DMEXCO — DMEXCO has been a meeting place for international thought- and opinion leaders in the digital economy for many years.
DMEXCO is the trade fair and conference of the digital economy, held in Cologne since 2009. The BVDW owns the DMEXCO brand, backs the event as its conceptual sponsor and is responsible for the content of the congress trade fair.
That was DMEXCO 2026
On 23 and 24 September, Cologne was once again the meeting point of the digital economy. The theme was Scaling Intelligence, and as the association responsible for the content of the congress trade fair, the BVDW brought it onto the stages: with two summits of its own, the Masterclasses, the first Learning Journeys and the Young Innovator Challenge. BVDW president Dirk Freytag spoke on the Center Stage.
If you were there, you may find yourself in one of the photos. Our Flickr gallery covers both days, from the stand on the Boulevard to the stages, and the Masterclasses have an album of their own.
Photos: Tobias Koch or Burmann/City-Press
View the photo galleryWhat DMEXCO 2026 was about
DMEXCO is the trade fair and conference of the digital economy. It takes place once a year in Cologne, where exhibitors present their products in the halls while the conference program runs on the stages. The theme of DMEXCO 2026 was Scaling Intelligence.
What the BVDW does at DMEXCO
The BVDW (Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft), the German association for the digital economy, owns the DMEXCO brand and backs the event as its conceptual sponsor. It is also responsible for the content of the congress trade fair: which topics the conference covers, and which formats carry them. Koelnmesse runs DMEXCO commercially.
On site, the association brings its own formats and its own stand. They are curated rather than open to all, because the BVDW picks the cases that are shown as well as the people who get a seat.
BVDW formats at DMEXCO 2026
The BVDW Summits
Two of the DMEXCO summits were curated by the BVDW, and both ran on Wednesday, 23 September. The DMEXCO Creativity Summit, powered by DDA, took the Agencies Stage in hall 8 and asked what artificial intelligence does to the value of creative work. On the Media Stage, the DMEXCO Retail & Commerce Media Summit, powered by BVDW, looked for retail media numbers that can be compared across retailers. The Creativity Summit programme
BVDW Masterclasses
Experts from BVDW member companies presented cases from their own work, in sessions of 30 minutes each. The full program stays online: BVDW Masterclasses in the DMEXCO program. Photos from the rooms are in an album of their own.
Learning Journeys
A Learning Journey was a guided visit to one exhibitor, where someone from the company walked a small group through a real case from their own work. Each journey lasted 30 minutes: 10 with the tour host at the starting point, then 20 at the exhibitor. 2026 was the first year of the format.
Young Innovator Challenge
Students from Hochschule Düsseldorf worked on real business challenges for months and then pitched their solutions on stage on 23 September, in front of a jury and the DMEXCO audience. Young Innovator Challenge
On other DMEXCO stages
The association also spoke where it does not curate. BVDW president Dirk Freytag took the Center Stage on Wednesday, 23 September. On Thursday, a panel on the Creators Stage asked what drives the creator economy in 2027, and a panel on the Innovation Stage looked at how the effect of consent can be measured.
BVDW stand S B002
The BVDW stand on the Boulevard between halls 7 and 8 was the starting point of every Learning Journey and, for two days, the easiest place to reach the association.
The day before: 22 September
Cologne started a day early. The Online Ad Summit, the annual meeting of the AdTech community, filled 22 September at Maritim Hotel Köln. That evening the BVDW and Microsoft invited guests to a rooftop in Cologne for talks on artificial intelligence, followed by food, drinks and live music. Online Ad Summit
More on the Learning Journeys