.
  3. The CTV/ OTT video space is here and here to stay; as evidenced by so many of the exhibitors and speakers. The validation that the ‘convergence’ promise seems to be upon us. This is great news for our industry. For years we asked: when will the year of Mobile be here? Now we’ve seen it arrive, and OTT / CTV wasn’t far behind.
  4. DMexco is a great place to check in on the latest buzzwords and ask: Is there anything really there yet? AI, Blockchain are everywhere on the panels and at the expo; it will be interesting to hear the latest on these and many other emerging areas.

In addition to the above, who can forget the amazing German food and history of Cologne! I’m so fortunate to be a part of a dynamic industry built on trust and long term relationships. I look forward to seeing many, many familiar faces next week!

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade