DMEXCO 2026: Beyond the hype, what stood out

October 1st 2026 - This year’s theme was “Scaling Intelligence”, and AI was obviously everywhere. But what I realised was how far the AI conversations had moved on. It was less about what AI could do and much more about how businesses are already using it, from agentic marketing and AI powered search, to data, measurement and compliance.

One thing I kept coming back to was how closely innovation now sits alongside responsibility. A couple of years ago, we were asking whether AI would change marketing. Now, with LLMs becoming part of how people discover brands, the conversation has moved to how you show up in that environment and what people read about you when they do. That makes brand safety, governance and reputation a much more important conversation than just compliance. It's about how a brand builds trust and stays relevant as the way people discover brands continues to change. The technology will keep changing, but building trust and a strong reputation still comes down to what you consistently put out into the world.

At Raptor, we spend a lot of my time at the intersection of gaming, advertising and technology, and it is getting increasingly difficult to treat these as separate industries. What struck me at DMEXCO was how much gaming had become part of the wider advertising ecosystem. Xbox had a dedicated session on gaming as an entertainment ecosystem for brands, while SuperAwesome was talking about its Roblox partnership, Gen Alpha and youth marketing. Mediaplus was also showcasing its Roblox activation with PLAYMOBIL. 

One thing is clear, gaming is no longer just another media channel. The conversations are increasingly about communities, culture, brand safety and how brands can genuinely show up in these spaces. At the same time, the adtech infrastructure behind these environments is becoming more sophisticated, with contextual targeting, identity, measurement and compliance all playing a role. The opportunity for advertisers is not just about reaching gamers, but understanding the environment and giving people a reason to remember you.

There is so much happening across the industry and so many new ways for brands to get in front of people, but attention on its own doesn't necessarily build anything lasting. You have to give people a reason to remember you. Personally, this was one of the biggest takeaways from DMEXCO. 

This is what we mean at Raptor when we talk about the Memory Economy. It is about building recognition before you need it, through consistent subject-matter expertise, useful perspectives, strong relationships and showing up in the right conversations over time. Because when the next opportunity, announcement or buying decision comes around, you don't want to be a brand people are discovering for the first time. You want to be one they already recognise and trust.

DMEXCO may be over, but the conversations it started are not. The next step is turning those conversations into consistent action, and making sure that when the next big industry moment arrives, your brand is already part of the story.

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By Ruzbeh Gazdar, Account Director