Before DMEXCO, we highlighted three developments worth watching: independent ad infrastructure, retail media’s expansion, and the growing connection between broadcast advertising and retail data.

After the event, our assessment is that the opportunity in each depends on a common requirement: businesses need more control over how they put technology to work.

The post-event discussion put practical AI adoption, trusted data, and measurable business outcomes firmly in focus. Connecting systems and teams featured alongside the capabilities of the technology itself.

For AdButler, that sharpens the outlook for 2027 and 2028. The businesses best positioned to benefit will be those that can turn new capabilities into dependable operations, sustainable advertising products, and results buyers understand.

At a glance

• Control becomes an operating requirement. As AI takes on more campaign work, businesses need clear authority over data access, decisions, and execution.

• Retail media faces an execution test. Expansion needs to produce repeat advertiser spending and healthy margins without overwhelming the team running it.

• Broadcast–retail convergence depends on proving value. Connected audiences and inventory need to translate into offers that are practical to buy, deliver, and measure.

Control becomes more important as automation takes on more responsibility.

DMEXCO’s closing report placed agentic media buying, identity, and automated marketing alongside the importance of the open web, reliable data, and transparency. That combination matters: greater automation increases the significance of the systems and information behind each decision.

Our interpretation is that infrastructure control will become a more concrete purchasing requirement.

A reporting assistant may only need permission to retrieve information. A workflow that changes campaign settings needs a much clearer understanding of objectives, constraints, and who can authorize action. Giving a system access is only the beginning of making it useful.

For publishers and media owners, this changes how independence should be evaluated. The practical questions concern access to campaign data, the ability to connect chosen tools, and visibility into how decisions are made.

It also changes what a successful AI implementation looks like. A faster recommendation has limited value if the team must spend longer checking its assumptions or reconstructing the information behind it.

AdButler MCP supports connections between compatible AI tools and AdButler for reporting and campaign-management tasks. Our view is that these connections should support workflows with defined responsibilities and measurable outcomes.

Through 2027 and 2028, we expect platform evaluations to give more weight to operational authority: which data teams can access, which actions they can automate, and how easily they can review or change the result. Feature lists will need to be backed by evidence that the business can use those features on its own terms.

Retail media’s next challenge is turning expansion into repeatable business.

Commerce had a larger presence at this year’s event. DMEXCO reported roughly 30% more partners in its World of Commerce, while its Commerce Summit examined how AI is changing product discovery, advice, and purchasing decisions.

For AdButler, the significance is that retailers are making media decisions within a changing shopping journey. Where a product is discovered, where an ad is delivered, and where a purchase happens may involve different environments.

That creates room for broader advertising offers. It also introduces costs that can be easy to overlook when the conversation centers on revenue potential.

A retailer adding off-site campaigns, in-store screens, or self-service buying takes on new delivery and support requirements. Each expansion needs to earn its place in the business.

Our expectation is that the next two years will bring greater scrutiny of the economics beneath retail media growth. Campaign revenue should be assessed alongside implementation costs, sales effort, advertiser support, and renewal.

That matters particularly beyond the largest retailers. A specialist business can have a valuable audience and strong supplier relationships while lacking the resources to operate an extensive media network. Its strongest offer may be a focused one that advertisers buy repeatedly.

AI may help reduce reporting or setup work, but it cannot establish advertiser demand on its own. Nor does automation guarantee that a poorly defined product becomes profitable.

For 2027–2028, our outlook is that repeatability will distinguish stronger retail media businesses. Can the team sell the offer again, deliver it consistently, and retain enough contribution to support growth? Those questions should shape expansion decisions as much as the availability of another channel.

Broadcast and retail data will be judged by the value they create together.

DMEXCO’s post-event assessment described a media market increasingly connected across CTV, DOOH, retail and commerce media, and other environments. Separately, published attendee reflections emphasized activating useful audience signals and collaborating around data while retaining control.

Our reading is that broadcast–retail convergence needs to move from a compelling partnership proposition to a repeatable advertising product.

The potential is straightforward. Broadcasters bring content and audience reach. Retailers bring shopping context and, where appropriate, purchase information. Connecting those strengths can give advertisers more specific ways to plan and evaluate campaigns.

The difficulty is making the connection dependable.

An audience segment needs to be available within the buying workflow. Delivery records need to connect with the agreed measurement process. Both parties need to understand what the data supports and where coverage is incomplete.

Commercial responsibilities matter too. Someone must own the advertiser relationship, resolve delivery issues, and explain the results. A partnership becomes harder to scale when every campaign requires those responsibilities to be renegotiated.

For buyers, the test is whether the combined offer adds something they can identify: relevant reach, a useful audience insight, or credible evidence of an outcome. Matching an exposure with a sale does not, by itself, prove that the advertising caused the purchase.

Through 2028, we expect the strength of these offers to depend increasingly on execution and evidence. Access to data starts the conversation; usable activation, clear accountability, and understandable measurement give advertisers a reason to return.

FAQs

What should businesses prioritize after DMEXCO 2026?

AdButler’s view is that businesses should focus on making new capabilities work reliably within their existing operations. That means connecting AI investment to specific tasks, assessing retail media growth against delivery costs and advertiser retention, and giving buyers clear evidence of the value of combined media offers.

Does independent ad infrastructure mean bringing everything in-house?

No. Businesses can work with technology providers and specialist partners while retaining control over their advertising operations. What matters is whether they can access their data, set commercial rules, choose integrations, and adjust their advertising products as their needs change.

How can smaller retailers build a sustainable retail media business?

Start with an advertising offer that matches advertiser demand and the team’s capacity to deliver it. A focused product with repeat buyers can provide a stronger foundation than launching several channels at once. Expansion should account for sales effort, campaign support, technology costs, and advertiser renewal.

What does broadcast–retail data convergence mean for advertisers?

It can connect broadcast audiences with shopping insights to support campaign planning, targeting, and measurement. Its value depends on data permissions, audience coverage, and how well the systems work together. Linking an ad exposure to a purchase can inform reporting, but proving that advertising caused additional sales requires further measurement.

What deserves investment after DMEXCO?

These conclusions point toward a more demanding standard for ad tech investment.

An AI workflow should improve a defined part of the operation. A retail media expansion should support sustainable advertiser relationships. A broadcast–retail partnership should produce an offer whose value can be explained and assessed.

For leadership teams, that means connecting technology spending with the commercial and operational measures it is supposed to improve. Campaign turnaround, servicing cost, advertiser renewal, and contribution provide a more useful basis for investment than the number of capabilities launched.

That is the perspective AdButler brings to the next two years. As an enterprise ad tech platform with offerings across retail media, CTV, digital audio, and DOOH, we focus on the infrastructure businesses need to operate and develop their advertising products.

The next step after Cologne is to put a specific opportunity against that standard. Bring us the product you want to launch or the operational limitation you want to resolve, and let’s work through what success would require.